Financial Analyst I

Position Summary

The Financial Analyst I position supports the business unit's financial planning and analysis needs. With supervisor guidance, the incumbent will compile, analyze, and update short-term and long-range financial plans and budgets in SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning System (“SAC”), including revenues, expenses, capital projects, and labor hours. Monitor progress, explain variances from plans, submit journal entries as needed, and update the year-end forecast accordingly.  Perform reviews of underlying documentation to ensure transactions are properly recorded. Utilize reporting tools to prepare financial performance reports for business units. Guide business units in following District financial policies and procedures. Perform, support, or coordinate financial performance benchmarking for the business units. Create and maintain financial master data in NPPD’s enterprise resource planning software, SAP.  The Financial Analyst I will possess strong analytical and communication skills, display professional behavior, and have a proficiency in Microsoft Excel, and work well with a team.  

Education, Training and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field.   

(OR)   

Associate’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field and four years of relevant professional experience. This may include experience with financial reporting systems and analysis of financial information. Application of accounting principles or utility cost planning and reporting. 

Demonstrate beginner knowledge of the following technologies: 

• Microsoft Word (Creating, editing, formatting documents, etc.) 
• Microsoft PowerPoint (Creating and editing presentations, formatting slide text, etc.) 
• Microsoft Teams (Using chat, creating, attending meetings, understanding channels, etc.) 
• Demonstrates intermediate knowledge of the following technologies: 
• Microsoft Excel (Pivot tables, displaying graphic data, lookup functions, etc.) 

Licenses and/or Certifications

None

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

With supervisor guidance:  

Meet with budget owners to identify business unit needs. Create and maintain an integrated financial plan for the current year's budget and the six-year rate outlook. This may require updating revenues, expenses, capital projects, and labor hours to support the financial objectives of the business unit/facility. 

Create and analyze standard, business unit-specific, and ad hoc financial reports monthly, quarterly, and/or annually to aid the management team in their decision-making process.   

Advise the business units to follow applicable policies and procedures related to the financial planning and accounting processes, including but not limited to those related to the capital planning and period-end liability recognition processes.   

Create and maintain accurate and up-to-date SAP master data objects essential for effective financial planning. This includes but is not limited to, creating and maintaining cost centers, profit centers, internal orders, work breakdown structures, and other relevant master data records.  

Perform purchase order and invoice reviews to ensure expenses incurred by the business unit are properly recorded and contain the correct accounting. At year-end, review the subsequent check runs to identify any unrecorded liabilities. 

Prepare and/or review O&M project point papers. Monitor and analyze variations between monthly actual versus planned revenues and expenses.  Assess the overall impact of these variances on current period results and year-end projections. Proactively update the forecast in SAC accordingly. 

Prepare and/or review capital project point papers. Monitor and analyze variations between monthly actual versus planned capital project costs. Update project master data and cash flows in SAP and SAC as needed. Regularly attend and/or facilitate business unit capital project meetings to provide cost analysis updates, address concerns, and ensure alignment with business unit capital objectives. Obtain capital project approvals as necessary. 

Create service entry sheets and/or journal entries to ensure all revenues and expenses for the period have been accurately reported following District guidelines and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.  

Create and analyze standard, business unit-specific, and ad hoc financial reports for the management team.   

Deliver formal and/or informal verbal presentation(s) with supervisor/peer support on a job-specific topic(s). 

Display professional and team-based behaviors. 

Participate in a team or group project(s) to achieve a shared objective. 

The impact and relevance of the tasks below may differ depending on the specific characteristics of each business unit.  

Perform, support, or coordinate financial performance benchmarking, which may include a range of activities aimed at comparing a business unit’s financial performance to industry standards, competitors, or other relevant benchmarks. 

Accountable for other duties as assigned.

Core Competencies