Finance analyst
Help organisations make big decisions about their money. You could encourage businesses to invest in renewable energy projects and green bonds.
About the job
What it's like
Financial analysis is ideal for anyone with a business mentality and a head for figures. As a finance analyst you’d help managers and stakeholders make big decisions about their money.
Finance analysts are responsible for examining financial information, market trends and economic conditions to come up with forecasts for a business. You’d have to thoroughly analyse data, create financial models and use them to predict financial trends.
You’d then have to report to your findings to help shape the business plan for the company.
Your tasks might include:
helping to determine a company’s value
researching and identifying investment opportunities
collecting, monitoring and studying data
evaluating financial trends and creating effective investment strategies
providing regular financial updates to the business
growing financial performance through analysis of financial results, forecasts and trends
keeping up-to-date with technical knowledge, market conditions and trends
There is a growing demand for green finance analysts. You would help identify sustainable practices and investment opportunities. This'll help companies adapt as the world transitions towards greener ways of life.
Green job
In this job you'll be doing work to help the environment. Find out more about green jobs.
Hours
You'd generally work office hours from Monday to Friday but depending on your role and deadlines you might have to work longer hours or weekends.
Environment
You're likely to be office based and working as part of a team.
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Engineering and manufacturing Construction and built environment Healthcare Food and drink Financial and professional services Digital technologies
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- finance
- accounting
- financial analysis
- internal controls
- general ledger
- commercial finance
- ibm cognos tm1
- leased lines
- peoplesoft applications
- corporate forecasting
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- analysing
- ethical
- attention to detail
- researching
- working with numbers
- problem solving
- working with technology
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Accounting
Administration and Information Technology
Computing Science
Economics
Maths (Mathematics)
Foundation Apprenticeship: Accountancy
Applications of Mathematics
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
Entry requirements for courses can change. Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you’ll need.
There are different ways to get qualified for this job. You could go to college or university or through work-based qualifications, such as Apprenticeships.
This is a FinTech job requiring skills, ability and experience in both finance and technology. Many financial analysts are graduates, with employers looking for degrees in Finance, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics based subjects.
If your degree is in an unrelated subject, a postgraduate qualification in a financial-related subject can improve your employment chances, such as an MSc in a subject such as risk or investment or an MSc in financial markets which provides the main concepts of finance and the analytical tools used within the industry.
There are also opportunities to get qualifications from and membership of relevant financial professional organisations which can make you more employable and enhance your cv and job applications.
While not all employers list specific qualification requirements they do ask for relevant experience, usually work based, that demonstrates a range of transferable skills.
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