Business Analyst Sr

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that relate to this position.

The Enterprise Financial Planning & Analysis (EFP&A) department is seeking a Business Analyst Senior to join our enterprise planning team.  In this position, you will serve as a subject matter expert in planning and recharge processes. Our team provides support services to Business & Finance (B&F) which consists of central service departments including Finance, the Shared Service Center, University Human Resources and the Facilities & Operations units.  Certain duties extend across the University of Michigan (U-M) on an enterprise-wide basis, across all campuses.

As a consolidation point for a number of budget processes, including the Business & Finance (B&F) operating budget and the consolidated university budget, you'll interface independently with a broad cross-section of stakeholders to update and analyze their annual budget and actual results.  You'll develop deep knowledge of the budget model and will have the opportunity to use advanced Excel skills to develop more efficient ways to analyze and process data.  This position will give you the opportunity to see and understand university financial planning processes, while also requiring close attention to detail.  You will also be able to gain a broader understanding of university services by way of recharge rate submission analysis and review.

We are in search of a Business Analyst Senior to join our team in Enterprise Financial Planning & Analysis who will:

• Work directly with Business & Finance units to develop, review and analyze budgets, forecasts and unit financial performance reports.  Assist in report development and compilation; prepare financial and operational projections of activity and costs, analyze and interpret budget to actual variances and assist in developing accurate and timely internal reports.
• Review, analyze and approve university internal recharge rates to ensure compliance with Uniform Guidance and university policy.  Analyst will receive rate documentation from university units and will perform a thorough audit of that submission including validation of expenses and balances, formulas, and validation that the expenses included are allowable.
• Develop elements of the monthly B&F and Finance reports to senior leadership.
• Prepare consolidated B&F capital reports, monitor and report on reserve fund activities, and enter specific unit capital plans into budget tool for assigned units.
• Assist with additional projects potentially including B&F's budget memo preparation, and the university budget process.
• Support development of annual budget book and consolidated enterprise financial reports.  This position will be responsible for the consolidation of the auxiliary fund budget and the subsequent budget to actual analysis in this space.
• Will become knowledgeable with the Oracle EPM tool to generate reports and ad hoc analysis.  Will assist with and participate in training of users.
• This position will work directly with customers to develop concise financial/budget models.  This includes preparing narrative documents, clearly outlining the approach, analyses, assumptions and conclusions for business cases.  Will train and share best practices in budgeting and variance analysis.
• Perform analytical studies and conversion of data into concise understandable reports.  Leverage internal systems and data to answer questions and interpret data.  Build clear, understandable analyses/ models, documenting all assumptions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance with a thorough understanding of basic accounting and financial principles
• 5-8 years of professional experience
• Attention to detail, with emphasis on accuracy
• Ability to utilize spreadsheet software to model and analyze data
• Ability to interpret financial data, write reports, and present financial information
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to effectively communicate and work with a variety of individuals and units
• Capable of adapting to changing work assignments
• Budgeting and forecasting experience
• Experience with accrual accounting, journal entries, and account reconciliations
• Minimum intermediate level proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree and/or experience in a higher education business setting
• Reasonable knowledge of University of Michigan policies, rules and regulations
• Understanding of the M-Pathways system including the ability to retrieve required data using Business Objects and familiarity with nVision reporting
• Knowledge of fund accounting or generally accepted accounting (GAAP) principles
• Knowledge of university policies, operations rules and regulations, and business systems
• Ability to perform financial statement variance analysis and effectively and concisely communicate the results of that analysis

This is a full-time position, Monday through Friday. As part of the University of Michigan Finance Division Future of Work initiative, this position may work onsite, remote, or hybrid (both onsite work and remotely) based on the business needs of the unit. 

Please Note:

• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• Salary offers will be based upon the relevant qualifications, experience and education of the selected candidate.