The Financial Analyst leads stock-based compensation (SBC) financial planning and analysis for a large, complex organization. This role owns end-to-end SBC forecasting, modeling, and reporting, supports monthly and quarterly close activities, and delivers executive-level insights to leadership. The position combines deep technical finance and accounting expertise with advanced data analysis, automation, and business intelligence skills to drive forecast accuracy, process improvements, and high-quality decision support in a fast-paced environment.
Responsibilities
- Provide business partner finance support to FP&A leaders across multiple business organizations for stock-based compensation (SBC) modeling, planning, analysis, and reporting.
- Manage SBC FP&A deliverables for month-end and quarter-end financial close, including preparing and reviewing accounting entries related to SBC with a high degree of accuracy.
- Lead SBC planning activities for risk and opportunity assessments and operational planning cycles (e.g., OP1/OP2), ensuring assumptions are clearly documented and aligned with business expectations.
- Maintain and manage the SBC planning calendar and key assumptions that drive forecast accuracy, updating them as business conditions and compensation decisions evolve.
- Dive deep into financial and operational data to serve as the subject matter expert on SBC, identifying trends, patterns, and drivers that impact forecasts and actuals.
- Conduct simulations and scenario analyses to assess the impact of proposed SBC plan or policy changes on operating expenses and overall financial performance.
- Partner with compensation, central science, and technology teams to develop and refine SBC forecast models that quantify the cost impact of compensation design and accounting assumption changes.
- Generate executive-level reports, bridges, and supplemental presentation materials for leaders, including VP, CFO, CEO, leadership team, and board-level meetings.
- Create clear, concise dashboards and presentations that communicate SBC trends, variances, and insights in an accessible and actionable manner.
- Collaborate with Accounting on a quarterly basis to set key forfeiture rate assumptions used for both SBC planning and expense recognition.
- Continuously monitor SBC financial plans and adjust assumptions based on trend analysis, headcount targets, and compensation decisions.
- Provide ad hoc analysis and decision support to executive leadership and business finance teams on SBC trends, variances, and targeted inquiries.
- Build and enhance reports that explain SBC trends and variances, ensuring stakeholders understand key drivers and implications.
- Respond to questions from business and finance teams, including detailed email responses and explanations on specific SBC trends and issues.
- Run and oversee the month-end and quarter-end close processes for SBC, including reconciliations and review of Amazon-level consolidated reports for management.
- Review, design, and recommend process mechanics that improve forecast accuracy and streamline SBC planning and reporting.
- Partner with technology teams to design and implement automated solutions for recurring analysis, reporting, and data access related to SBC.
- Lead or contribute to automation projects that leverage AI and business intelligence tools to produce automated commentary, generate reports, and summarize SBC trends efficiently.
Essential Skills
- Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or accounting.
- 7–10+ years of experience in finance, accounting, or related fields, with significant exposure to stock-based compensation.
- Deep experience with stock-based compensation and restricted stock units (RSUs), including accounting treatment, forecasting, and analysis.
- Strong stock-based compensation accounting skills and experience in compensation analysis and forecasting.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex financial modeling and data analysis.
- Hands-on experience with SQL for querying and manipulating large data sets.
- Experience with Python for data analysis, automation, or model development.
- Experience with Microsoft Access or similar database tools for managing and analyzing financial data.
- Strong financial modeling skills with the ability to build, maintain, and refine complex forecast models.
- Proven ability to influence leadership through clear analysis, persuasive communication, and data-driven recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear insights for non-technical stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- High attention to detail and accuracy, particularly in reviewing and posting accounting entries and preparing consolidated reports.
- Experience using business intelligence and automation tools to work more