Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:
Describe the purpose and function of financial management in an organization
Scenario
You’ve been an entry-level financial analyst for six months. Your supervisor plans to fill another entry-level financial analyst position on your team. Your supervisor has asked you to create a job aid about the financial analyst role. The purpose of the job aid is to help the new hire move smoothly into the role. The job aid must describe the responsibilities of a financial analyst. It must also describe the impact the role has on a business.
Directions
Create a job aid for a new hire to an entry-level financial analyst position. Your job aid should be thorough. But it should also be easy to understand for someone new to the field of finance. You’ll use the Project One Financial Analyst Job Aid template (linked in the What to Submit section) to complete this assignment.
In your job aid, you’ll give a general overview of financial management and its importance to a business. Specifically, you must address the following:
Financial Responsibilities: Describe the responsibilities of a financial analyst.
Write five to seven bullet points outlining the responsibilities a financial analyst has. Use complete sentences.
Financial Management Decisions: Discuss the importance of analyzing and managing finances to help make business decisions. Give examples to support your claims.
Consider the bullet points you outlined in the previous section. Then write a brief paragraph that answers the following questions. Use examples to support your claims.
How do those responsibilities help inform management decisions?
What would happen if management didn’t have this information?
Accounting Principles: Explain how to use accounting principles to analyze a business’s financial health. Give examples to support your claims.
Write a brief paragraph that explains how financial analysts use accounting principles to analyze a business’s financial health. In your paragraph, also answer the following questions:
What accounting information do financial analysts use?
What would happen if that information was not available or was not accurate?
Financial Statements: Describe how to use financial statements to help businesses make finance-related decisions. Give examples to support your claims.
Think about how financial analysts identify the information contained in financial statements. Then write a brief paragraph that answers the following questions. Use examples to support your claims.
What do financial analysts need to do their job?
What types of finance-related business decisions would this information help businesses to make?
Financial Terminology: Explain how a financial analyst uses key financial terms every day. Make sure your response is clear and easy to understand.
Define each term listed below. Then, for each term, write one or two sentences showing how a financial analyst might use the term. In your response, imagine the analyst is communicating with management, helping them make an important decision.
Financial statement
Liquidity
Working capital
Diversification
Time value of money
