Skill set required for a budget analyst:

A budget analyst requires an excellent skill set to perform their work skillfully. The following are the required skills to become a budget analyst.

• The budget analysts should possess excellent communication skills (written and oral) as they prepare the budget presentations and proposals.
• They should be ready to work under the strict time schedule.
• He should have the capacity to maintain the work ethics at all times.
• They should posses a good computational accuracy in budget spreadsheet preparations.
• They should possess good command on computer literacy to make use of automatic accounting in budget planning’s.
• They should also possess strong interpersonal skills to deal with various clients and departmental heads.
• They should have a good command over Microsoft applications.
• They should possess outstanding organizational skills.
• They should possess the multitasking ability to do various duties at a time efficiently.
• They should have enough knowledge to understand the general ledger.
• They should also possess the skills in advanced techniques of budget trends.
• They should have the ability to use spreadsheets, software packages, financial analysis, graphic programs, data mining, database etc.
• They should have good problem solving skills.
• They should be able to take spot decisions in some cases.
• They should possess outstanding analytical skills to analyze any situation and act accordingly.
• They should be aware of latest business and budget trends to act accordingly.
• They should have an excellent command over financial subjects to make the best financial analysis.

Certificate and Licensure of a budget analyst:

• It is very essential for a budget analyst to get certified. There are several certification programs available for budget analysts to improve their skill set.
• The certification programs help the budget analysts to gain knowledge on various latest budget programs.
• The candidates who want to get certified should possess a bachelor degree along with coursework in financial management (24 credit hours), professional working experience (2 years) in financial management of any government sector.
• In order to get certified, the budget analysts have to pass three exams which include the topics of financial reporting, governmental environment, and governmental accounting and financial analysis.
• The budget analysts should complete (80 hours of) continuous and professional education for every 2 years.
• Federal government and most of the companies will not demand any certification for a budget analyst.
• Entry level budget analysts will be provided course programs on work by the companies they join and they certify their working experience.
• The budget analysts who are working in government sectors can become certified financial manager by getting certified.
• The budget analyst can also get certified as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) by applying for chartered financial analyst certification.
• They can also get certified as Certified Financial Planner by applying for its certification and completing the required coursework.
• The budget analysts can also get certified as Certified Public Assistant (CPA) by applying for its certification and completing the required coursework.
• The budget analysts can also join the professional associations like American Association for Budget & program analysis. This association helps the analysts in improving their knowledge on budget planning and meeting their challenges of the job.

About budget analyst:

A budget analyst is one who prepares, analyzes, develops and involves in the implementation of the organization/company budget. They plan the budget of the organization by considering the future fiscal needs. They deal with the higher authorities and managers of all the departments of the organization.

The primary function of a budget analyst is to review the financial plans of a company. These budget analysts estimate the financial needs of a firm/organization and plan the budget accordingly. They work for government agencies, private businesses and non-profit organizations.

In the private segment, the budget analyst analyzes the budgets, improves the efficiency and works industriously to enhance profits. The budget analysts conduct new training programs and develop many new budget measures. They validate the fiscal budgets at all the levels of the company beginning from the unit stage to the corporate stages. They prepare the capital budgets and present them to the management of the company for approval. They must also identify the budget of various departments of the company and analyze accordingly by estimating the forthcoming financial needs. They also assist the department heads in validating the difference between budget and actual. They prepare and maintain the timely reports of the budgets to submit them to the higher authorities. They are also involved in assisting the financial department heads by creating the budget models.

The budget analysts compile all the accounting records and the required financial data to design and implement a new financial program.

Important duties and responsibilities of a budget analyst:

A budget analyst has various duties and responsibilities to do. The following are the list of duties and responsibilities of a budget analyst.

Duties of a budget analyst:

• Analyze the monthly accounting and budgeting reports of every department to sustain the expenditure controls.
• Develops and maintains the special and regular budget reports.
• Receives the various budget estimates of all the sectors of the company and examines the budget estimations for correctness and completeness.
• Studies the budget reports of previous years and checks the losses and benefits occurred due to them.
• Suggests suitable modifications to the existing budget plan in order to improve efficiency and profits.
• Consolidates the required data to prepare budget presentations.
• They provide an overview of fiscal status of various operations of the organization to the higher management officials.
• Renders several financial advices to the higher authorities of various operations to make perfect financial planning.
• Monitors the budget of all through the year.
• Evaluates the amendments and discrepancies that occur in the budget of entire financial year.

Responsibilities of a budget analyst:

• The primary responsibility of a budget analyst is to project the future fiscal requirements by considering the various future projects of the organization.
• They are also responsible for analyzing the cost benefits, studying the financial requests and researches on various funding procedures for the organization.
• The budget analysts are responsible for reviewing the financial and operational proposals that are submitted by the department heads and managers.
• They are responsible to summarize the budget figures by combining the budgets of individual departments.
• They look after the procedures and policies of the allocating funds from various other organizations.
• They reallocate the excess funds if any deficit occurs in the funds.
• They are responsible to deal perfectly with the tools such as spreadsheet, software of financial analysis and database.
• They are also responsible to assist the chief financial operating officer (CFO) in making financial alternatives.
• They are responsible to employ various financial models like ‘cost benefit analysis’, alternative funding options etc.

Educational requirements to become a budget analyst:

A budget analyst must be well qualified and should possess a good educational background to do his job efficiently.

The following are the educational requirements of a budget analyst:

• A budget analyst typically requires a bachelor’s degree for the entry-level position.
• The master’s degree with the specializations like finance, statistics, accounts, economics, public administration acts as an additional plus to the budget analyst to do their job more efficiently.
• They should have a good command on numerical, analytical, financial planning and mathematical skills.
• Some organizations hire the candidates only who have master’s degree with specialization in finance and accounts.
• Some companies prefer to hire the candidates who have working experience in analytical positions.
• At the entry-level, the budget analyst learns their job work by undergoing the complete budget cycle.
• This budget cycle will be period of one year during which the budget analyst turn more familiar with several procedures involving in the budgeting process.
• Most of the budget analysts take professional courses throughout the careers to meet the challenges.
• Some firms demand for the candidates who have strong background in policy analysis, analytical and quantitative skills.
• The candidates who have much interest in dealing financial issues are the right persons to apply for budget analyst job.
• In some cases, some organizations accept the candidate who substitutes formal education with work experience in finance and budget related fields.
• The budget analyst own a wide range of employment opportunities in both private and government sectors such as federal, state and local governments.

Salary and remuneration of a budget analyst:

• The median salary of a budget analyst is around $65,000 per annum as per the survey of Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The entry-level budget analyst will make a salary of $42,000 per annum.
• The top ten percent budget analysts will be earning around $100,000.
• The salary of a budget analyst varies with various factors such as experience, geographical location, industry type, employer type, certification etc.
• The salary of a budget analyst with the working experience of less than a year is $34,685- $60,948.
• The salary of a budget analyst with the experience of 1-4 years is in the range $36,888- $66,785.
• The salary of a budget analyst with the experience of 5-9 years is in the range $40,613- $88,335.
• The salary of a budget analyst with the experience of 10-19 years is in the range $44,229- $98,960.
• The salary of a budget analyst with the experience of more than twenty years is in the range $50,109- $103,652.
• The budget analysts will be employed in various sectors such as companies, state& local government, Federal government, colleges/universities, private/practice firms, hospitals, etc.
• The budget analysts who are employed in federal government will earn in the range $41,427- $113,314.
• The budget analysts who are employed in college/universities will earn in the range $35,622- $65,462.
• The budget analysts who are working in hospitals will earn around $41,443- $68,288.
• The budget analysts who are working in private/practice firms will get the salary between $34,248- $75,243.
• The budget analysts who are working in state & local government sectors will earn in the range $38,498- $80,869.
• The budget analyst who are employed in armed/military forces will get the salary in the range $37,553- $119,311.
• The budget analysts who are working for business analysis and research services will get the salary in the range $40,000- $91,278.
• The budget analysts who are working for financial services will earn in the range $38,939- $90,128.
• The budget analysts who have business certificate will earn a salary of $34,595- $97,000.