Senior Financial Analyst

Job Purpose

The Senior Finance Analyst is a key member of the Finance team, responsible for financial planning, analysis and reporting across whynow. The role covers budgeting and forecasting for our artist merchandise business, Studios and our media brands, and gives the Senior Leadership Team a clear view of performance by business line, brand and artist.

We are looking for someone with 3–5 years of experience in financial analysis or FP&A who can work independently, build robust financial models, and turn financial data into clear insight that helps leadership make informed decisions on pricing, investment, new artist partnerships and growth. The postholder will work closely with the merchandise, production, media and commercial teams across the business, and with our accounting colleagues in the US and Germany.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Reporting & Analysis responsibilities:

• Prepare and analyse monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements and management reports for the group and its business lines
• Monitor financial performance against budget, forecast and targets, investigate variances and explain the drivers to budget holders and the Senior Leadership Team
• Produce performance reporting by business line, brand, artist and sales channel, working with the Cost Accountant on product and channel margins
• Develop and maintain KPI reporting and management information, using BI tools where appropriate

Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning responsibilities:

• Support and coordinate the annual budget and rolling forecasts, bringing together inputs from merchandise, Studios, media and central teams
• Support long-range financial planning and cash flow forecasting
• Reflect the effect of sterling exchange-rate movements and multi-currency trading in budgets and forecasts

Financial Modelling & Commercial Support responsibilities:

• Build and maintain financial models to evaluate business scenarios and investment opportunities, including new artist partnerships, product launches and production commissions
• Partner with cross-functional teams to provide financial guidance and analysis on pricing, contracts and commercial proposals
• Assist in the preparation of board and executive-level presentations

Controls & Process Improvement responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance with internal controls, accounting policies and regulatory requirements, including UK GAAP (FRS 102)
• Support the year-end and statutory audit process with analysis and schedules as required
• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes and reporting efficiency, including automating recurring reports

International Support

• Work with a multinational accounting team across the US + EU (Germany) to align reporting, budgeting and forecasting practices across the whynow group
• Consolidate and analyse results from international entities to give a group-wide view of performance
• Identify cross national opportunities to improve profitability, including synergies across group entities

Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience

Essential :

• Part-qualified or actively working towards a finance qualification (ACA / ACCA / CIMA)
• 3–5 years of experience in financial analysis, FP&A or a similar role
• Strong proficiency in Excel and financial modelling, including scenario models, lookups and pivot tables
• Solid understanding of relevant financial reporting standards (UK GAAP, FRS 102, IFRS)
• Excellent analytical, communication and problem-solving skills

Desirable :

• Experience with accounting systems such as Xero or QuickBooks
• Familiarity with BI tools such as Tableau or Looker
• Experience working in the music, media or merchandise industry
• An interest in music and media

Personal qualities :

• Analytical, and goes beyond reporting a variance to explaining why it happened and what should change
• Able to run reporting and forecasting cycles independently and to know when to escalate
• Comfortable working with non-finance colleagues and presenting financial information clearly to senior stakeholders
• Accurate and well organised, producing analysis and models that stand up to scrutiny
• Commercially aware, with an understanding of what drives revenue, margin and cash across a multi-business group
• Using own initiative and demonstrating commitment to the overall vision of the company

Working pattern: 4 days in the office (hybrid)