Financial Analyst

Role Overview

The Financial Analyst will report directly to the COO and own both the organization’s financial analysis and its day-to-day accounting. Roughly half of the role involves financial analysis — building and maintaining the operating budget and scenarios, running monthly budget-to-actual variance analysis, forecasting cash flow, and providing leadership with clear guidance on cost and expense risks and opportunities. The remaining half is hands-on accounting — daily bookkeeping in QuickBooks, journal entries, monthly reconciliations, the close, and financial statement preparation.

This split is approximate and flexes with the calendar — heavier on accounting at month-end and audit time, heavier on analysis during budgeting and board cycles.

This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who is genuinely strong in analysis and equally comfortable keeping accurate books. You will be a close thought partner to leadership, helping a mission-driven organization plan wisely and steward every dollar.

About Scholars of Finance

Scholars of Finance is a rapidly growing organization on a mission to inspire character and integrity in the finance leaders of tomorrow. We seek to solve the world’s largest problems by investing in undergraduate students through leadership development, mentorship, and the active support of purpose-driven finance executives and investors.

Our members go on to join top firms, funds, and a lifelong support community that empowers them to spend their careers serving the greater good using one of the most powerful levers in the world: finance. Since hiring our first staff in 2019, we’ve raised millions of dollars, partnered with hundreds of finance leaders, and impacted thousands of students across top universities—and we’re just getting started.

We are a close-knit, high-performing, mission-driven team with an ambitious vision: a future where all finance leaders steward the world’s capital to serve the greater good.

Financial Analysis & Planning (FP&A) ~50%

• Build, maintain, and update the annual operating budget and multiple budget scenarios (base / upside / downside) for an ~$2.5M (and growing) organization
• Produce monthly budget-to-actual variance analysis; identify the drivers behind cost and expense movements and explain them clearly
• Surface cost and expense risks and opportunities to leadership, with recommended actions
• Maintain rolling forecasts and cash-flow projections so leadership always has a forward-looking view of runway and spend
• Prepare grant and program budgets and the related financial reporting
• Model the financial impact of new programs, hires, and initiatives; partner with budget owners to keep spending on plan
• Deliver clear reporting and dashboards to leadership and the board

Accounting & Bookkeeping ~50%

• Perform daily bookkeeping in QuickBooks — general ledger, accounts payable, and accounts receivable
• Record journal entries, including accruals, prepayments, deferrals, and amortization
• Complete monthly bank and credit-card reconciliations
• Run a timely, accurate monthly close and prepare financial statements
• Apply GAAP and non-profit fund-accounting standards (restricted vs. unrestricted)
• Support the annual audit and Form 990 with schedules and documentation
• Maintain internal controls and document accounting processes

• Give leadership a clear, trustworthy, forward-looking view to help grow a budget from $2.5M to $10M over the next several years
• Build cleaner, more scalable financial processes as the organization grows
• Turn accurate books into timely analysis that informs real decisions
• Surface cost and expense risks and opportunities before they become surprises

Financial Analysis

• Demonstrated FP&A capability — building budgets, multi-scenario models, and monthly variance analysis
• Ability to translate financial data into clear, actionable insight for non-financial leaders
• Advanced Google Sheets (pivot tables, lookups, budget models)

Accounting & Bookkeeping

• Demonstrated, hands-on daily bookkeeping, journal entries, and monthly reconciliations in QuickBooks
• Strong command of core accounting principles — accruals, prepayments, deferrals, and the matching principle
• Experience executing a monthly reconciliation and preparing financial statements

Mindset & Execution

• Exceptional attention to detail and accurate, audit-ready work
• Strong ownership and follow-through
• Discretion with sensitive financial information
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication

• 3–5 years of combined experience across financial analysis (FP&A) and accounting/bookkeeping
• Demonstrated daily bookkeeping, journal entries, and monthly reconciliations
• Fluency in QuickBooks and advanced spreadsheet skills
• Experience building budgets and running variance analysis
• Experience working remotely and across time zones
• Full professional fluency in English
• BA/BS in Accounting — or equivalent experience

• Deep alignment with Scholars of Finance’s mission and values
• Pride in accuracy, analytical rigor, and follow-through
• Willingness to contribute beyond your job description when the mission requires it
• Humility to both analyze and keep the books — no task is “beneath you”
• Courage to surface issues and suggest improvements, even when uncomfortable

• CPA, CMA, or progress toward certification
• Non-profit / fund accounting experience, including grant tracking and restricted-fund reporting
• Experience using the Claude system to gain efficiency
• Experience supporting an external audit and preparing Form 990 schedules
• Background working with nonprofits, startups, or mission-driven organizations
• Familiarity with finance, investing, or professional services environments