Alternate Title(s) | Financial Analyst |
Minimum Education Requirements | Bachelor's degree |
Salary | See Bureau of Labor Statistics for more information |
Job Skills | - Analytical skills. Budget analysts must be able to process a variety of information, evaluate costs and benefits, and solve complex problems. - Communication skills. Budget analysts need strong communication skills because they often have to explain and defend their analyses and recommendations in meetings and legislative committee hearings. - Detail oriented. Creating an efficient budget requires careful analysis of each budget item. - Math skills. Most budget analysts need math skills and should be able to use certain software, including spreadsheets, database functions, and financial analysis programs. - Writing skills. Budget analysts must present technical information in writing that is understandable for the intended audience. |
Job Duties | Budget analysts typically do the following: - Work with program and project managers to develop the organization's budget - Review managers' budget proposals for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with laws and other regulations - Combine all the program and department budgets together into a consolidated organizational budget and review all funding requests for merit - Explain their recommendations for funding requests to others in the organization, legislators, and the public - Help the chief operations officer, agency head, or other top managers analyze proposed plans and find alternatives if the projected results are unsatisfactory - Monitor organizational spending to ensure that it is within budget - Inform program managers of the status and availability of funds - Estimate future financial needs |
Job Profile | Budget analysts help public and private institutions organize their finances. They prepare budget reports and monitor institutional spending. Budget analysts advise various institutions—including governments, universities, and businesses—on how to organize their finances. They prepare annual and special reports and evaluate budget proposals. They analyze data to determine the costs and benefits of various programs and recommend funding levels based on their findings. Sometimes, budget analysts use cost-benefit analyses to review financial requests, assess program tradeoffs, and explore alternative funding methods. Budget analysts also may examine past budgets and research economic and financial developments that affect the organization's income and expenditures. Budget analysts may recommend program spending cuts or redistributing extra funds. Throughout the year, budget analysts oversee spending to ensure compliance with the budget and determine whether changes to funding levels are needed for certain programs. Analysts also evaluate programs to determine whether they are producing the desired results. |
The information presented within this occupational profile was synthesized from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Handbook of Occupational Groups & Families.