Finance Analyst - Technology & Indirect Costs Support

Informagroupplc; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Informagroupplc is seeking a part-qualified Finance Analyst to support Technology & Indirect Costs, developing FP&A and business partnering skills in a dynamic publishing environment. You will work with Technology, IT, and Operations to analyse software licences, cloud services, IT infrastructure, and corporate overheads.

You will assist with budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis, delivering accurate reporting and insights to drive cost efficiency.

Qualifications

• Part-qualified accountant actively studying toward full qualification.
• Experience in FP&A, commercial finance, management accounting, or business partnering roles.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, or cost analysis.
• Exposure to working with operational or non-finance teams desirable.
• Experience in technology finance, IT cost management, or indirect cost analysis desirable.

Responsibilities

• Prepare monthly management accounts and variance analysis for technology cost centres.
• Support budgeting and forecast cycles with data from Technology, IT, and operations teams.
• Analyze technology costs, cloud services, infrastructure spend, and indirect costs.
• Report on KPIs including spend efficiency, cost per user, and licence optimization.
• Perform detailed variance analysis and explain drivers to stakeholders.
• Assist with cost tracking across projects, software implementations, and infrastructure upgrades.
• Support technology investment analysis including ROI calculations and post-implementation reviews.
• Analyze vendor performance, licensing costs, and cloud service expenses.
• Assist with indirect cost allocation and reporting across the business.
• Identify opportunities to automate reporting and improve processes.

Skills

Excel

Variance analysis

Cost allocation

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Education

Part-qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)

Studying towards full qualification

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

The Finance Analyst - Technology & Indirect Costs Support will provide analytical and reporting support to the Senior Finance Business Partner covering technology operations and indirect cost base. This is an excellent opportunity for a part-qualified finance professional to develop their FP&A and business partnering skills in a dynamic publishing environment, working closely with Technology, IT, and Operations teams and gaining exposure to diverse cost structures including technology investment analysis, software licensing management, cloud services, IT infrastructure costs, and indirect cost management across facilities, professional services, and corporate overheads.

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Reporting: Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts, variance analysis, and financial reports for technology cost centres (including software licences, cloud services, IT infrastructure, and digital platforms) and indirect costs, highlighting key trends and variances for stakeholder review.
• Budget & Forecast Support: Support the annual budgeting process and monthly forecasting cycles by gathering data from Technology, IT, and operational teams, preparing detailed cost centre budgets, and maintaining forecast models across all technology and indirect cost lines.
• Data Analysis: Conduct detailed analysis of technology costs (software subscriptions, cloud services, infrastructure spend, digital platform costs), facilities expenses, professional services fees, and corporate overheads, identifying trends, anomalies, and opportunities for cost savings or efficiency improvements.
• Performance Metrics: Maintain and report on key performance indicators including technology spend efficiency, cost per user, platform utilisation rates, software licence optimisation, cloud service consumption, and indirect cost management metrics, providing regular updates to the Senior Finance Business Partner.
• Variance Analysis: Prepare detailed variance analysis comparing actual costs to budget and forecast, investigating significant variances and working with Technology and operational teams to understand drivers and develop explanations.
• Cost Tracking: Monitor and track costs across technology projects, software implementations, cloud migrations, infrastructure upgrades, and indirect cost centres, ensuring accurate cost capture and allocation in the financial systems.
• Technology Investment Analysis: Support the analysis of technology investment business cases, including ROI calculations, benefit tracking, and post-implementation reviews, providing data to support decision‑making on new platforms, system upgrades, and digital tools.
• Vendor & Contract Analysis: Support the analysis of technology vendor performance, software licensing arrangements, cloud service provider costs, and service contracts, providing data to support procurement negotiations and contract reviews.
• Indirect Cost Allocation: Assist with the allocation and reporting of indirect costs across the business, supporting transparent cost distribution methodologies and accurate product and customer profitability analysis.
• System & Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to improve financial reporting processes, automate routine tasks, and enhance the quality and timeliness of financial information related to technology and indirect costs.
• Ad Hoc Analysis: Respond to ad hoc requests for financial analysis and business case support from the Senior Finance Business Partner and Technology/operational stakeholders, developing analytical skills across diverse topics including digital transformation initiatives.

Required Qualifications

Education Requirements

• Part-qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent) - Essential
• Actively studying towards full qualification with clear progression plan

Professional Experience

• Demonstrable experience in FP&A, commercial finance, management accounting, or business partnering roles
• Experience with financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, or cost analysis
• Exposure to working with operational or non-finance teams (desirable)
• Experience in technology finance, IT cost management, or indirect cost analysis (desirable but not essential)

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, formulas, data analysis)
• Working knowledge of ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or similar)
• Familiarity with financial reporting and data visualisation tools (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent) - desirable
• Understanding of management accounting principles including cost allocation, variance analysis, and accruals
• Strong numerical & analytical skills with high attention to detail

Industry Knowledge

• Interest in or awareness of technology operations, digital transformation and IT infrastructure
• Understanding of cost accounting and overhead allocation principles (desirable)
• Familiarity with SaaS, cloud services and software licensing models (desirable)

Key Competencies and Skills

• Analytical Skills: Strong analyti