Lead Analyst - FP&A

Principal Global Services; Pune District; Hybrid; INR 1,400,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Principal Global Services seeks a Lead Analyst– Financial Planning & Analysis to partner with SCBU FP&A, drive the budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes, and deliver actionable insights for senior leadership. The role requires shaping analytics, collaborating across units, and delivering timely financial insights.

The position emphasizes strong Excel/Office skills, Lean/Six Sigma exposure, and a background in BFSI with 4+ years of industry experience.

Qualifications

• Preferred educational background: Master’s degree / Professional Degree / Relevant Industry Certification
• Master’s degree / Professional Degree / Industry Certification preferred
• Chartered Accountant or MBA Finance preferred
• Proven track record in a complex finance & accounting function for medium/large scale operations
• Knowledge & experience of transitions and transformation for Finance & Accounting domain
• Advance Excel, MS Office, Financial & reporting applications skills
• Must have good knowledge and experience in Operational Excellence environment as Project Lead; Lean/Six Sigma certifications are a plus
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; strong communication and interpersonal abilities

Responsibilities

• Support FP&A, Management Reporting, Forecasting, and ad-hoc projects; model financial results and link initiatives to outcomes
• Collect forecast and actual data from diverse units to support value analysis
• Gather, validate, and prep data for deeper analysis from multiple sources
• Provide analytics on performance metrics, income statement, and balance sheet drivers
• Redesign processes and reports to improve efficiency and adapt to business needs
• Develop standardized data submission templates and processes for consistency
• Collaborate with other teams across the department and enterprise to share best practices
• Gain deep knowledge of the company’s financial data structures and tools to support reporting
• Manage projects and workload independently with prioritized responsibilities
• Demonstrate presentation and data visualization skills

Skills

Advanced Excel

MS Office

Data analysis

Presentation skills

Influencing/communication

Education

Master’s degree / Professional Degree / Industry Certification

Chartered Accountant or MBA Finance

Tools

Reporting applications

Job description

What You'll Do

Lead Analyst– Financial Planning & Analysis

About Principal: understand who we are

With more than 19,000 employees worldwide, Principal helps people and companies in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America build and protect their financial well-being. We have been doing this for 145 years. A FORTUNE 500 company, we are known for our innovative ideas and real-life solutions that help customers make financial progress, no matter their income or portfolio size.

Principal Global Services (PGS) is the global business services (GBS) for Principal Financial group with offices in India and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.principal.com Follow us on Xcorp (previously Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Job Purpose: this section helps you understand the business and provides high level summary of the role

Lead Analyst– Financial Planning & Analysis will be part of PGS Finance - Financial Planning & Analysis Team (Enterprise / Corporate Finance). This role will be a strategic partner in the financial planning, analysis, and reporting processes for Service Center Business Units (SCBUs). This role is responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure to track, monitor, and report on some of the organizations largest initiatives and delivering actionable insights to leaders and executive management, including the CFO working group. The role will also partner closely with SCBU FPA team and cross BU finance contacts.

Essential deliverables: the section helps understand the job ownership and accountability

• Support FP&A, Management Reporting, Forecasting, Project/Ad-hoc work. Modeling of financial results and ability to link initiatives to the results.
• Execute the collection of forecast and actuals data from various business units to support value analysis.
• Collect, aggregate, and perform initial validation of data from diverse sources, preparing it for deeper analysis.
• Provide analytical support related to performance metrics, income statement and balance sheet activity. Evaluate actuals and forecast and the key drivers of variances.
• Redesign processes and reports to optimize efficiency and align with changing business needs.
• Develop and maintain standardized data submission templates and processes to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Work collaboratively with other teams across the department and the Enterprise to share best practices and deliver on strategic and financial initiatives.
• Gain deep knowledge of the company’s financial data structure and tools to support reporting needs across specific SCBUs.
• Manage projects and workload independently. Ability to prioritize and manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
• Presentation & data visualization skills

Leadership at Principal

As a leader at Principal, you are responsible for driving our strategy, meeting evolving customer needs, and creating an inclusive culture. Our Leadership expectations are our guide to the standards expected from all our leaders. Our leaders need to be a positive brand ambassador of our core values and purpose. They need to understand our code of conduct and know the responsibility to comply. They stay respectful of diversity and differences and work towards building inclusive teams and partnerships.

Who You Are

Qualifications-Certifications-Relevant Work Experience

Preferred educational background:

Master’s degree / Professional Degree / Relevant Industry Certification

Preferably Chartered Accountant or MBA Finance

Proven track record of working in complex Finance & Accounting function for medium/large scale operations

knowledge & experience of transitions and transformation (process, digital, etc) for Finance & Accounting domain

Advance Excel, MS Office, Financial & reporting applications skills and experience

Must have a good knowledge and experience of working in Operational Excellence environment as Project Lead, certification in any of the improvement methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, etc. is mandatory

Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and inspire others.

Total years of industry experience: Minimum 4 years’ experience (preferably in BFSI Industry, either in GCC / service provider environment)

Reporting Relationships

This role reports to: Senior Manager/Associate Director

Flexibility Option and Base Location

Principal offers modern hybrid working arrangements that allow all employees to adapt to changing work preferences.

Flexibility Option for the role: Hybrid, 3 days in-office with flexible work hours.

Shift: Comfortable working US hours (6:00PM to 3:00AM IST) only during process transfer period of 4 – 6months initially and subsequently during quarter ends.

Base Location: Pune, India