Senior Finance & Expense Analyst

Company: Northwestern Mutual
Location: Milwaukee
Posted on: March 26, 2025

Job Description:

At Northwestern Mutual, we are strong, innovative and growing. We invest in our people. We care and make a positive difference. Summary Support the Company's overall expense management process, focusing on ensuring optimal use of Company resources and ultimately protecting or maintaining product value and financial strength either at the corporate level or for an assigned function/department. Develop timely and accurate expense reporting and provide value-added expense management consultation and analysis. This includes consulting with business partners and building financial models to evaluate strategic decisions, providing complex financial analysis, developing forecasts and budgets, comparing expectations to peers and/or internal expectations, evaluating and presenting options and prioritizing solutions across the company. Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Interacts with executive officers, department heads, and other members of senior management to provide meaningful expense management consultation and analysis and presents recommendations to aid in decision-making.
• Proactively identifies issues and facilitates discussions to resolve those issues across functions and departments.
• Independently meets with managers and directors to understand department operations and resulting cost structure.
• Coordinates monthly reporting of all expenses to meet financial reporting needs of the department.
• Monitors spend, develops forecasts and budgets and analyzes expense results.
• Applies creativity and innovation in identifying process improvements and other opportunities for the function/departments to better manage expenses or reduce spend.
• Responsible for building complex financial models to predict and understand the business as well as actual results. Understand cost drivers, internal metrics, unit costs and benchmarking for tracking and comparing results.
• Challenge assumptions made in forecasts and projections.
• Make connections to understand and integrate internal best practices to best support overall business objectives.
• Assures that all expense activity follows the appropriate accounting controls, policies and procedures and is appropriately accounted for on the general ledger in compliance with statutory and/or GAAP accounting standards.
• May be responsible for developing strategies to best utilize systems and maintaining expertise over financial reporting systems (Such as PeopleSoft, IBM TM1 system, Apptio, or Project Portfolio Management).
• May be responsible for corporate expense projections, metrics, accounting for payroll, fixed assets and intercompany charges between NM and its subsidiaries, procure to pay process or other corporate processes.
• Leads special projects and assignments related to expense management, product line allocations, financial reporting, process improvements, or other projects as requested by division leaders.
• Collaborates with other enterprise resources in Human Resources, Corporate Strategy or Planning Coordinators. Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or related degree with accounting emphasis preferred.
  • Typically, 5 or more years of financial management experience and/or financial planning and analysis experience.
  • Strong analytical, planning, organization, budgeting, problem solving, negotiation, oral and written communication skills are essential to this role.
  • Ability to develop and interpret financial models for complex analysis.
  • Demonstrated ability to make effective decisions and influence without authority at all levels of leadership.
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage multiple assignments concurrently while effectively prioritizing.
  • Ability to develop and present recommendations to management.
  • Ability to build rapport and acceptance at different levels of management and across various departments.
  • CPA or CMA designation is preferred. Skills-Proficiency Level: Accounting - Expert Budgeting - Intermediate Consulting - Basic Cost Forecasting - Intermediate Expense Management - Intermediate Financial Analysis - Expert Financial Modeling - Advanced Financial Reporting - Intermediate Financial Reporting Systems - Advanced Negotiation - Intermediate Process Improvements - Basic Reconciliations - Intermediate Strategic Decisions - Basic #LI-Hybrid Compensation Range: Pay Range - Start: $68,320.00 Pay Range - End: $126,880.00 Northwestern Mutual pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement in the salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. At Northwestern Mutual, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. Please note that the salary range listed in the posting is the standard pay structure. Positions in certain locations (such as California) may provide an increase on the standard pay structure based on the location. Please c lick here for additional information relating to location-based pay structures. Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our client's interests at the center of all we do. Get started now! We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you work or would be working in California, Colorado, New York City, Washington or outside of a Corporate location, please click here for information pertaining to compensation and benefits. FIND YOUR FUTUREWe're excited about the potential people bring to Northwestern Mutual. You can grow your career here while enjoying first-class perks, benefits, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. -
    • Flexible work schedules
    • Concierge service
    • Comprehensive benefits
    • Employee resource groupsPandoLogic. Category:Finance, Keywords:Travel and Expense Specialist, Location:Milwaukee, WI-53205

Keywords: Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee , Senior Finance & Expense Analyst, Professions , Milwaukee, Wisconsin