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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Internal Analyst

💰 $ - $

Internal AnalystAnalysisBusiness IntelligenceRisk & Compliance

🎯 Role Definition

The Internal Analyst plays a central role in monitoring, interpreting, and improving internal processes, controls, and performance. Working closely with finance, operations, risk, and business stakeholders, the Internal Analyst delivers data-driven insights, designs and tracks KPIs, supports compliance and audit activities, and drives process improvement and cost-savings initiatives. This role blends analytical rigor, stakeholder communication, and operational execution to strengthen governance and accelerate business outcomes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Business Analyst transitioning from operational reporting and process improvement.
  • Financial Analyst with experience in budgeting, variance analysis, and internal reporting.
  • Internal Auditor or Compliance Associate moving into ongoing internal monitoring.

Advancement To:

  • Senior Internal Analyst — lead cross-functional analytical projects and mentor junior analysts.
  • Internal Audit Manager / Manager, Internal Controls — manage audit cycles and control frameworks.
  • Head of Internal Controls / Director of Risk & Compliance — set enterprise-wide risk and compliance strategy.

Lateral Moves:

  • Data Analyst or Business Intelligence Analyst — deeper focus on analytics platforms and dashboards.
  • Process Improvement Manager or Continuous Improvement Lead — focus on operational redesign and Lean/Six Sigma initiatives.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Conduct end-to-end internal reviews of business processes and control environments, documenting current-state workflows, identifying control gaps, and recommending prioritized remediation actions tied to measurable outcomes.
  • Develop, maintain and report on a robust set of KPIs and performance dashboards (financial, operational, compliance) using tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Excel to provide executives and business partners with timely, actionable insights.
  • Perform complex data extraction, transformation, and analysis using SQL, Python, R, or advanced Excel to identify trends, anomalies, outliers, and root causes that impact revenue, costs, and operational risk.
  • Lead cross-functional deep-dive analyses into variance explanations, cost drivers, and process inefficiencies and synthesize findings into clear, executive-ready presentations and written recommendations.
  • Support periodic internal audits and external audit requests by preparing working papers, evidence packages, reconciliations, and narrative explanations that demonstrate control effectiveness and remediation progress.
  • Design and implement control testing schedules and sampling methodologies; execute tests of control and substantive procedures and document results in accordance with internal audit and compliance standards.
  • Partner with legal, compliance, finance, and operations teams to interpret regulatory requirements and translate them into practical internal controls and monitoring programs that reduce enterprise risk.
  • Build and maintain a prioritized internal controls register and remediation tracker, ensuring assigned owners, target dates, and verification steps are monitored and reported to stakeholders.
  • Drive process improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen) by mapping workflows, quantifying waste or risk exposure, piloting changes, and measuring post-implementation effects on cycle time and cost.
  • Create and deliver training materials, control guidance, and process documentation to business units to improve control awareness, standardize procedures, and sustain improvements.
  • Conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses to assess potential financial and operational impacts under various business conditions, supporting strategic decision-making and contingency planning.
  • Perform risk assessments across business units and processes to prioritize monitoring activities, estimate residual risk, and recommend risk mitigation strategies aligned to enterprise risk appetite.
  • Automate recurring reports and routine analyses through scripting, macros, or BI connectors to reduce manual effort, improve data accuracy, and accelerate reporting cadence.
  • Coordinate and drive remediation efforts for identified control deficiencies, including working with process owners to develop action plans, timelines, and validation steps, and escalate unresolved items to leadership as needed.
  • Facilitate cross-functional workshops to align stakeholders on root causes, proposed solutions, and expected benefits, and capture agreed-upon decisions and next steps with clear ownership.
  • Validate data sources, reconciliations, and master data integrity across financial and operational systems (ERP, CRM, payroll, procurement), ensuring analytics are based on reliable inputs.
  • Monitor compliance with internal policies, segregation of duties, and authorization matrices; identify exceptions and recommend corrective changes to reduce fraud and error risk.
  • Prepare executive summaries, board-level materials, and regulatory filings where required, translating technical analysis into concise, business-focused narratives and recommendations.
  • Participate in system implementations, upgrades, or configuration changes to ensure control points are built into solution design and that change-related risks are mitigated.
  • Maintain confidentiality and enforce data governance best practices, ensuring sensitive information is handled according to policy and access controls are documented and reviewed.
  • Conduct ad-hoc investigations into incidents, exceptions, or suspected non-compliance events, compiling evidence, documenting findings, and recommending corrective action plans.
  • Track industry benchmarks, regulatory changes, and emerging best practices to continuously evolve internal monitoring programs and ensure the organization remains compliant and efficient.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist in vendor risk assessments and third-party control reviews to ensure partners meet contractual and regulatory expectations.
  • Support the development and maintenance of policy documents, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and control matrices.
  • Provide backup support for month-end close reconciliations and control checklists during peak periods or staff absences.
  • Help create and maintain a central repository of controls documentation, audit artifacts, and historical analysis for knowledge retention and continuity.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced SQL skills for querying transactional databases and joining large datasets to validate controls and build analytics.
  • Proficiency with data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker for dashboarding and KPI reporting.
  • Strong Excel modeling skills, including pivot tables, Power Query, VBA/macros, and advanced formulas for reconciliation and ad-hoc analysis.
  • Experience with statistical analysis and scripting using Python, R, or similar tools for trend analysis, anomaly detection, and predictive modelling.
  • Knowledge of ERP and core business systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Salesforce) and the ability to reconcile system outputs to source data.
  • Familiarity with internal audit methodologies, control frameworks (COSO, SOX), and compliance testing procedures.
  • Experience designing and executing test plans, sampling techniques, and documenting audit evidence and findings.
  • Understanding of data governance principles, data lineage, master data management, and access control concepts.
  • Ability to use project management and collaboration tools (JIRA, Confluence, MS Project, Asana) to track remediation and project deliverables.
  • Financial literacy including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and P&L impact assessment.
  • Experience with process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, DMAIC) and process mapping tools (Visio, Lucidchart).

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present complex analysis in concise, executive-friendly language.
  • Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, able to build credibility across finance, operations, IT, and compliance teams.
  • Critical thinking and structured problem-solving skills with a focus on root cause analysis and sustainable remediation.
  • High attention to detail, accuracy, and documentation discipline to meet audit and regulatory standards.
  • Project and time management — able to balance multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and manage cross-functional dependencies.
  • Integrity, discretion, and a strong sense of confidentiality when handling sensitive information.
  • Adaptability and curiosity — willingness to learn new tools, systems, and evolving regulatory requirements.
  • Facilitation and workshop leadership skills to align diverse stakeholders and drive consensus on corrective actions.
  • Resilience and persistence to track long-running remediations and escalate issues when needed.
  • Coaching and mentoring ability to support junior analysts and embed best practices across teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Information Systems, Data Science, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Information Systems, Data Analytics, Finance, or related advanced degree.
  • Professional certifications such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), CPA, CISA, or Certified Data Analyst are highly desired.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance and Accounting
  • Business Analytics / Data Science
  • Information Systems / IT Audit
  • Operations Management
  • Risk & Compliance

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–6 years of relevant experience in internal analysis, internal audit, finance, business analytics, or operational risk.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years in roles involving control testing, process improvement, and stakeholder-facing analytical responsibilities.
  • Demonstrated experience supporting SOX or regulatory compliance programs, audit cycles, or enterprise risk functions.
  • Prior exposure to ERP implementations, BI tool deployments, or data governance initiatives is a plus.
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