FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS MANAGER in Chicago, Illinois at A Finkl & Sons Co

Position Summary

The Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Manager is responsible for leading the company’s financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and analytical activities to support strategic and operational decision-making. This role partners closely with operations, sales, supply chain, manufacturing leadership, and executive management to provide financial insights that drive profitability, cost control, and business performance.

In a manufacturing environment, the FP&A Manager plays a critical role in analyzing production costs, operational efficiency, inventory performance, capital expenditures, and financial trends while supporting long-term business planning initiatives.

Finkl has a unique manufacturing environment with a wide breadth of product lines, including tool steel and custom forgings. Learning and understanding the operation is integral to the success of this position.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Forecasting

• Lead the annual budgeting process and periodic forecasting activities across all departments and locations in the US.
• Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual financial forecasts, including revenue, labor, operating expenses, capital expenditures, and cash flow projections.
• Analyze variances between actual results, budget, and forecast and provide actionable recommendations to leadership.
• Construct monthly BU-level presentation explaining results and budget/forecast variance to corporate management and finance
• Support long-range strategic planning and financial modeling initiatives.

Financial Analysis & Reporting

• Coordinate with the IT team to build and interpret Power BI dashboards for operational improvement.
• Conduct profitability analysis by product line, customer, and industry.
• Participate in monthly financial statement review with Controller and CFO, providing insight into monthly and annual variances.
• Analyze manufacturing and operational performance metrics, including labor efficiency, raw material consumption, inventory turns, activity absorption, and overhead utilization.
• Develop ad hoc financial analyses to support strategic business decisions and operational improvements.
• Monitor and report on key trends affecting company performance and profitability.

Business Partnership & Operational Support

• Partner with operations, supply chain, sales, and production leadership to evaluate business performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Support pricing analysis, cost reduction initiatives, and margin improvement strategies.
• Assist with capital investment analysis and return-on-investment (ROI) evaluations of strategic initiatives.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Enhance financial reporting tools, forecasting models, and analytical capabilities.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives within financial planning and reporting processes.
• Ensure data integrity and consistency across ERP and financial systems.
• Assist in implementing automation and reporting efficiencies where applicable.

Compliance & Internal Controls

• Support internal and external audit processes as needed.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, accounting standards, and internal financial controls.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive financial and business information.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field required.
• MBA and/or CPA/CMA designation preferred.
• 5–8+ years of progressive experience in financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, or accounting.
• Manufacturing, industrial, or steel industry experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling.
• Experience working with ERP systems (SAP) and financial reporting tools (SAP Business Planning and Consolodation).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to communicate financial information effectively to both financial and non-financial audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Preferred Manufacturing Experience

Experience supporting:

• Manufacturing operations, ideally in heavy industry or metals
• Production cost analysis, ideally with an activity-based costing (ABC) system
• Inventory and supply chain finance
• Capital expenditure planning
• Labor and overhead analysis
• Operational KPI development

Working Conditions

• Primarily office-based within a manufacturing environment.
• Frequent interaction with plant operations and leadership teams.
• May require occasional travel between facilities or business locations.