Principal Analyst/Associate Director - Finance Transformation (FP&A)

Job Title:

Senior/Principal Analyst/Associate Director: Financial Transformation (FP&A)

Location

About QKS Group

QKS Group is a global research and advisory firm known for its SPARK Matrix™, a globally recognized framework for vendor evaluation and competitive intelligence. We work with leading technology providers and enterprise buyers to deliver deep insights, technology research, and strategic advisory across various domains.

Role Overview

We are seeking an Analyst to join our Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) practice. The analyst will research and evaluate technology vendors, platforms, and best practices related to FP&A, EPM, financial consolidation, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance analytics.

This role combines financial technology research, vendor evaluation, and thought leadership, providing a unique opportunity to influence enterprise finance transformation initiatives and digital decision-making globally.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct detailed market, vendor, and solution research across the FP&A, EPM, and finance transformation ecosystem.
• Evaluate vendor capabilities in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, consolidation, reporting, and performance management, including how technology enables these processes.
• Assess platforms on dimensions such as architecture, integration depth, extensibility, AI/ML capabilities, scenario modeling, automation maturity, and analytics enablement through primary and secondary research.
• Analyze vendor positioning using SPARK Matrix, SPARK Plus, and other proprietary QKS research and evaluation frameworks.
• Develop deep understanding of enterprise finance functions (FP&A, controllership, treasury, and strategic finance) and how they leverage technology for efficiency and insight generation.
• Interact with finance technology vendors, consulting partners, and transformation leaders for product briefings, solution demos, and technical validation discussions.
• Collaborate with senior analysts and solution experts to identify and analyze emerging trends such as AI-driven FP&A, xP&A, decision intelligence, digital finance transformation, and predictive planning.
• Support client advisory sessions with insights on technology selection, architecture alignment, process optimization, and modernization roadmaps for finance organizations.
• Contribute to thought leadership content and research reports that connect financial process excellence with technology innovation.
• Work cross-functionally to bridge finance, data, and technology perspectives — enabling enterprises to achieve a connected planning and decision intelligence framework.

Key Skills & Experience

• 10–15 years of core industry experience in FP&A, Finance Transformation, EPM Solutioning, or Financial Systems Architecture / Implementation.
• Strong understanding of financial planning, budgeting, consolidation, and performance management processes across enterprise environments.
• Experience working in or with finance transformation programs, involving process redesign, technology enablement, or analytics modernization.
• Proven experience in designing or implementing EPM/FP&A solutions such as Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle EPM Cloud, SAP SAC, IBM Planning Analytics, OneStream, or Board.
• Demonstrated ability to act as a solution consultant or architect, bridging finance domain knowledge with system design and data integration.
• Familiarity with financial modeling, scenario analysis, KPI frameworks, and integrated planning approaches (xP&A).
• Understanding of SaaS architectures, cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure, GCP), and data analytics integration for finance.
• Excellent analytical, writing, and presentation skills, able to translate technical and financial complexity into actionable insights.
• Proven ability to manage multiple research projects, solution assessments, and client-facing deliverables under tight deadlines.
• Exposure to benchmarking frameworks, SPARK Matrix, or finance maturity models is a plus.

Candidates with experience as Finance Transformation Consultant, FP&A Solution Architect, Finance Systems Solution Architect, or Financial Planning Process Consultant will be strongly preferred.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to work on globally recognized research frameworks like SPARK Matrix™.
• Direct exposure to leading technology vendors (CXOs) and global markets.
• Fast-paced, intellectually stimulating environment with growth opportunities.

Preferred Skills

• Finance Transformation Consulting and Digital Finance Enablement
• FP&A Solution Architecture and Financial Systems Consulting
• Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) and xP&A (Extended Planning & Analysis)
• Budgeting, Forecasting & Scenario Modeling Automation
• Financial Consolidation, Close & Reporting Solutions
• Finance Systems & Data Integration Architecture
• Cloud FP&A Platforms (Anaplan, Workday, Oracle, SAP, IBM, OneStream)
• AI, Predictive Analytics, and Decision Intelligence in Finance
• Financial Planning Process Optimization and Finance System Implementation
• Experience with ERP-to-FP&A integrations (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Workday)