What the job actually is
FP&A sits between the reported past and the decisions ahead. The core of the role is budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling and business partnering, and in most Australian businesses an analyst gets exposure to all four from day one.[1] The good roles suit someone with a genuine interest in using data tools to manipulate financial and business data to create insights that impact the business.[2]
That last phrase is the test worth applying to any FP&A job ad. If the analysis does not reach someone who can act on it, the job is reporting with a nicer title.
What FP&A pays in Australia
At analyst level the typical band runs $110k to $150k plus super, varying by industry, business size and location.[3] Pay rises quickly with ownership of the forecast rather than with years, so an analyst who runs the group model in a scale-up will usually outearn a more tenured analyst in a large corporate who owns one schedule of it.
I set out the full FP&A pay picture across analyst, manager and head of FP&A levels in Australia here.
Getting in from audit is harder than people expect
This is the number that surprises people. Only 10 to 15% of commercial roles available to audit first movers in Australia are pure FP&A positions.[4] Almost every role I see for a first mover from Big 4 or equivalent is a financial reporting role.[5] So if FP&A is the goal, the first move out of practice is the moment it is most winnable, and after that you are usually taking a longer route through reporting.
Calibrate on money too. For audit first movers, almost all commercial roles sit in the $105k to $120k plus super bracket.[6] Most people take a flat or slightly reduced package to get commercial exposure. My view is that getting into a commercial role earlier is not a loss, it is a trade-off that accumulates experience.[7]
| What most first movers do | What I would do | |
|---|---|---|
| Target roles | Why I don't recommend it Apply broadly to anything commercial, and take the financial reporting role because it comes first. | Why I recommend it Treat the first move as the one chance at FP&A. Only 10-15% of first mover roles are pure FP&A, so run a narrow, deliberate search. |
| Pay expectation | Why I don't recommend it Expect a rise on the practice salary and get discouraged when it does not come. | Why I recommend it Budget for $105k to $120k plus super and price the commercial exposure as part of the package. |
| How you position | Why I don't recommend it Lead with the audit clients and the technical standards. | Why I recommend it Lead with the commercial questions you answered. A Key Clients section on the CV does the technical work for you. |
What hiring managers actually screen for
Modelling ability is assumed at shortlist stage. What separates candidates is whether the analysis lands. The most important skill for finance professionals is the ability to communicate and business partner, working with the broader business to help them act on the real meaning of the numbers.[8] An analyst who can explain a variance to a sales director in that director's language is worth more than one who can build a cleaner model.
The failure mode is a finance function that is siloed and buried in manual work, with no forecasting or business partnering, producing data-dump reports rather than insights.[9] If you are interviewing, ask directly who reads your output and what they do with it. The answer tells you which kind of team you are joining.
If you are targeting SaaS and scale-ups
Startup FP&A runs on a different vocabulary. Finance professionals aiming for SaaS scale-up roles need ARR and MRR, customer churn, CAC, LTV, gross margin and net revenue retention, and crucially what the interactions between them mean rather than just the definitions.[10] Most finance people bomb SaaS interviews within the first five minutes, not because of qualifications or experience but because of their language and how they position themselves.[11]
FP&A leadership is one of the roles I recruit into Australian scale-ups, alongside Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Head of Finance and first CFO.[12] At that stage the FP&A seat is usually the first genuinely commercial hire a founder makes, and it is a strong platform for a Head of Finance move two or three years later.
If SaaS is the target, I go through the metrics and the language that decide those interviews here.
Common questions
What does an FP&A analyst do?
An FP&A analyst owns the forward-looking side of finance: budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling and the business partnering that turns that work into decisions. In most Australian businesses an analyst gets exposure to all four early. The distinguishing feature of a good role is that the analysis reaches someone who can act on it, rather than being another report that gets filed.
What does an FP&A analyst earn in Australia?
The typical band is $110k to $150k plus super, varying by industry, business size and location. Pay tracks ownership rather than tenure, so an analyst who runs the group forecast in a scale-up will usually earn more than a longer-serving analyst in a large corporate who owns one part of it. First movers straight out of audit generally land in the $105k to $120k plus super bracket.
How hard is it to move from audit into FP&A?
Harder than most people expect. Only 10 to 15% of the commercial roles available to audit first movers in Australia are pure FP&A positions, and almost every role available to a first mover from Big 4 or equivalent is a financial reporting role. That makes the first move out of practice the moment FP&A is most winnable. After that, the usual route runs through reporting and takes longer.
What do SaaS companies want from an FP&A analyst?
Fluency in the model, not just the metrics. Candidates need ARR and MRR, customer churn, CAC, LTV, gross margin and net revenue retention, and to understand what the interactions between them actually mean. Most finance professionals struggle in SaaS interviews within the first five minutes, and it is rarely about qualifications or experience. It is about the language they use and how they position what they have done.
References
- Tom Hunter on a live FP&A brief: an FP&A position with an ASX-listed agriculture and farming business in Sydney offering exposure to budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling and business partnering from day one.
- Tom Hunter on the same FP&A brief: it will suit someone with a strong interest in using data tools to manipulate financial and business data to create insights that impact the business.
- Story Recruitment market data: the typical salary for a Financial Analyst ranges from $110k to $150k plus super, varying by industry, business size and location.
- Story Recruitment market data: only 10-15% of commercial roles available to audit first movers are pure FP&A positions.
- Tom Hunter: almost every role he sees for a first mover from Big 4 or equivalent is a financial reporting role.
- Tom Hunter on audit first movers in Australia: almost all commercial roles sit in the $105k to $120k plus super bracket.
- Tom Hunter on timing the move to commercial finance: getting into a commercial role earlier is not a loss but a trade-off that accumulates valuable experience.
- Tom Hunter on the most important skill for finance professionals: the ability to communicate and business partner so the broader business acts on the real meaning of the numbers.
- Tom Hunter on a finance function he observed: siloed, burdened by manual work, lacking forecasting or business partnering, and producing data-dump reports rather than insights.
- Tom Hunter on SaaS scale-up roles: finance professionals must learn ARR and MRR, customer churn, CAC, LTV, gross margin and net revenue retention, focusing on what their interactions actually mean rather than just definitions.
- Tom Hunter on SaaS interviews: most finance professionals struggle within the first five minutes, not due to qualifications or experience but because of their language and how they position themselves.
- Story Recruitment scale-up remit: Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Head of Finance, FP&A leadership and CFO / VP / SVP Finance roles.