Finance Manager
El Pollo Loco • Costa Mesa, CA • Full Time
Posted on Tue, Oct 6, 2026
POSITION PURPOSE: The Finance Manager is responsible for delivering accurate, timely financial analysis and reporting to support business decision-making, regulatory compliance, and executive leadership. This role partners with cross-functional teams to interpret financial results, enhance reporting processes, and provide insights that drive performance and strategic planning.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Monitors, analyzes and interprets key metrics and financial results; highlights trends and causal factors; and develops and prepares key financial line item. Partner with Operations to explain controllable expense variances each period. Dig into restaurant-level drivers behind labor, food, paper, supplies, and R&M, confirm explanations with field leaders, and make sure period reporting reflects what's actually happening in the restaurants. Track recurring variances across periods and work with Operations leaders to close the gaps. Serve as the embedded finance partner to Operations leadership across new restaurant openings and established markets. Build sales and labor ramp models for new restaurants, track post-opening performance against them, and feed what we learn back into future opening models. Own and analyze restaurant-level and corporate P&Ls, including sales, labor, food & beverage costs, and operating expenses. Enhances and executes annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly planning processes with business partners for forecasting of key P&L line items which may include but not be limited to cost of sales, capital investments, occupancy, sales, labor, etc. Prepares, reports, and analyzes key operations and performance metrics for the company and franchise portfolio, including, but not limited to sales, COGs, labor, other controllables. Hands-on experience with assisting accounting with period-end close and variance analysis Ability to analyze large datasets, ensure data integrity, and translate financial results into clear insights. Assists fully in the development of the annual and strategic plan including the annual planning applications, development of initial target models and preparing the presentation for the Board of Directors approval. Engages in special projects and prepares presentations to management as assigned. Interacts professionally and ethically, constructively participating as a collaborative team member or leader in pursuit of common goals. Assist with ad hoc analyses related to growth initiatives, vendor negotiations, and capital investments.
QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.
Education/Work Experience:
Bachelor's degree (BS/BA) in Systems Engineering, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related field is required. Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of required education. Minimum of 7 years in FP&A or multi-unit retail/restaurant finance, or hospitality analytics in a medium-to-large organization. Knowledge of data extraction, organization and reporting with the ability to perform these procedures efficiently and present results of the work. Work experience in the QSR industry is highly preferred.
Computer Software Skills:
High level of proficiency with technology, including Microsoft Office Suite applications, Adobe Acrobad, customized data applications and internet research tools. Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (financial modeling, pivot tables, complex formulas).
Ability to navigate and work with hundreds of thousands of rows of data in Excel and strong knowledge of financial modeling, pivot tables, complex formulas.
Exposure to enterprise planning and/or business intelligence software.
Other Skills:
Ability to quickly adapt to change and adjust priorities to meet the organization’s needs. Strong analytical skills and a problem-solving mindset with meticulous attention to detail to draw meaningful conclusions. Excellent oral and written communication skills needed. Must possess professional interpersonal skills, maintain a positive attitude, be flexible and self-directed, and work well with team members. Ability to effectively speak with internal customers, external customers, vendors and franchisees. Must be decisive and make fact-based decisions. Ability to work weekends and extended work schedules as needed.
Strong attention to detail with the ability to meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
AuditFriendly salary estimate
The employer did not post a salary for this role. Based on AuditFriendly's salary intelligence model (comparable live postings, role, seniority, and location), we estimate base pay of $102,000–$146,000 per year (median ~$130,000). This is an AuditFriendly estimate, not an employer-provided figure.
More live finance_manager roles
- Finance Manager Reporting Group - H/F at Lazard — Paris, France
- Finance Manager at Public Storage — Frisco, TX, US
- Finance Manager at Red Bull — Denver, CO, US
- Finance Manager at AccorHotel — Doha, Doha Municipality, QA
- Finance Manager - Controllership Function at J.S. Held (Remote)
- Assistant Finance Manager at Apex Group — Dublin
- Finance Manager at UC Health — Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Finance Manager (Individual Contributor) at Eurofins USA Medical Devices — St. Louis, MO, US
- Finance Manager at AccorCorpo — Key Biscayne, FL, US
- Finance Manager (Open To Relocation) at Green Thumb — Abingdon, Virginia, United States
- Finance Manager (M/F/D) at Wabtec — Schüttorf, LS, DE
- Finance Manager - Skincare at AbbVie — Irvine, CA, US
- Associate School Finance Manager at Vertex Education (Remote)
- Finance Manager at Wasserman — GBR - London Office (Aldwych)
- Regional Finance Manager at Mars — CHN-Beijing-Beijing
- Program Finance Manager at The Aerospace Corporation — Chantilly, VA
- Finance Manager at Uline — 4 Locations
- Finance Manager at Marriott Hotels Resorts — Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Finance Manager at TD Bank — Toronto, Ontario
- Commercial Finance Manager, Canada at GSK — Mississauga Standish Court
- Commercial Finance Manager at GE HealthCare — Seoul
- Finance Manager at Phoenix Tailings — Rochester, NY
- Hp Indigo & Scitex - Gbu Finance Manager at HP — Ness Ziona, Center District, Israel
- Finance Manager - Ar, Ia, Mo at The Nature Conservancy — 3 Locations
- Finance Manager – Corporate Planning, Compensation And Benefits at Bank of America — Charlotte
- Finance Manager – Distribution & Transportation at Chamberlain Group — Oak Brook, IL
- Finance Manager at Nestlé — United States
- Plant Finance Manager at 1440 Foods — Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States
- Finance Manager at JLL — Westmont, Illinois, United States
- Finance Manager at Global Leadership Academy — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Finance Manager at Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network — Johnson City, New York, United States
- Finance Manager at Saab — Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
- Finance Manager at Clarity Care — Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States
- Finance Manager, Enabling Functions at Zoetis — Parsippany, New Jersey, United States
- Finance Manager at SpaceX — Austin, Texas, United States
- Corporate Finance Manager, Fundraising and Investor Relations at Twelve (Remote)
- Finance Manager at Memphis Hospitals — United States
- Business Finance Manager at Tide — Paris, France
- Divisional Finance Manager at The Salvation Army — Lutz, Florida, United States
- Finance Manager at Arizona State University — Washington, D. C., United States
- Finance Manager, JV & Operations at Intuitive Health (Remote)
- Finance Manager at SkySpecs (Remote)
- Media Finance Manager, Media Operations at Harvest Group (Remote)
- Finance Manager at Walgreens — Deerfield, Illinois, United States
- Trade Finance Manager at CECO Environmental — Addison, Texas, United States
- Finance Manager at Pharmacystore — Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland
- Finance Manager at Wabtec — Charleroi, PA, United States
- Finance Manager at Empowered Milestones — Sacramento, California, United States
- Finance Manager at The Nature Conservancy (Remote)
- Finance Manager at CoreWeave — Dallas, NY, United States
What the data says about this job
- Advertised pay for Finance Manager in Orange County: a median of $120,000 across 110 priced postings. Explore the market
Measured from employers' own postings and public filings. How we measure