Financial Analyst

Ascent is a leading provider of innovative financial products and student support services that enable more students to access education and achieve academic and economic success. Everything Ascent offers is designed with the best-in-class teams and technology to increase every student's ability to plan, pay, and succeed in their education and career. Ascent's planning tools and financing resources are co-created by students for those in college, graduate school, and career training programs. Ascent offers financial wellness education, student success services, and one-on-one and digital career coaching that put students' academic and professional goals within reach. Ascent has been widely recognized for its strong culture – named “Best Places to Work” by the San Diego Business Journal for the past 5 years – and as an industry leader – named “Best Student Loan” by NerdWallet for the past 3 years.    

The Financial Analyst (FP&A) is a full-time position reporting to the Financial Planning and Analysis Manager. You will support and improve recurring management reporting, build and maintain financial models, and partner with departments across the company to translate data into insights.

This role offers meaningful ownership and room to grow for someone who excels at financial modeling and analysis, communicates clearly, and can connect operational drivers to financial outcomes. You will gain broad exposure to the economics of a high-growth, fast-paced business, and the opportunity to help build a more scalable, AI-enabled finance function.

Responsibilities

• Support the annual budgeting process, mid-year reforecasts, and rolling forecasts.
• Prepare monthly reporting packages, including budget-vs.-actual variance analysis with clear explanations of key drivers, risks, and trends.
• Build, maintain, and enhance a variety of financial models to support corporate planning, scenario analysis, and ad-hoc decision support.
• Partner with departments to develop, track, and analyze operating budgets and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Develop and refine dashboards, reporting templates, and recurring processes to increase accuracy, timeliness, and efficiency.
• Support the preparation of materials and presentations for senior management and Board meetings.
• Partner with Accounting throughout the month-end close process, including reviewing actuals, supporting accruals, and performing variance analysis.
• Develop a working understanding of the company’s key business and financial drivers, and incorporate them into models, reporting, and analysis over time.
• Contribute to special projects, process-improvement initiatives, and ad-hoc financial analysis as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of FP&A, corporate finance, accounting, or related analytical experience; candidates with strong analytical fundamentals and a drive to grow are also encouraged to apply, even if they don’t meet the full experience range.
• Familiarity with core accounting and finance concepts, including the three financial statements and key metrics such as EBITDA.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including financial modeling; strong PowerPoint and presentation skills.
• Comfort learning and applying a range of analytical tools, such as AI tools, Python, SQL, ERP systems, and Power Query.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present analysis clearly to different audiences.
• Ability to work independently, proactively ask questions, and identify opportunities to streamline existing processes.

Bonus points if you have

• Exposure to financial services, FinTech, or consumer/student lending.
• Familiarity with planning, BI, or ERP tools (e.g., Datarails, Workday Adaptive Planning, Anaplan, Power BI, Tableau, or NetSuite).
• Experience working with large datasets and automating processes.
• Advanced degree, CPA, CFA, or other relevant certification (or progress toward one).

Qualities we look for in our candidates

• Builder’s mindset: You are detail-oriented and take the extra step to build and improve processes rather than simply inherit them.
• Intellectual curiosity: You are driven to understand not just what the numbers say, but why they move.
• Self-starter: You are proactive, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and always looking to expand your skillset.
• Team player: You are approachable, collaborative, and dedicated to helping others succeed.

Competitive pay with bonus, and comprehensive benefits package that includes, but not limited to:

• Compensation includes base salary of $80,000 - $90,000 commensurate with experience, plus bonus and options.
• Hybrid work flexibility
• Company Stock Options
• 401(k) + Company Match
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Annual HSA contribution of $1,650
• Life insurance, disability, and critical illness
• 14 Paid Holidays! Eleven (11) + Two (2) Community Days + Your Birthday!
• Snacks and drinks in the office
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Generous paid leave policies
• $2,000 Vacation Incentive Plan after 3 years + $1,000 Sabbatical Day
• Wellness, Work from Home funds, and more!

The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.