Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

financial analysttocost analyst

A financial analyst already meets 30% of what the cost analyst role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.

From financial analyst
30%
Overlap1
To cost analyst
10 Skills carried over
9 Required, not held
65.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

30%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

65.5/ 100

1 Share of the cost analyst role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the financial analyst profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A cost analyst role treats 4 of its required skills as things a financial analyst already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • assess financial viability
  • cost management
  • interpret financial statements
  • provide cost benefit analysis reports

What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cost analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held advise on tax planning communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create a financial report information skills
  • already held financial forecasting business, administration and law
  • already held interpret financial statements information skills
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company information skills
  • already held create a financial plan management skills

All 10 carried skills, including the 4 the cost analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 23 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 management skills 3 required, 7 supplementary
  • required, not held identify process improvements required
  • required, not held evaluate budgets required
  • required, not held perform cost accounting activities required
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
  • optional, not held carry out tendering optional
  • optional, not held enforce financial policies optional
  • optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
  • optional, not held explain accounting records optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
02 information skills 3 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held control of expenses required
  • required, not held prepare cost-plus pricing models required
  • required, not held synthesise financial information required
  • optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
  • optional, not held calculate production costs optional
  • optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
  • optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
  • optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
03 business, administration and law 3 required
  • required, not held company policies required
  • required, not held financial department processes required
  • required, not held liquidity management required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
  • optional, not held negotiate supplier arrangements optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a cost analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess financial viability skill
  • already held cost management knowledge
  • already held interpret financial statements skill
  • already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
  • already held advise on tax planning skill
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held analyse financial risk skill
  • already held create a financial plan skill
  • already held create a financial report skill
  • already held financial forecasting knowledge
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
  • optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
  • optional, not held calculate production costs optional
  • optional, not held carry out tendering optional
  • optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
  • optional, not held enforce financial policies optional
  • optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
  • optional, not held exert expenditure control optional
  • optional, not held explain accounting records optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
  • optional, not held negotiate supplier arrangements optional
  • optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
37 held skills the cost analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
  • not needed by the target role asset management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role consider economic criteria in decision making skill
  • not needed by the target role develop investment portfolio skill
  • not needed by the target role develop transportation cost metrics skill
  • not needed by the target role digital data processing skill
  • not needed by the target role economics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role empirical analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
  • not needed by the target role explain financial jargon skill
  • not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role fundamental analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role game theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role green bonds knowledge
  • not needed by the target role handle mergers and acquisitions skill
  • not needed by the target role investment banking knowledge
  • not needed by the target role macroeconomics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role management consulting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role mergers and acquisitions knowledge
  • not needed by the target role microeconomics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor loan portfolio skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor stock market skill
  • not needed by the target role offer financial services skill
  • not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role perform business research skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare financial projections skill
  • not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role quantitative analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
  • not needed by the target role sustainable finance knowledge
  • not needed by the target role treasury management system knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use business simulation tools skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held company policies required
  • required, not held financial department processes required
  • required, not held liquidity management required
Index

Other moves recorded from financial analyst

Full index of moves from financial analyst

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.