Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Associate
About the role
At Lotus Company, we believe every person deserves more than a place to live - they deserve a place to belong. Lotus exists to restore dignity, renew hope, and create sanctuaries where life can truly flourish. As a full-service builder, developer, owner, and operator, Lotus leads with intention at every stage - from design and development to construction, management, and community impact. Every detail reflects a belief that housing is sacred ground: a foundation upon which human potential awakens, and communities come alive.
Responsibilities
Budgeting Process Lead: Coordinate the preparation of the annual budget across all departments. This includes distributing planning templates, consolidating departmental inputs, and checking for completeness and accuracy.
Analyze and challenge assumptions submitted by department heads (e.g., ensure that revenue projections are realistic and expenses are justified). Work closely with the FP&A Manager to refine the budget before presentation to executives/Board.
Forecasting & Variance Analysis: Manage the rolling forecast updates on a quarterly or monthly basis. Update the corporate financial forecast to reflect actual results and new projections for the remainder of the year. Perform variance analysis to explain differences between budgeted and actual figures, identifying key drivers for over-performance or under-performance. Prepare narrative explanations and presentation slides for management reporting.
Financial Reporting & KPIs: Oversee the preparation of regular internal financial reports (monthly management reports, project profitability analyses, overhead reports, etc.). Ensure reports highlight key performance indicators (KPIs) important to the company’s success – e.g., actual overhead as a percentage of development volume, operating cash burn rate, project fee realization rate, etc. Continuously improve the reporting format for clarity and insight. Present findings to the Managing Director of Finance and department heads, highlighting issues and opportunities.
Strategic Analysis: Undertake in-depth financial analysis to support strategic decisions by leadership. For example, analyze the financial impact of hiring plans (how adding X employees affects the overhead and profitability), or evaluate different scenarios of development pace (if we take on Y projects per year, what is the 5-year profit outlook and capital requirement?). Provide clear recommendations based on analysis (e.g., “With 3 additional project starts next year, we would need to raise Z amount of corporate capital but would increase annual profit by Q by year 5”).
Cash Flow & Capital Management: Monitor and forecast the company’s cash flow and liquidity. Work with Accounting to understand timing of cash receipts and disbursements. Recommend actions if a shortfall is projected – such as drawing on a credit line or delaying certain expenses. If the company maintains a corporate credit facility or revolving line, prepare borrowing base certificates or compliance calculations as needed and ensure adherence to covenants.
Entity Management: Oversee and maintain all documents and databases associated with internally managed or owned entities. Scope to include asset ownership, holding company, internal investment, corporate, and operating company entities. Ensure documents are organized and maintained in a standard convention with up to date database changes maintained. Maintain key terms summaries, fees detail, and cash flow/profits/capital waterfalls per terms of the agreements.
Investor Reporting: Lead or support aggregation of investment reports from project managers across portfolio. Ensure standards of reporting are maintained across portfolio. Hold accountability for cross departmental team members for deadlines and deliverables. Maintain and monitor templates and standards for cross departmental collaboration and data input integrity. Liaison with external investors and report recipients on information requests and investment administration related matters.
Portfolio Forecasting: Oversee aggregation of portfolio and asset level forecasts. Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to improve FP&A processes. For instance, streamline data collection by implementing or enhancing a budgeting software tool, or develop a standardized template for project post-mortems (comparing initial underwrite to actual outcomes to refine future assumptions). Work with IT or Accounting to automate reports and reduce manual work.
Mentorship: Supervise junior analyst(s) if applicable. Review their work for accuracy, provide feedback, and help prioritize their tasks. Act as a go-to resource for questions and training, building their capabilities in financial analysis and modeling.
Qualifications
Financial Expertise: Strong grasp of corporate finance and accounting principles. Able to build and understand complex financial models that integrate P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow. Familiarity with revenue recognition (important for development fees over project timelines) and cost allocation principles.
Analytical Insight: Goes beyond reporting numbers – can interpret what the numbers mean and advise on decisions. For example, not just knowing that overhead is over budget, but analyzing which areas and suggesting how to control them, or identifying trends (like revenues consistently lagging in Q1) and proposing solutions.
Communication: Excellent ability to communicate financial information to non-financial managers. Should be able to distill a detailed analysis into clear takeaways and action items. Experience creating management presentations or dashboard reports is important. Comfortable speaking up in meetings to explain financial results or projections.
Attention to Detail and Accuracy: Responsible for the integrity of financial plans and reports that executives rely on. Must ensure all figures are accurate and assumptions are documented. Able to perform quality control on complex spreadsheets and catch errors.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Able to work diplomatically and effectively with various department heads during budgeting and reporting. The FP&A Associate often plays a role of “challenger” to others’ plans – doing so with tact and rationale is key to maintaining good relationships.
Problem-Solving: Proactive in identifying financial issues and investigating them. For instance, if there’s an unexpected variance, will dig into accounting records or consult with project managers to understand why. Creative in finding ways to present data more effectively or to solve planning challenges (like how to cut costs if needed, or how to fund a new initiative).
Technical Skills: Advanced Excel skills (including scenario analysis, possibly some VBA for automation if needed). Experience with any enterprise planning software or ERP systems is a plus. Ability to quickly learn the company’s internal systems (accounting software, project management systems) to extract data.
Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or related field required. Advanced degree or certification (MBA, CPA, or CFA) is advantageous and sometimes preferred for deeper knowledge. 3–5 years of experience in financial planning & analysis, corporate finance, or a similar function. Experience in the real estate sector or development company FP&A is highly valued because of the industry-specific revenue and cost nuances. Demonstrable experience with leading or significantly contributing to a budgeting cycle and producing management reports. References or examples of past work should reflect clarity of analysis and influence on management decisions. Ideally, some experience supervising or mentoring junior staff, or at least leading cross-functional projects, to show readiness for a step up in responsibility.
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage, with eligibility beginning 30 days after employment.
Employer contribution of up to $1,430 per month toward insurance premiums.
Health Savings Account (HSA) option for eligible plans.
Access to telehealth and virtual care services.
Mental health and wellness support, including access to therapy and counseling resources.
Company-paid basic life insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage.
Company-paid short-term disability insurance.
Paid time off (PTO), accruing at 15 days per year.
Ten (10) paid company holidays per year.
401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
Performance-based bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.
Employee recognition and milestone celebrations.
Access to an on-site fitness facility.
Covered, year-round parking in an attached garage.
Daily office amenities, including coffee, snacks, and beverages.