CF Analyst Role

1. **Review the job description**: Make sure you have a clear understanding of the role and its responsibilities. Take note of the qualifications required for the position, and be prepared to discuss how your skills and experience match those qualifications.
2. **Research the company**: Learn more about The Cheesecake Factory and its values, mission, and culture. Familiarize yourself with the company's recent news and developments. This can help you answer questions and show your interest in the company.
3. **Practice your communication skills**: As a financial analyst, you will be required to communicate complex financial information to a non-technical audience. During the phone screening, be sure to speak clearly and concisely, and avoid using technical jargon or acronyms that the interviewer may not understand.
4. **Be prepared to give specific examples**: The interviewer may ask you behavioral or situational questions to gauge how you have handled certain scenarios in the past. Be prepared to give specific examples that demonstrate your skills and experience.
5. **Prepare your own questions**: The phone screening is an opportunity for you to learn more about the position and the company. Prepare a few questions to ask the interviewer about the role, the team, and the company culture.
6. **Be confident:** Show the interviewer that you are excited about the opportunity and confident in your ability to succeed in the role. Remember to stay positive and enthusiastic throughout the phone screening.

#### Based on the job description, as a Financial Analyst at The Cheesecake Factory, your role would involve:

1. Preparing and reviewing financial reports: You will be responsible for preparing and reviewing daily, weekly, and monthly financial reporting schedules for management. This may include analyzing sales trends, financial and expense performance, return on investment, and other business investment opportunities.
2. Assisting with month-end close process and billing: You will work closely with the accounting department to assist with the month-end close process and corporate consolidated billing.
3. Improving reporting infrastructure and processes: You will take the initiative to partner with finance and operational leaders to facilitate ongoing improvements to the company's reporting infrastructure and processes.
4. Maintaining planning tools: You will be responsible for maintaining planning tools to support operator decision-making and assisting in certain aspects of the annual planning process.
5. Performing variance analysis: You will perform variance analysis and summarize key findings for management. Variance analysis is a tool used in accounting and financial management to compare the actual results of a business or project to the budgeted or planned results. The purpose of variance analysis is to identify and understand the differences between the actual and planned results, in order to make informed decisions and take corrective action if necessary. By analyzing the variances, financial analysts can identify the specific areas where the actual results differ from the budgeted or planned results, and determine the root causes of the variances. For example, if the actual sales revenue is lower than the budgeted sales revenue, variance analysis can help identify whether the cause is due to lower sales volume, lower selling prices, or a combination of both.
6. Ad-hoc reporting and special projects: You will be responsible for ad-hoc reporting, special projects, and providing support to other departments as needed. Ad hoc reporting refers to the process of creating customized reports or analyses on an as-needed basis, typically in response to a specific business question or request. Unlike regular reporting, which follows a pre-defined set of metrics and data points, ad hoc reporting allows users to access and analyze data in a more flexible and dynamic manner. Ad hoc reporting is often used in situations where standard reports do not provide the required information or insights, or when users need to quickly respond to changing business conditions or emerging opportunities. Ad hoc reports can be created using a variety of data sources, such as databases, spreadsheets, or business intelligence tools. To create an ad hoc report, users typically start by defining the data they need to analyze and selecting the appropriate data sources. They may then apply filters, groupings, or other analytical techniques to refine the data and extract the required insights. Ad hoc reports can be presented in a variety of formats, such as tables, charts, or dashboards, depending on the needs of the user and the audience. Ad hoc reporting is a valuable tool for financial analysts and other business professionals, as it allows them to quickly access and analyze data to make informed decisions and drive business outcomes.
7. Participating in key reporting processes: You will participate in the weekly key reporting processes and communicate complex financial data and strategy with senior leaders.

Overall, your role will be to help maximize financial and operational efficiencies for The Cheesecake Factory, a $3.3 billion public company with over 300 full-service restaurants and more than 47,500 staff members. You will be exposed to every level of the organization and play an integral part in driving the company's success.

### Research the Company

**Values**: The Cheesecake Factory's core values include integrity, excellence, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and respect. The company is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for both guests and employees.

**Mission**: The Cheesecake Factory's mission is to provide an exceptional dining experience to its guests. The company strives to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, serve high-quality food, and provide excellent service.

**Culture**: The Cheesecake Factory places a strong emphasis on teamwork, innovation, and growth. The company encourages employees to share their ideas and collaborate with others to create new and exciting menu items and improve the overall dining experience.

**Recent news and developments**: As of my knowledge cutoff date of September 2021, the Cheesecake Factory has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with reduced sales and temporary closures of some locations. However, the company has adapted by expanding its takeout and delivery options and implementing safety protocols to protect guests and employees. The Cheesecake Factory has also announced plans to open new locations in various parts of the United States and continue to grow its brand. Additionally, the company has made commitments to sustainability by implementing environmentally friendly practices such as reducing food waste and using eco-friendly packaging.

#### Skills

* **2+ years of experience in financial planning and analysis**-
* **Knowledge of finance and accounting principles: ability to read and interpret financial statements-** **Here are some of the key principles of financial planning and analysis:**
	1. **Integrated planning:** FP&A should involve an integrated planning approach that aligns financial goals with strategic objectives and operational plans.
	2. **Accurate and timely data:** FP&A should use accurate and timely data to support decision-making, planning, and analysis.
	3. **Collaboration:** FP&A should foster collaboration and communication across departments and functions to ensure that financial plans and forecasts are aligned with operational plans.
	4. **Continuous improvement:** FP&A should strive for continuous improvement by identifying areas for optimization, standardizing processes, and leveraging technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
	5. **Scenario planning:** FP&A should incorporate scenario planning and sensitivity analysis into financial plans and forecasts to account for uncertainty and risk.
	6. **Performance management:** FP&A should provide regular performance reporting and analysis to enable management to make informed decisions and take corrective action when necessary.
	7. **Data visualization:** FP&A should leverage data visualization tools to present financial information in a clear and understandable manner that facilitates decision-making.
	8. **Accountability:** FP&A should establish clear accountability and ownership for financial results and ensure that performance is measured and evaluated against established benchmarks and goals**.**
	9. **Compliance:** FP&A should ensure compliance with applicable financial regulations and standards, and promote ethical and responsible financial practices.
* **Exceptionally strong computer skills, particularly with spreadsheet modeling (Excel) and presentation software (Powerpoint)**
* **Exceptional communication skills capable of translating complex business requirements to a non-technical audience in a clear and concise manner**
* **Ability to balance multiple deliverables and deadlines**
* **Exposure to enterprise planning and/or business intelligence software such as Cognos Enterprise**
* **Planning, Board, TM1, Hyperion Financial Management, and MicroStrategy-** **Hyperion Financial Management:** Given my experience with other businesses intelligence tools like Tableau and PowerBI I am confident that I could get set up with Hyperion Financial Management, Microstrategy, and TM1 quickly.
	1. Financial consolidation product. Scalable, Web based, fined tuned, and shortened close cycle.
	2. Ideal for medium and large corporations- currency translation, intercompany eliminations, journals module, process management, and ownership calculations are all accommodated.
	3. It meets IFRS, US GAAP, Statutory and other accounting requirements worldwide are met.
	4. Data comes in, consolidation rules are applied and final data for reports is available, all within a controlled, secured environment.
	5. Build task flows- Monthly, Quarterly, and Year-end balance sheet, Profit and Loss, Cash Flow, and Supplemental reports are the typical outputs of HFM.
	6. Multi-Dimensional Processing- data organized into meaningful dimensions, organized in cubes, and does not require complex queries to retrieve data. Scenario, Year, Period, View, Entity, Value, Account, Intercompany dimensions. Allows for additional financial analysis with: cost center, product, segment/markets, customers, countries/geography, exchange variance analysis, data source, roll forward schedules/movement, KPIs/Ratios, and headcount.
	7. Financial Data Quality Management Enterprise Edition (FDMEE) systematically integrates disparate ERP systems and flat files into a target FM application.
	8. Business Intelligence- Financial Reporting, Smart View (Excel add-in the integrates with word and PowerPoint), Ad hoc reporting, template, OBIEE (Business Intelligence and dashboards).
* **Microstrategy:** For example when it comes to using microstrategy I have experience building projects in both SQL and R two of the programming languages that are involved when building reports and dashboards in their system.
	1. Business Intelligence Tool. than is better than tableau when it comes to mobile exploration and authoring, self-contained extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) & Data Storage, Governance and metadata management, security and user administration.
	2. SQL Server Functions- Reuses SQL Server functions for analysis, which I am familiar with.
	3. R programming language- Used for developing statistical and data mining models to build and incorporate advance analytics.
* **TM1:** My experience in Excel would translate well to using this program.
	1. Business Intelligence Tool. business intelligence (BI) and performance management software platform developed by IBM. It is a powerful tool for financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and analysis that allows users to create complex models and analyze large amounts of data..
	2. Data Storage- Data Storage in cubes.
	3. Real time what if Analysis- users can model different scenarios and instantly see the impact on financial outcomes.
	4. Data Integration- supports automated data integration from various data sources, including spreadsheets and databases, and allows users to create custom reports and dashboards.

### Specific Examples

###### Proving what I have on my linkedin and resume is true.

I have 7 year of work experience. 4 of which were spent growing within the cheesecake factory. I started there as a host taking reservations and filling seats in the busy Santa Monica location but worked my way up to a lead food runner and then server position. It was there that I learned how to be more adaptable being able to juggle multiple things in once in a fast-paced environment and because I was trained in all aspects of the front of house I could cover in situations where they needed someone at the front desk and train a lot of the incoming staff. After my time there I decided I wanted to pivot and grow my skills as an analyst. I started off by getting certified in data analytics through Google's Coursera program and I trained myself to use Business Intelligence software, coding languages likes SQL and R, and data visualization tools like Tableau and PowerBI, I would share what I learned through social media as a means of solidifying the knowledge in my mind, but I actually grew a platform because the multimedia content I shared that broke down the data analysis skills into easily digestible information in a way that people seemed to connect with. Charlotte Chaze who runs an online data analytics course saw my content and offered me my current position working as an educator for her program. Now I regularly develop projects for the program like performing variance analysis on datasets and making financial models in Excel and SQL. I also use the business intelligence tools Tableau which is similar to Hyperion Financial Management and MicroStrategy to create dashboards that highlight and clarify the insights I've made from the data through visualization. It's been nice because I've been able to put some of my oral presentation skills to use when I try to teach this information. But, today I'm really just excited to potentially share all the new skills I've learned with a company that I have such a history with and learn all about this role with you.

##### California Transportation Project Summary and Expenditure Reports

1. For this project I developed Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
2. I extracted 441 million dollars in expenditure data from separate project summary and expenditure tables in Datalink.
3. Verified and reconciled the accuracy of the data to ensure quality control.
4. Then manipulated the information using advanced formulas and function knowledge like VLOOKUP and SUMIF to summarize personal service and operating expenses for Caltrans.
5. Identified which expenses were eligible for federal reimbursement and created pivot tables so it was easy to track the variances between the current month and last.

###### Case Study I conducted on Bellabeat's Time Product.

1. Bellabeat is a wellness related tech company and I was tasked with finding a solution for how to better improve their fitness tracker.
2. To do this I utilized the R coding language which is the same programming language that Microstrategy software uses to analyze data from a fitbit dataset with qualities that were relevant to Bellabeat's product.
3. Then I created financial models to support the marketing strategy that I would suggest.
4. Based on what I found it would seem that to improve the product Bellabeat would need to expand the capabilities of the progress tracking function because there were certain metrics that the users would neglect to record and to build a platform for better user connectivity because a lot the users were probably not aware that they were at a similar fitness level and could use the support that comes from community.

Well there was an instance where I was analyzing in SQL a data set of city street safety levels and I was tasked with finding  which streets could be left as is, which needed to be repaired, or which needed to be removed entirely.  In order to judge this multiple technicians gave ratings and I needed to find the average of multiple ratings in order to know what each street was eligible for.  However, doing this calculation for so many streets would be normally be extremely time consuming and the aggregations would get rid of the individual technician ratings.  So I needed to use a windows function or the OVER and PARTITION BY function to make the calculation occur across multiple rows.  This helped retain the identities of the technicians while also giving me an average score between the three that I could then use the CASE function to make the labels necessary to show what each street's status was.

I think one would push through and solve alone as long as the problem was within the normal confines of my role and there wasn't much urgency in the project.  If the problem becomes more urgent in nature or is something beyond my skill level then I would approach others for help.

The mistake that has occurred most frequently that I have helped to mitigate was when guests had returned 5 or more minutes past when we paged for them and the table we intended for them had already been assigned to another guest.  It involved first listening to their concerns and assuring that we would help them be seated in a timely manner.  We would also have to rearrange assigned tables and provide the more urgent guest with the next available table.  Then we would have to adapt the speed at which we would page the next guests and make sure to conduct these activities in a way that wouldn't alarm the other guests.  If something needed to be done on a level that I could not help with I would then have a manager come to help make a judgement on the situation.

I was working on a project where we had to make a critical decision quickly, but we didn't have access to all the data we needed to make an informed decision. To make the decision, I quickly gathered all the available data and analyzed it to identify any trends or patterns. I also consulted with colleagues who had experience in similar situations to get their insights. Based on the data and the advice I received, I made a decision that I believed was in the best interest of the project and the team. The outcome of the decision was positive, and we were able to meet the project deadline with a successful outcome. From this experience, I learned that in situations where time is limited, it's important to prioritize the available information and seek out advice from others who may have more experience in the area. It's also important to be decisive and confident in the decision-making process, even when all the information isn't available.

### How to answer behavioral questions

A general guideline to answering behavioral questions is to follow the pattern "Situation/Task, Action, Result" (the STAR method).

Situation/Task: What happened?

Action: What did you do about it?

Result: How did the situation improve thanks to you? OR, How did you learn from the situation?

### STAR Example

Let's answer the behavioral question, "Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?". We'll use an example of someone who had previously worked at Whole Foods.

Situation/Task: When I was working at Whole Foods, my boss was in charge of monthly inventory analysis reports, but he had put it off all month and then had something urgent come up at the last minute. He asked if I could do the inventory analysis report with only a few hours in my shift left. I had helped him with it before, so I felt confident that I could do it.

Action: I delegated my other tasks to my coworkers so I could focus on getting the inventory analysis report out on time. I ran the previous month's inventory data from our internal system against what we had for the current month, and did validations to make sure what we had in stock matched the system. I got the inventory report out on time and even finished my shift on time, and my boss was so relieved.

Result: A few days later, my boss got an email from corporate asking why the inventory report didn't match their records, something about a missing shipment. We did some digging together and found out that on the day that I sent the report, we got a shipment in that I didn't add to the report. One of my usual tasks is to do shipment intake, but that day, I had delegated it out to focus on the report. My boss was cool about it, but did mention that I should have made sure all the work I delegated out had gotten completed before submitting the report. Overall it was still a good experience, and I definitely learned how to cover my bases when I take on extra work.

Notice how there are data analytics keywords in that answer! Usually on a job like this, that kind of task would be called "doing inventory". But to show that it's relevant to data analytics, we called it the "inventory analysis report". You also might not think of inventory as data, but it is, so we make sure to call it data. We also mention doing validation!

Another thing to note in this example is how positive it is. Even though the story is about an employee messing something up, there are tons of positive elements in it. Their boss trusted them with a new task, they delegated work out to their coworkers, and they learned how to be an even better employee through the experience. This is how your answers should generally go. Use these questions as opportunities to make yourself look good!

### Questions I ask:

As part of the strategy, planning, and analysis department what are the type of projects that I would be working on? Or how do the financial analysts on staff partner with finance and operational leaders when it comes to the company's reporting infrastructure and processes?

Can you tell me a little bit more about the team's goals and why they're hiring?

Is there anything that concerns you at this time that would preclude me from being an option? If so I would love the change to address it.

What are the next steps in the interview process?