Finance Analyst

Department: Finance

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: North West UK - Hybrid

Compensation: £50,000 - £60,000 / year

Description

We are looking for a commercially minded Finance Analyst to join our FP&A team and support financial planning, forecasting, and decision‑making across the business.

This role is well‑suited to someone who enjoys working closely with the business, developing their technical and commercial skills, and contributing to key finance deliverables in a small, growing team. The Finance Analyst will work in partnership with the Finance Business Partner and FP&A Controller, supporting core planning cycles while developing broader FP&A capability over time.

About CDL
CDL is one of the UK’s leading software development houses, employing over 600 people at its campus in Stockport. It has a consistent history in the high-volume retail insurance sector. CDL has spearheaded developments in the aggregator, web and telematics space, including connected home, enrichment and self-service solutions. As a result, the company’s robust and innovative technologies have enabled its customers to thrive in the highly competitive UK insurance marketplace. We have built a collaborative and creative culture where we employ agile techniques to deliver our pace-setting applications. We pride ourselves on cultivating an inspiring working environment with our employees at the heart of our company.

In a nutshell we are the market leading software house in our industry, creating the software, websites & apps for the Insurance & Finance sector across the UK. If you were to go on a price comparison website, approximately 65% of the companies on there are our clients!

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Forecasting

• Support the preparation of annual budgets, rolling forecasts, and long‑term financial plans
• Assist in gathering, validating, and challenging financial inputs from budget holders
• Maintain and update forecasting models, assumptions, and design drivers
• Support monthly forecasting cycles and contributions to Board‑level reporting

Management Reporting & Performance Insight

• Produce timely and accurate management information
• Support variance analysis, identifying key drivers, risks, and opportunities
• Prepare clear commentary and analysis to support decision‑making
• Assist with the development and improvement of dashboards and reporting tools

Cost & Profitability Analysis

• Support analysis of cost structures and cost allocation methodologies
• Help ensure allocation bases are documented, understood, and consistently applied
• Assist with reviews of cost drivers and recharging models
• Contribute to identifying cost efficiency opportunities with stakeholders

Decision Support & Commercial Analysis

• Support the development and review of financial models
• Assist with the evaluation of new opportunities and business cases
• Contribute to value chain and segmental profitability analysis

Business Partnering

• Work closely with the Finance Business Partner to support operational and functional teams
• Provide financial insight and analysis to support planning and decision‑making
• Develop confidence in communicating with non‑finance stakeholders

Systems, Data & Continuous Improvement

• Support improvements to FP&A models, tools, and processes
• Contribute to finance system developments and data quality initiatives
• Assist with analysis of technology‑related or cloud costs where relevant

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Essential

• Experience in FP&A, financial analysis, or management accounting
• Strong analytical and financial modelling skills
• Advanced Excel capability (Power BI or similar tools desirable)
• Ability to interpret data and communicate insight clearly
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to learn in a fast‑paced environment
• ACCA/CIMA/ACA Qualified or final stages of qualifying.

Desirable

• Experience supporting budgeting and forecasting cycles
• Exposure to finance transformation or system implementation projects
• Experience in a software, technology, or services‑based environment.
• Knowledge of cloud hosting.

Benefits

Salary

The salary for the role of Finance Analyst pays up to £60,000p.a. providing a fantastic opportunity for career progression at CDL.

Your growth and advancement within CDL are only limited by your own ambition and effort.

Benefits 

• Hybrid Working (2 Days a Week in the office - SK4 2HD)
• Truly flexible working.
• 25 days holiday to start, increasing by 1 day per 1 year of service up to 30 days.
• Top employer for 10th year running
• Excellent training and development platform
• Opportunities for career progression
• Health and Wellbeing programme
• Virtual activities, lunch and learns, coffee mornings and meetups.
• Life and health assurance
• Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Established Recognition Award System
• Great Parental Benefits
• Diversity and Inclusion network 
• Pension scheme
• Community projects and volunteer days 
• Refer a friend bonus 

Campus Benefits:

• On-site free parking
• Open plan modern offices
• Quiet Spaces are also available
• Shuttle bus to and from the station
• Subsidised restaurant
• Games room and chill out zone
• Annual Hackathon & Deep Racer Events
• Social activities, regular social events through our social group Xtra, including a summer BBQ, competitions, bowling, go-karting, football games, Winter party and much more!
• Car wash, barber, yoga classes, boot camp and massage services all on site
• Cycle to work scheme
• Shower and dry rooms

Diversity and inclusion
We’re on a journey to keep innovating, that means welcoming new ideas and ways of thinking.
 
CDL recognises that building a diverse workforce is critical to the success of our business. We strongly encourage applications from a diverse talent pool and  welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility requirements and workplace  adjustments with all our applicants.

Recruitment Agency Notice:
CDL have a PSL in place, but haven't used them for over 3 years, therefore be advised that any unsolicited submission of candidate details—including but not limited to LinkedIn profiles, CVs, or resumes (whether redacted or unredacted)—will be considered freely given and unsolicited. As such, these submissions will not be subject to any fees, terms, or obligations on our part.

Only candidate profiles that have been formally discussed with and approved by our Talent Acquisition (TA) team prior to submission AND submitted by agencies on our Preferred Supplier List (PSL) operating under agreed terms are authorised to submit candidates. Any submissions from non-PSL agencies, or those made outside of agreed processes, will be deemed non-compliant and will not be eligible for any fees or consideration.