Budget Manager

Budget Manager

The Budget Manager leads the company wide budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes and provides management with clear analysis to support operating and strategic decisions. This position partners with department leaders to develop realistic budgets, monitor performance, explain financial results, and identify risks and opportunities. The role requires strong financial judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to translate operational activity into reliable financial plans in a manufacturing and distribution environment.

• Lead the annual operating budget process, including calendars, assumptions, templates, departmental submissions, reviews, revisions, and final consolidation.
• Prepare and maintain monthly, quarterly, and annual forecasts for revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, headcount, capital expenditures, cash requirements, and other key financial measures.
• Partner with department leaders to develop budgets, validate assumptions, understand business drivers, and improve financial accountability.
• Assist with long-range planning, liquidity planning, capital planning, and financial risk assessments.

• Analyze actual results against budget, forecast, and prior periods; identify significant variances and provide clear explanations and recommended actions.
• Develop financial models and scenario analyses to evaluate pricing, product launches, sourcing decisions, inventory levels, staffing plans, capital investments, and other business initiatives.
• Support product, customer, channel, and departmental profitability analysis, including margin trends and cost drivers.
• Monitor labor, overhead, material, freight, inventory, and other operating costs that affect manufacturing and distribution performance.

• Prepare management reports, dashboards, and presentations for the CFO, executive leadership, ownership, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate budget inputs across Finance, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Engineering, Human Resources, and other departments.
• Communicate financial results, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions clearly to financial and nonfinancial leaders.

• Maintain accurate budget data, account mappings, cost-center structures, assumptions, and version controls within financial and ERP systems.
• Recommend improvements to budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and financial planning processes, including appropriate automation and standardized controls.
• Support the effective use and continued improvement of ERP, budgeting, reporting, and business intelligence tools.

• Support month-end and year-end close activities by reviewing accruals, spending trends, and financial results for consistency with operational activity.
• Assist external auditors and internal stakeholders with budget documentation, reconciliations, supporting schedules, and requested analyses.
• Ensure financial information is handled confidentially and in accordance with company policies and applicable controls.
• Perform other related duties and special projects as assigned.

This position may supervise financial analysts or budget personnel as the function grows. When assigned supervisory responsibility, the Budget Manager will select and train employees, establish priorities, review work, provide feedback, and manage performance in accordance with company policies.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Five or more years of progressive experience in budgeting, forecasting, financial planning and analysis, cost accounting, or corporate finance.
• Demonstrated experience leading an annual budget process and preparing variance analysis and management reporting.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including financial models, pivot tables, lookup functions, and data analysis.
• Experience working with ERP, financial planning, reporting, or business intelligence systems.
• Strong understanding of financial statements, accounting principles, cost structures, and business performance drivers.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines, organize detailed information, and maintain accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain financial information…