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

budget analysttocost analyst

A budget analyst already meets 39% of what the cost analyst role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

From budget analyst
39%
Overlap1
To cost analyst
11 Skills carried over
7 Required, not held
58 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

39%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

58/ 100

1 Share of the cost analyst role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the budget 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 6 of its required skills as things a budget analyst already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • assess financial viability
  • company policies
  • evaluate budgets
  • financial department processes
  • identify process improvements
  • synthesise financial information

What stands in the way is 7 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 11 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 budget analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held exert expenditure control management skills
  • already held explain accounting records management skills
  • already held support development of annual budget management skills
  • already held evaluate budgets management skills
  • already held financial department processes business, administration and law
  • already held synthesise financial information information skills

All 11 carried skills, including the 6 the cost analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 22 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 information skills 4 required, 7 supplementary
  • required, not held control of expenses required
  • required, not held interpret financial statements required
  • required, not held prepare cost-plus pricing models required
  • required, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports required
  • optional, not held create a financial report optional
  • optional, not held analyse financial risk optional
  • 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
02 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held cost management required
  • required, not held liquidity management required
  • optional, not held financial forecasting optional
03 management skills 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held perform cost accounting activities required
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held carry out tendering optional
  • optional, not held create a financial plan optional
  • optional, not held enforce financial policies optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
  • 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 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess financial viability skill
  • already held company policies knowledge
  • already held evaluate budgets skill
  • already held financial department processes knowledge
  • already held identify process improvements skill
  • already held synthesise financial information skill
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held exert expenditure control skill
  • already held explain accounting records skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held support development of annual budget skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held create a financial report optional
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held advise on tax planning optional
  • optional, not held analyse financial risk 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 create a financial plan 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 financial forecasting optional
  • optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
  • optional, not held negotiate supplier arrangements optional
  • optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
12 held skills the cost analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
  • not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
  • not needed by the target role budgetary principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role consider economic criteria in decision making skill
  • not needed by the target role create annual marketing budget skill
  • not needed by the target role develop financial statistics reports skill
  • not needed by the target role funding methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role inspect government expenditures skill
  • not needed by the target role public finance knowledge
  • not needed by the target role review investment portfolios skill
  • not needed by the target role revise drafts made by managers skill
  • not needed by the target role use office systems 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 cost management required
  • required, not held liquidity management required
  • optional, not held financial forecasting optional
Index

Other moves recorded from budget analyst

Full index of moves from budget 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.