About the Role
The Junior Financial Operations Analyst supports product costing, cost control, and operational decision-making for Garan’s apparel business. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role that follows product costs from early development through production and final cost approval. The analyst works closely with sales/account management, design, planning, sourcing, production, technical design, manufacturing partners, and corporate accounting. The role is well suited to someone who enjoys detailed analysis, takes ownership of follow-ups, and can manage several overlapping seasonal calendars. While Excel remains central to the day-to-day work, the team is also beginning to modernize costing processes and explore new systems, automation, and responsible uses of AI.
Responsibilities
- Build, review, compile, and reconcile detailed product cost sheets for apparel programs.
- Collect and validate cost inputs such as fabric and trim prices, consumption estimates, labor/CM, duty, freight, packaging, testing, and other product-specific expenses.
- Support costing for multiple overlapping seasons and product lines, from preliminary estimates through negotiated costs, production execution, and final cost-accounting standard approval.
- Compare proposed costs with historical results, budgets, targets, and prior assumptions; document changes and recommend next steps.
- Participate in sourcing meetings and price negotiations, including follow-up with factories and sourcing teams.
- Maintain accurate financial matrices and reference data, including raw-material pricing, purchasing records, cost assumptions, factory quotes, and related expenses.
- Prepare recurring and ad hoc reporting, including sales and shipping forecasts, inventory analysis, production allocation, margin and cost-change analysis, and management summaries.
- Review invoices, expenses, and supporting documentation for accuracy; investigate discrepancies and coordinate corrections.
- Assist senior management with pricing, margin, sourcing, and other strategic business decisions by translating detailed data into clear, practical recommendations.
- Support travel and expense audit and approval and other divisional-control activities.
- Coordinate with design, planning, sourcing, production, technical design, account management, manufacturing partners, and corporate accounting to keep costing and production milestones on track.
- Proactively chase missing information, identify deadline risks, escalate issues early, and communicate status and assumptions clearly.
- Help resolve pricing, production, and vendor discrepancies while balancing customer expectations, factory capabilities, timing, and financial objectives.
- Take ownership of assigned product lines and maintain organized records across multiple simultaneous priorities.
- Use advanced Excel tools to organize, reconcile, analyze, and explain large costing datasets; improve templates and controls.
- Help identify repetitive or manual steps that can be standardized, automated, or moved into improved costing, PLM, ERP, reporting, or workflow systems.
- Participate in the evaluation and adoption of new systems and responsible AI-enabled tools for costing, data validation, forecasting, document review, and workflow efficiency.
- Partner with business and technology stakeholders to translate costing requirements into clear process, data, and system needs.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, supply chain management, business analytics, economics, operations, information systems, data science, financial technology, or a related field.
- Entry level to three years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, costing, operations, supply chain, sourcing, manufacturing, or data analysis.
- Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIF/SUMIFS, logical formulas, data validation, filtering, and reconciliation.
- Strong analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail and a commitment to data accuracy.
- Strong organization, prioritization, and follow-through; able to manage overlapping deadlines, shifting priorities, and high volumes of detailed work.
- Clear verbal and written communication skills, including professional interaction with executive leadership, cross-functional partners, and overseas manufacturing/sourcing teams.
- Proactive and resourceful working style: comfortable asking questions, pursuing missing inputs, escalating risks, and operating both independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to protect confidential and proprietary information and use sound judgment when working with financial data and AI-enabled tools.
- Academic background combining business and technology—for example, a major/minor pairing in finance, accounting, supply chain, business analytics, information systems, data science, computer science, or financial technology.
- Experience with AI tools, automation, SQL, Python, Power Query, Power BI, Tableau, or similar data and workflow technologies.
- Experience using AI responsibly for business analysis, data quality checks, research, documentation, or process improvement, with an understanding that outputs require validation and human oversight.
- Knowledge of apparel costing, garment manufacturing, high-volume consumer products, retail programs, or global sourcing is a large plus.
- Experience with Simparel, PLM, ERP, costing, purchasing, or product-development systems is considered a plus, but not required.
Skills
- Microsoft Excel
- PivotTables
- XLOOKUP
- VLOOKUP
- SUMIF
- SUMIFS
- Logical formulas
- Data validation
- Filtering
- Reconciliation
- Analytical skills
- Conceptual skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Attention to detail
- Data accuracy
- Organization
- Prioritization
- Follow-through
- Verbal communication
- Written communication
- AI tools
- Automation
- SQL
- Python
- Power Query
- Power BI
- Tableau
- Apparel costing
- Garment manufacturing
- Global sourcing
- Simparel
- PLM
- ERP
Experience Level
- Entry level
- Up to three years of relevant experience
Education Level
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, supply chain management, business analytics, economics, operations, information systems, data science, financial technology, or a related field.
Salary/Compensations
- $70,000–$80,000 annually
