Finance FP&A - Budgeting & Forecasting Analyst

Ishika Patel

*.*********@*****.*** ***- ***-**** Newark, NJ

Finance professional with direct experience in FP&A, budgeting, variance analysis, and financial reporting across a $1M+ operating budget. MQF candidate at Rutgers with strong financial modeling, forecasting, and stakeholder communication skills. Targeting Financial Analyst, FP&A Analyst, and Budget Analyst roles in NJ/NY. EDUCATION

Rutgers Business School - Newark, NJ Jan 2026 – May 2027 Master of Quantitative Finance

Relevant Coursework: Financial Modeling, Financial Time Series, Market Risk Management, Stochastic Calculus Montclair State University - Montclair, NJ Aug 2021 - May 2025 Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

Relevant Coursework: Data Structures & Algorithms, Database Management Systems, Operating Systems, Linear Algebra SKILLS

Finance: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting & Forecasting, Variance Analysis, Budget vs. Actual, P&L Analysis, Trend Analysis, Sensitivity Analysis, Cost Analysis, Cash Flow Analysis, Financial Reporting, Month-End Close, GAAP Tools: Excel (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, Macros), PowerPoint, Python, R, SQL, Bloomberg Terminal, GitHub, C++ Interests: Financial Planning & Analysis, Process Improvement, Data-Driven Decision Making, Quantitative Finance, Personal Investing, Financial Markets

PROJECTS

Bnai Keshet Financial Dashboard & Forecasting Model Excel, Python Spring 2026

● Built integrated financial dashboard in Excel and Python consolidating cash flow statements, budget vs. actual variance, and membership revenue across 350+ accounts and $1M+ operating budget.

● Developed 6-month revenue forecasting model using time series methods; quantified cost leakage across membership tiers and identified seasonal revenue patterns.

SOFR Yield Curve Bootstrapping & Interest Rate Derivatives Pricing Fixed Income Spring 2026

● Bootstrapped USD SOFR OIS curve to 20Y; priced fixed-for-floating IRS at 4.5% with full DV01 sensitivity ladder across tenors.

● Bootstrapped CDS survival curve via hazard rate calibration; priced $10M CDS using reduced-form default model with risky annuity valuation.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Bnai Keshet Non-Profit

Financial & Operations Assistant Sep 2024 – Present

● Oversee financial operations for 350+ member accounts across $1M+ operating budget; manage invoices, POs, and vendor contracts with full reconciliation.

● Delivered variance reporting framework and executive financial summaries to leadership; streamlined month-end close reducing reporting errors by 30% through documented SOPs.

● Presented cash flow findings and revenue leakage analysis to the Executive Director; translated financial data into actionable cost reduction recommendations.

Nutra-Med Packaging LLC Pharma

Serialization Technician / IT Support Aug 2025 – Dec 2025

● Built Excel incident-tracking system reducing serialization errors 25% and production downtime 15% across pharmaceutical packaging operations.

● Created troubleshooting documentation reducing escalations 30%; provided overnight IT support maintaining continuous production flow.

COMPETITIONS & AWARDS

Fordham Quant Lester Cup 4th Place (Team)Spring 2026

● Collaborated with MQF peers to develop and communicate a quantitative investment strategy; placed 4th among teams from Fordham, NYU, Columbia, and Rutgers.

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