Dataloopr

I recently interviewed for the Finance Data Analyst position with Etihad Airport Services in Abu Dhabi. The role offered a salary range of 25,000 - 28,000 AED per month, which is in line with senior analyst roles in the region. I wanted to share my experience for anyone preparing for a similar opportunity, as the questions were practical and leaned heavily on finance, reporting, and real-world problem solving.

The Interview Flow

The interview started with a brief introduction and then moved quickly into technical and situational questions. The focus was less on theoretical finance and more on how I would apply my skills to real business problems.

Here’s a breakdown of the key questions:

1. Walk me through your day.

This was a classic “get to know you” question. The interviewer wanted to understand how I structure my work, manage competing priorities, and balance routine tasks (like reporting) with ad-hoc analyses. I highlighted my daily rhythm - starting with reviewing dashboards and reports, moving into deeper analysis, collaborating with stakeholders, and wrapping up with forward-looking planning.

2. How do you measure productivity of Baristas in stores?

Even though the role is finance-focused, this question tested business acumen and operational thinking. Productivity could be measured through key performance indicators like:

• Sales per labor hour (revenue vs. staff cost)

• Transactions per barista per shift

• Average service time and customer wait time

• Customer satisfaction scores linked to staff performance

The underlying expectation was to connect operational efficiency to financial impact.

3. Have you worked on cost allocation? What drivers did you use and why?

Here, the interviewer wanted to test practical finance experience. I explained how cost allocation often depends on the nature of costs:

• For overhead, I used headcount, floor space, or revenue contribution as drivers.

• For logistics or distribution costs, volume or distance worked best.

• For shared services, time spent or number of transactions acted as allocation bases.

The key was justifying why each driver was chosen to ensure fairness and accuracy.

4. How did you build the P&L?

This tested both technical finance knowledge and reporting skills. I described starting with revenue recognition, deducting cost of goods sold (COGS) to arrive at gross margin, then layering in operating expenses (OPEX), depreciation/amortization, and interest/tax considerations to build a complete P&L. I also highlighted how automation (through tools like SAP, Oracle, or Power BI) can streamline this process.

5. How do you prepare a cash flow report?

Cash flow preparation is another staple finance task. I explained preparing it via the indirect method:

• Starting with net income

• Adjusting for non-cash expenses like depreciation

• Considering changes in working capital (inventory, receivables, payables)

• Finally adding cash flows from investing and financing activities

This helped demonstrate both technical finance capability and practical reporting know-how.

6. How do you calculate depreciation?

A straightforward but necessary question. I explained different methods:

• Straight-line for consistency

• Declining balance for assets losing value quickly

• Units of production for usage-based assets

I also emphasized the importance of aligning depreciation methods with the nature of the asset and company accounting policies.

7. Explain how you assessed the impact of “self-checkout” in stores on revenue.

This was one of the most interesting and business-oriented questions. I approached it as an impact analysis exercise:

• Compare sales trends before and after self-checkout implementation

• Analyze transaction speed and volume changes

• Measure reduction in staff cost versus incremental revenue

• Assess customer adoption rates and satisfaction

• Track whether basket sizes increased due to convenience

The goal was to show a data-driven approach to linking operational changes with financial performance.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the interview struck a balance between technical finance skills and real-world business applications. It wasn’t about memorizing accounting rules, but about demonstrating how finance data analysis can drive decision-making, improve operations, and optimize costs.

For anyone preparing for a similar role, I’d recommend brushing up on:

• Core finance concepts (P&L, cash flow, depreciation)

• Cost allocation methodologies

• Business impact analysis

• Operational KPIs

The experience showed me that at Etihad Airport Services, a Finance Data Analyst is not just a number cruncher - they are a business partner helping to link operations, strategy, and financial outcomes.