The Danaher Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP) provides an accelerated training program for college graduates who are at the top of their class and have proven the ability to excel in today’s fast-paced environment. The program will provide graduates, who wish to pursue a career in Finance or Corporate Accounting, the opportunity to get exposed to the various facets of financial management. The FLDP is designed to provide us with future leaders for significant management positions. The FLDP will build on the technical skills of the participants by providing them exposure to experienced Danaher professionals through three assignments at various manufacturing and division locations. Assignments will typically last 12 months but will vary based on several factors. Each rotation will include detailed exposure and involvement in the Danaher Business System (DBS).
We only recruit the best candidates who are at the head of their class with undergraduate or graduate degrees in finance or accounting from schools that have top ranked business programs. To be considered, candidates must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, have natural leadership tendencies, and a high energy level.
The following are descriptions of the five (5) structured assignments. Participants will be placed in three (3) of these assignments during their rotation. Selection of the assignment will involve the participant’s preference, availability of the assignment, and the needs of the organization. The specific responsibilities within each assignment may vary based upon the immediate needs of the business. Some assignments share some of the same objectives. These objectives overlap from various assignments, as they are the foundation of sound financial practices.
Analyst: The Financial Planning & Analysis function plays a key role in each business unit. Our analysts are intimately involved in our manufacturing operations and work side-by-side with the business unit leader to evaluate and report on all aspects of the business including profit & loss and working capital on a global basis. Analysts will typically be responsible for either a product line and/or manufacturing area, and are responsible for providing actual results compared to forecast and budget for their assigned areas. Analysis of the results or forecast will include, but not be limited to, absolute performance against plan/forecast, volume adjusted performance against plan/forecast and prior year; root cause analysis of financial consequences of manufacturing and purchasing variances; and proactively assess viability of countermeasures to compensate for less than plan performance. Typically reports to a site or operating company level FP&A manager.
Accountant: Accountants are fundamental to providing accurate, timely actuals and are an integral part of the Danaher finance team’s overall fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. The accounting role is key to proactively establishing best practices in balance sheet reconciliations, general ledgers as well as accounts receivable and accounts payable. These transactional based roles are instrumental in the smooth and profitable operation of our business. The AP and AR function within Danaher drives our DSO and DPO KPI which has a significant impact on working capital. This role typically reports to the site General Accounting Manager and is heavily involved during the month- end financial close process.
Internal Audit: Danaher always strives to maintain the highest standards of conduct. Complete and total compliance with all Sarbanes-Oxley regulations helps us drive our internal practices and policies. Rigorous audits of our practices helps ensure consistency through all of our operations and ensure compliance with all applicable federal regulations.
Cost Accountant: The ability to analyze and understand the cost structure of our products is vital to our sales and marketing programs. Our cost accountants work directly with the operations leaders to identify opportunities to reduce cost through every step of the sourcing and manufacturing process. Cost accountants play a critical role in understanding root cause and prioritization of manufacturing and purchasing variances. During the yearly standard setting process, the cost accounting role will work with respective manufacturing engineers to ensure validity of Bills of Materials and manufacturing routings, with product managers to ensure costs are understood, and with FP&A to ensure inventory and P&L impact of standard rollovers are understood. Position typically reports to an operating company Cost Accounting Manager.
Sales/Pricing Analyst: Understanding our customers from a financial point of view enables the sales team to appropriately focus their efforts and ensure the maximum possible financial gain from each sale. The sales analyst position assists the sales teams by evaluating customer trends, sales volume, margin history and multiple other key data points to help the sales force manage annual revenues. The position must interact with product marketing from a customer, external perspective, cost accounting to understand the margin implication of pricing proposals, and FP&A to ensure consistency with budget expectations. Position allows exposure to financial, operational, and external customers. Typically this position reports to a Product Manager or, at times, directly to an operating company Business Unit Director.
Relocation: Exposure to the different manufacturing environments and processes within Danaher is key to the growth and development of the FLDP participants. In order to facilitate this, the participants may be asked to relocate at the completion of each rotation. The selection of the assignment location will involve the participant’s preference, availability of the assignment, and the needs of the organization. Relocation is handled in accordance with Danaher’s Smart Sum Value relocation policy. Associates are discouraged from purchasing a primary residence while in the development program as relocation costs for the sale and purchase of a home are not covered by the Smart Sum relocation policy.
From time to time, the positions may become available at one of our international locations and/or require an extended stay at an international location during a system implementation or balance sheet review.
