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Finance Development Program (FDP)
In the United States
The Finance Development Program (FDP) is a three-year program geared towards students graduating with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and minimal professional experience to date. The program is designed to develop exceptional analytical skills and provide participants with solid operational knowledge across three diverse finance assignments.
Participants in this program are encouraged to spend a rotation at one of our U.S. manufacturing facilities, which offers a unique perspective on our operations. Participants have program-specific curriculum and receive a dedicated Steering Committee mentor, who is a senior finance leader. Individuals graduate with a strong foundational understanding of accounting, finance and operations; preparing them to lead future financial initiatives throughout the company.
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance can sometimes feel like an ambiguous term. What does a career in corporate finance mean at Whirlpool? Our goal as a finance organization is to be a trusted global business partner, consistently delivering enterprise value in every process and business decision. Our finance individuals partner and support each piece of our business. For example, finance supports product development by providing analysis for return on invested capital, supports supply chain by identifying cost-saving opportunities, and supports sales by ensuring promotional investments are profitable. Whether it’s partnering with supply chain, sales, merchandising, marketing, or engineering; we make sure each investment and decision is bringing the maximum value to our business, and ultimately our shareholders.
Types Of Roles In The Program
The Finance Development Program consists of three one year rotations within various departments of finance and accounting at Whirlpool.
Accounting
- Internal Reporting
- Benefits Accounting
- Internal Audit
- Inventory Accounting
Financial Planning and Analysis
- Corporate Center OIOE & Working Capital Regional Role – North America
- North American Regional FP&A Consolidations
Commercial
- Commercial Reporting & Analytics Channel Reporting (Sales support)
- Retail and Builder Sales Support
- KitchenAid® Small Appliances Sales Support
Shared Services
- Free Cash Flow – Accounts Receivable
Cost Accounting
- Freight & Warehousing
- Procurement Manufacturing – (Plant Experience)
- Global Strategic Sourcing
Treasury
- Treasury Operations & Risk Management
- Real Estate
Corporate Business Strategy and Development
- Mergers and Acquisitions
Meet Our Participants
We talked to a few of our participants to get their insight on what their daily responsibilities are and what role they play in corporate finance at Whirlpool.
Bryan Condra
FDP, Financial Analyst.
2nd Rotation – CR&A
Commercial Reporting & Analytics
Within my role on our commercial reporting & analytics team, I analyze ~$1.1B in promotional spend in our North America region and provide insights to sales to ensure the company retains its profitability.”
Melody Campbell
FDP, Financial Analyst.
1st Rotation – Real Estate
My role allows me to support our real estate team through assisted management of the capital budget globally, the $33M facilities budget in the Benton Harbor area, and various projects to initiate cost savings.”
Jordan Topinka
FDP, Financial Analyst.
1st Rotation – Internal Reporting
As part of our Corporate Accounting team we are responsible for ensuring a timely and accurate global consolidation between regions. We prepare monthly financial statement reports that are used by our Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller.”
Who we are looking for:
- Progress towards Bachelor’s or Master’s degree curriculum with an emphasis in Finance or Accounting
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0
- Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems with analytics
- Continuous improvement mindset
- Strong communication leadership and project management skills
Get to know us
General responsibilities that you see carry over between finance roles within the program include:
- Month end reporting that consists of consolidating financial results across a function, a region, or our global organization.
- Forecasting financial results. This is on a monthly cadence that helps gauge whether we are on track for our goals.
- Providing financial models or ad hoc support to help business partners make the best operational and financial decisions.