A good analyst can utilize every tool in their toolbelt to solve a problem.
Sometimes that IS what you need to do.
But often, rolling out the entire suite of solutions to answer some basic questions is massive overkill.
A great analyst knows how to take a complex business problem, utilize their technical abilities, and translate that question into something simple for a non-technical audience to digest.
And yes, sometimes that means just a simple bar chart. Or dare I say… a pie chart (I can already hear the mob coming)