FP&A Trends: Reinventing FP&A: FP&A Analysts

“In the past, all an analyst needed to know was Excel. But as data volumes increased and multidimensional technology evolved, analysts had new tools to analyse data from different perspectives, identify time-series trends, and set up alerts when values exceeded set parameters. As analytic technology matured, statistical techniques were embedded into applications that allowed simple forms of correlation which could then be used to build driver-based models to predict future events. All are still within the capabilities of the average accountant.”

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FP&A Trends: FP&A Needs to Be More Prominent at the Executive Table than Ever

“Planning is an absolute business imperative, and organisations are striving to be more intelligent and agile in the world, where black swan events are becoming a new normal.

In order to achieve that, we need to get into a state where people and plans are completely aligned, but so far, people are planning in silos with spreadsheets and disconnected tools.”

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FP&A Trends: Skills of the Future: How to Build Best-in-Class FP&A Teams

“The Architect: is responsible for building the bridges between raw data, key business drivers, and driver-based models into actionable insights that help make business decisions.”

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FP&A Trends: Time to Make a Difference – Value Creation through FP&A Business Partnering

“We are model builders and, through our understanding, build various different scenarios to guide the business through to find the optimal outcome that creates maximum value.”

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FP&A Trends: The Future of Business Modelling

“In most companies relying on Excel-based solutions, Excel is doing everything: it functions as the database, the calculation engine, and the analytical tool, sometimes all within one workbook. This approach is resource-intensive and eventually becomes unsustainable. And while Excel is an excellent tool for spreadsheets, financial modelling, and provides FP&A with much-needed agility, it’s not effective for sophisticated FP&A processes such as data consolidation, repetitive reporting processes, drill-downs, and comparison analysis (such as scenario comparisons). A technology solution is needed to unlock additional power.”

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FP&A Trends: Advanced Analytics as an Attribute of FP&A Maturity

“We can mix and match and decide which initiatives will be executed in response to scenarios A, B or C…This is a quite technically demanding exercise and shouldn’t be performed in Excel or any other tool with manual data entry.”

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FP&A Trends: Change Management and Analytical Change for FP&A

“The BARC survey “The Future of Planning, Sept 2021” clearly showed Rolling Forecast, Integration with Operational Processes, Simulations and Scenario Analysis, Action and Value driver-based planning are where organisations at going to invest in the future, with 56% planning to invest in technology in the next 12 months.”

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FP&A Trends: How FP&A Evolved and Optimized Through the Pandemic

“Finance professionals are empowered to present data to cross teams on the best case, worst case, and most likely scenarios that could arise. This helps cross-teams understand how their decisions affect the rest of the organisation and make FP&A a strategic resource helping them navigate business objectives.”

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FP&A Trends: How an Integrated FP&A Can Drive Value Creation

“Three pillars of modern Integrated FP&A:

• Connected: Optimise planning capabilities by integrating planning techniques
• Complete: Build a cashflow mindset, stop focusing on local efficiencies
• Continuous: Focus on growth and value creation while moving at the speed”

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