To be successful business partners, FP&A professionals should capitalise on the latest technological advances. So how can we digitise FP&A Business Partnering effectively?
There are many factors that influence a significant promotion in finance - be it into a manager role or large P&L responsibility. These can be formal education and certification, past performance, experience, etc.
However, what I have seen in the past, is that many people despite checking all these boxes still couldn't get ahead in their careers
The power of Finance Business Partnering enables Finance to step outside of their traditional Performance Management roles (setting budgets and reviewing actuals) in order to contribute to real value creation initiatives.
Simply put, spending more time working together is mutually beneficial for both Finance and the business.
But what is the best way to structure that relationship? Should Finance operate as an advisor, a consultant or perhaps even an investor?
Our business environment is changing dramatically. Smart devices, smart offices, autonomous vehicles are boosting and creating avalanches of data every day. Big data will benefit a business. It enables business with greater insights and new opportunities, but only if you are able to manage it well.
CEOs that are more strategically oriented and less numbers-oriented tend to want to partner with a CFO who has a strong command of the numbers. When that's not the case, and we have CEOs or leadership teams that are focused on their matrix, it can be challenging for the finance organisation. In the new article, Joao Almeida and Rich Feldman discuss some of the current challenges facing leaders in finance, and the role of capital planning in a time of increased uncertainty.
FP&A Transformation has been taking place for some time, with teams moving from the Traditional FP&A Model to the extended FP&A (xP&A) Model. This represents a move from scheduled to on-demand planning, from one scenario to multiple scenarios and from finance to entire company planning.