On 3 December, we had an interesting debate on why extended planning and analysis (xP&A) is playing an increasingly important role in finance. Senior finance professionals from Deutsche Bahn, Jedox and Microsoft shared their views on the subject.
The Digital North American FP&A Board identified the top 10 trends shaping FP&A in 2021 and beyond. The discussion was led by an experienced panel of senior FP&A professionals from across multiple industries. This article summarizes all featured presentations.
Computer simulations allow us to play out various scenarios repeatedly and assess the outcomes. It is also true for computer simulations that are used in finance. Through scenario analysis, we can gain some comfort and assurance that the decision taken is the right one given the circumstances. However, there are a few considerations with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
While automation has eliminated many repetitive tasks, the next step for FP&A is to develop advanced analytics capabilities.
FP&A Digitalisation was discussed at several FP&A Boards in the past but the recent mindset shift has changed the perspective. It went from anxiety before the implementation to peace of mind in fully controlling the processes and confidence in the quality of provided FP&A insights.
This article summarises the presentations and discussions during the recent Digital FP&A Circle on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have reduced the process burden, increased the speed of insights, and ultimately supported improved decision-making at Konica Minolta and Amazon.