This is one of a series of three blogs – assessing some of the predictions about the future role of finance. The other two blogs focus on the skills needed for the digital world, one covering technical/digital knowledge and the other covering soft skills.

When creating a driver-based model, it is important to produce one that is not overly detailed or complex but one that is accurate and actionable. Avoid complexity by adding variables if they do not provide analytical benefit. Starting with the chart of accounts is not a good idea. The model should focus on key performance drivers. 

A core aspect of financial planning & analysis (FP&A) is forecasting and budgeting. In this article, exposed are some of the more common myths so frequently accepted as truth within FP&A groups around the globe.
 

The challenges of running a modern business get tougher and tougher. Mainly externally driven challenges including regulation, increases in business complexity for example in the level of competition, the nature of competition, a more complex global supply chain, increases in the speed of change, in no small measure driven by the acceleration in computing and digital technologies. All this leads to a more uncertain and more volatile business environment.

One day in November, a worried operations manager for a transport company was preparing for a meeting with the group’s financial director. He’d been ordered to explain the overspending on his region’s fuel account for the first 10 months of the financial year. The variance was huge and the MD had hit the roof! There were many reasons for the variance.

Change was the other name of 2019 and the area of corporate finance was no different to experience massive fast-paced change. We saw many topics which were “great discussions” in the past now being implemented... these changes are going to stay and will intensify further in the year of 2020 & beyond.