The author Andrew Codd is the producer of the Strength in the Numbers Podcast which interviews real finance practitioners to break down their hard-won lessons and deconstruct their practical methods that work on the job and which you won't typically find in textbooks or exams so that we create more influential finance professionals worldwide who solve meaningful problems for their organisations and in return have fun, rewarding and successful careers in finance. Within any organisation you’ll find some groups of people who are the most well-known and highly valued. Given there are many functions, groups, roles & people within our organisations today how can FP&A become, and be seen to be more valued?
The biggest business issue in the UK is Brexit - and has been since the people’s vote in June 2016. But how can FP&A/finance practitioners get to grips with this massive topic?
Tools and processes used by finance and FP&A (commercial management, billing, accounting, operational statistics, competitive intelligence, planning, budget, forecast, variance analysis, reporting) needs to be customized in order to achieve both efficiency and relevance. There is nothing like on the shelf tools.
By Karl Kern, Accountant / Lecturer / Writer
Karl Kern has a BBA degree in Accounting from Temple University, and an MBA degree with a concentration in Finance from Babson College. After graduating from Temple University Karl started a career where he has established a reputation as a problem solver. Karl’s reputation as a problem solver is based on his ability to create as well as implement initiatives that have helped organizations increase revenues, decrease expenses, and improve cash flows.Making assessments is one part of an FP&A practitioner’s work. The purpose of assessments is to stimulate learning about the relationship between processes and outcomes. How can an FP&A practitioner give meaning to assessments?
There is no lack of discussion about the skill sets that FP&A professionals need throughout their careers to be successful; even a cursory search on the Internet would provide a wealth of resources. Broadly speaking, those articles focus on four areas of skills:
One of the biggest transformations in the finance departments recently, has been the shift for an Accountant to move from a compliance and governance based individual, to an insight driven value added business partner. In the past, accountants could get by doing monthly reporting, statutory accounts and tax returns and justify their role within an organisation.
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