Companies large and small spend countless hours every month developing, amending and updating the spreadsheets that measure performance and drive strategic decision-making. So it’s critical the data contained and output generated by these spreadsheets is timely, simple and above all, accurate.  But is it?

What ignited this article? I was talking with some upcoming college graduates from a similar background as myself. They were looking to go into corporate finance/financial planning & analysis (FP&A) after graduating from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. I shared with them lessons I learned from 10 years in the finance game.

A groundbreaking survey designed to benchmark current and emerging trends relative to how companies are leveraging technology and empowering FP&A professionals to unlock the strategic value of FP&A.

The CEO walks into the CFO’s office and says, “You need to take more ownership of the customer experience and the professional development within and beyond your team. Even a few years’ ago many CFOs would have thought, and some still might think, is that the beginning of a joke?

Framing is how situations are presented to people. How situations are presented affect the decisions that people make. Framing has a role in the work of FP&A practitioners. FP&A practitioners can work through narrow frames.  Narrow frames can appear on income statements through revenues from specific products, executive salaries, and equipment depreciation.

Financial model definitions can be tricky. Financial models are often dependent upon numerous functional areas and academic disciplines, such as accounting, finance and statistics. These disciplines may have differing uses of the same terminology. Model risk management has also drawn on numerous disciplines in its evolution.