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.

Traditional FP&A activities are becoming increasingly standardised and automated. To cope with these trends, finance managers should take over the role of sparring partner in their organisation.

 At a time when the FP&A framework is being extended to the entire organisation (into Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A)), FP&A Business Partnering need to keep up with this new model to stay relevant and cutting edge. xP&A Business Partnering is now the latest trend that is going well beyond just Finance involving the entire organisation to move FP&A and planning to the next level.

Every FP&A professional has an active role to play in business partnering, supporting the leadership team to aid decision making. To enable this, the FP&A team must be positioned to inform the future impact of decisions that are being made now. This requires understanding what the company’s strategy is, where the company is heading, what part your business unit/function play to get there and what are the KPIs on which they are being measured.

Now, more than ever, the FP&A profession stands to propel itself forward as the premier business partner for Commercial and Operational teams. While FP&A content trending today may center around technological advances, the focus herein will instead shift to the bedrock principle that defines the FP&A profession: striking the proper balance between analytical depth and high-level storytelling. 

The CFO is commonly considered to be the sparring partner to the company CEO. Traditionally this implies a physical vicinity of the finance department to the CEO. However, during my career, I have found more and more finance organisations where remote working is prevalent. I can identify three models.