There are different interpretations of FP&A business partnering. In my opinion, it represents a relationship between FP&A and other departments in which all of the parties involved professionally deliver what is required and provide support to each other, with the ultimate aim of creating value for the organisation. For the partnership to work in the long run, there should be a benefit for everyone involved. This is why it is important to have a clear idea about expected outcomes. 

Today, software as a service (SaaS) businesses are popular with investors, lenders and customers. Many software companies have transmuted their pricing models from perpetual license models to subscription models. Finance business partners are important in subscription environments. In this article, you will find sample questions an FP&A business partner can help answer to accelerate the growth trajectory in a SaaS enterprise.

Language is important and the words we use are critical if we don’t want to be misunderstood. Being explicit and specific in the words and sentences we use, will leave less to interpretation and is critical in order to be effective.  In this article I analyse three common phrases I hear regularly in the organisations I work with, what I suggest they really mean and how to break through the ambiguity of them.

Finance Business Partnering is not a new concept to the many who have been doing it for years. What is new is that it has recently been given a new exciting title, and with that comes the fear that accountants and finance professionals need to be doing something new and in addition to their current duties. And that they need to find time for it.

Do you believe cross-functional projects help in improving FP&A Business Partners’ interpersonal skills, strengthening their relationships with stakeholders and increasing their business acumen? To answer these questions, I would like to share the below business case from my experience in working at a global FMCG company.

In this FP&A Talks, we speak with Thomas Lundell, Finance Director and Chief of Staff for Enterprise Countries at NetApp. Thomas shares his story of how he took part in building and transforming the FP&A team at NetApp. FP&A Talks is a collaboration between FP&A Trends Group and Anders Liu-Lindberg