There is evidence that FP&A interest is growing fast. Each and every day, CFOs feel the pressure building on the finance function to contribute more to business success. Within the CFO’s organization, the responsibility for tracking, assessing and reporting corporate performance normally falls to the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) group.
Although it is becoming commonplace to refer to financial planning and analysis as FP&A, this is actually an American term and one that is still not widely used outside of the US. It is true that around the world, FP&A goes by many names.
By Randall Bolten, longtime Silicon Valley CFO, author of "Painting with Numbers: Presenting Financials and Other Numbers So People Will Understand You” and adjunct professor at U.C. Berkeley Extension.
You will be considered a great FP&A professional only if you can communicate clearly, effectively, and eloquently. The most basic of those choices is whether a use a table or a graph. To make that choice intelligently, it’s critical that you answer four questions that are described in this article.
What does it take to become a good or even great FP&A professional?
The article describes those QUALITIES that I have found in people who I have worked with, worked for and who have worked for me in an FP&A domain that I found to be particularly effective in driving the FP&A agenda forward within their responsibility domain.
Have you thought of becoming an FP&A professional? When I was studying for my accounting qualification, I assumed I would become a traditional accountant. I did not know then how wrong this assumption would prove to be. This article gives an insight to my path in becoming an FP&A professional and short guide on how to become one.
In this episode of the FP&A Trends Video Series, Hyder Hasan, Global Finance Director at PureCircle and a member of the FP&A Board in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), shares his thoughts on the importance of FP&A soft skills. Soft skills are the differentiating factor between a good business partner and an effective business partner.