First and foremost, Best-in-class FP&A is about agility. Accordingly, it specialises in the ability to orient planning activity around the needs and cycles of the products and services provided by the organisation. With a constant flow of urgent demands leaving little time to make changes, finance teams need practical advice on how to digitally transform FP&A.

This paper, based on our interviews with 25 top FP&A practitioners and thought leaders along with case studies from the largest global network of FP&A people, captures the best practices and new ideas coming out of this fast-growing area.

In this paper, we will explore these different areas to explain what they are, how they have benefited other organisations and the steps an organisation can take in making the transition.

I hope to show the analytical power that is now available to the FP&A practitioner and how it can drive business change in a structured manner; a method that involves considerably less effort than I had to apply all those years ago.

FP&A must drive profitable business decisions. As companies increase investments in advanced analytics, CFOs and their FP&A leaders are well-positioned to provide precise forecasts and actionable insights to support quick and accurate decision making.

Being adaptive to changes in the surrounding world and changing yourself is the only way to progress today. Continuous transformation of planning and analysis approaches becomes a lifestyle. Digital Transformation forms a fundamental part of it. At the same time, changes bring risks and the only way to manage them is to be prepared.