Successful implementation of an FP&A software requires clarity on the selected tools, delivery methodology and business benefits that the solution aims to deliver. The six considerations set out below aim to improve success for FP&A implementation.

In the last years, the digital transformation had an accelerated impact not only on improving customer experience but also on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes. This article gives insights into an innovative finance investment controlling project recently created at Zalando. The project is a digital platform and process called internally “Investment App” developed in an agile approach, to supervise large capital expenditures across Zalando business units.

Irrespective of the industry you work in, I am sure all of you would have noticed a huge change in the way your business operates in the last decade. You may have seen competition from previously unforeseen competitors, your CIOs talking about new digital ways of doing business and the utter lack of ready talent in your teams to manage this new challenge.

Improving financial planning and analysis (FP&A) means investing in people and systems. It only takes three pages to design a process and identify new roles and responsibilities. This method is described in this article and has been used to introduce new financial processes and operational reports.

FP&A teams are skilled at pulling data from various information systems, manipulating it, and gathering insights. Although FP&A plays a crucial role in supporting companies in becoming more intelligent, there is a lot to think about when getting ready for big data and the FP&A transformation journey. Below are a few things to consider. This list will continue to evolve as we all learn from each other. 

 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.