The FP&A Trends Webinar: The Winning Formula for FP&A Storytelling
Click here to view details and register
The FP&A Trends Webinar: The Winning Formula for FP&A Storytelling
Click here to view details and register
By Wai Yee Tsang, Senior FP&A Professional
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.
There are four steps to become a trusted strategic partner:
This article will look into each of these steps in more detail.
Building strong relationships with your stakeholders is fundamental to effective engagement. This is not an ancillary part of the role as a business partner, but a critical first step.
Insightful analysis and reporting need to have relevance and impact. This requires taking extra steps to look at the data beyond the routine reporting, to understand whether there are further questions to be explored and what the resulting actions may be.
Effective communication should result in the recipient fully understanding the points being made and be informed to act on the materials presented. The advancement of technology and visualisation tools have raised the bar on how financial data and insights can be communicated.
The market and industry landscape are changing at a rapid pace, and business leaders have no choice than to respond accordingly to remain competitive and profitable. FP&A can play an invaluable role in supporting leaders to achieve success.
To become a trusted business partner, FP&A needs to devote time to their stakeholders and their needs. Building strong relationships is a critical first step to secure a seat at the table.
The development of strategic insights requires innovative and forward-looking thinking. Do not be afraid to experiment with different types of analysis and metrics. Findings need to be presented concisely and draw the attention of your audience to what may impact their decisions.
Since change is inevitable, develop your FP&A team with skills that are fit for the future. Explore technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Be proactive in steering the vision and change.
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