The Seattle FP&A Board met on May 24th. Ron Zanetti, Head Of Finance at WellSaid Labs and FP&A Board Ambassador moderated the discussion. 28 professionals attended from companies, including:

• Amazon
   
• Boeing
   
• T-Mobile
   
• Genie/Terex Corporation
   
• Seattle Children’s Hospital

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Figure 1: Lively Networking During the Seattle FP&A Board

Lessons Learned From the Pandemic

During introductions, all the participants provided insight into lessons learned from the pandemic. The following are some of the comments made: 

• We could respond to remote work in the short term, but it became more complex in the long term
   
• There is a need for face-to-face collaboration
   
• Don’t be distracted by the noise and how it affects the long-term direction of the company
   
• Increase the cadence of forecasting to enable companies to “win at the turns”
   
• Raise cash before the market tanks
   
• Make sure you understand the balance sheet and break-even point
   
• Don’t take growth for granted

Scenarios

One of the discussion topics was effective Scenario Planning. The following are some of the insights and comments provided by participants.

• Scenarios must be accurate, believable and timely
   
• Build a connection across the organization to achieve good scenarios
   
• Scenarios based on cash flow and balanced sheets provide the foundation for accuracy
   
• Don’t over-rely on averages in scenario planning because you may miss big things
   
• Need to have a gut check on the assumptions that underlie scenarios

xP&A Discussion

One of the discussion topics was on xP&A. The following are some characteristics identified of effective xP&A processes and solutions.

• Processes and workflows are executed across functions and entities, not just within entities
   
• Finance and operations share planning models that support both
   
• In manufacturing, sales and operations and Rolling Forecast should be a single process
   
• Effective cross-functional management, like the use of productivity measures instead of fixed budget targets
   
• The Group pushed back on the concept of xP&A as the feeling was that it did not adequately address the need for integration as stated. We ended up with a new format: (xP&A)^I, where the power of I = integration. So we turned it into calculus.

Breakout Teams

At the end of the meeting, participants broke into three groups, each addressing one topic. The following is a summary of their feedback.

Team 1: What are the practical steps in implementing xP&A?

• Repeatable
   
• Solid Strategic Plan
   
• Collaborate with all functional groups and execs
   
• Finance: set guardrails to help participants
   
• Strong Leadership
   
• Set a calendar and timeline for all
   
• Set a Planning Cadence

Team 2: How to move from traditional planning to Scenario Management?

• Invest time and establish a framework (tools and process to handle iterations)
   
• The organization’s incentives aligned
   
• Build trust with stakeholders; key stakeholders must understand the impact of financial statements
   
• KPIs across the entire business
   
• Find allies/change agents, champions, influencers
   
• Find and turn around one sceptic into a champion
   
• Ensure calendar management and sustain an operating rhythm
   
• Manage resource allocation for people first
   
• Be mindful of controllable and non-controllable factors

Team 3: How can organizations prepare themselves for successful analytical transformation?

• Ensure decisions are driven by data
   
• Recruit champions
   
• Communicate vision
   
• Demonstrate and share “Actionable Insights”, not just “Interesting Insights”.
   

 SAP, Seattle Search Group and International Workplace Group sponsored the meeting.