At a time when finance is being challenged to add more value, getting the right attitude and mindset becomes critical to attract finance talent that is fit for purpose. This article zooms in on two important qualities of a good FP&A professional – Challenging and Compassionate.
May 14, 2020
I have previously written about 8 qualities which I believe characterize good FP&A performers. The article will explore what 2 of these – Curiosity and Creativity - can mean for Business Finance and FP&A in particular.
April 24, 2020
The image of a silo is one that is sealed off from its surroundings. It is insular and protected. In the organisation, this has tended to manifest itself in functional silos. Meaning Finance, HR, IT, R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing etc. It can, of course, apply broader to also divisions within an organisation or even regions / markets. How does this relate to Finance?
April 9, 2020
FP&A helps create sources of future value whilst being on top of how much value is being created at present. Neither of these two things is as easy to measure at any one point in time. So, how can we answer the question “is FP&A delivering what is expected of it”?
April 2, 2020
The explosion in computing and data processing power has led to an exponential increase in data available to business. Paradoxically, this has led to business leaders becoming more uncertain about what to do with this data. Hence, business is scrambling to put the appropriate “analytics” capability in place. This generates a lot of friction and tension because business leaders and managers, who have been brought up in a very different world, have to scramble to learn new languages and redress their relationship with data.
March 20, 2020
All functions have operational deliverables, with perhaps a very few exceptions like a Corporate Strategy function. Given this “daily business” that has to be conducted, it is logical that when attempting change risk rears its considerable head. The greater the change impact and ambition, the bigger the risk has to be taken into account on how to guarantee “business continuity”. FP&A is not exempt from this.
Amrish Shah
Amrish Shah, of Indian origin, born in Africa, a British national and now residing in The Netherlands, is a seasoned and senior finance leader with over 20 years of financial management experience in international organizations. Some of the companies he has worked for include Unilever, O'Neill Group, Staples, Royal Wessanen, Kao and he is currently working in a senior FP&A transformation capacity at EndemolShine.
A qualified Management Accountant with CIMA, he has held regional finance leadership positions since 2001, based out of The Netherlands. He has held both staff and line roles, managing teams of up to 40 people. He has a clear belief in the value of finance at both strategic and operational levels to the organisation and is passionate about, amongst others, organisation decision making, organisation culture, high performing teams, leadership in general, organisation and finance transformation, change management and talent management.
In his experience, the perception (and in many cases the reality) of finance as a backward looking, administrative, reporting and compliance driven function belongs firmly in the past. A fit for purpose modern finance function demands the requisite creativity to spur Innovation from within finance in order to support organisations towards more sustainable and robust performance management and increasing levels of both customer and employee engagement. And that is a journey that he remains excited about ever day.
Author's Articles
May 28, 2020
At a time when finance is being challenged to add more value, getting the right attitude and mindset becomes critical to attract finance talent that is fit for purpose. This article zooms in on two important qualities of a good FP&A professional – Challenging and Compassionate.
May 14, 2020
I have previously written about 8 qualities which I believe characterize good FP&A performers. The article will explore what 2 of these – Curiosity and Creativity - can mean for Business Finance and FP&A in particular.
April 24, 2020
The image of a silo is one that is sealed off from its surroundings. It is insular and protected. In the organisation, this has tended to manifest itself in functional silos. Meaning Finance, HR, IT, R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing etc. It can, of course, apply broader to also divisions within an organisation or even regions / markets. How does this relate to Finance?
April 9, 2020
FP&A helps create sources of future value whilst being on top of how much value is being created at present. Neither of these two things is as easy to measure at any one point in time. So, how can we answer the question “is FP&A delivering what is expected of it”?