We live in an era with an interconnected global economy, where constant change and uncertainty are taken as a given but planning for such an environment is not easy. Flexible and dynamic financial planning and analysis (FP&A) can help firms to cope.
FP&A goes by many names. In Germany, it is called “Controlling”. From my previous visits to Germany, I know that German Controllers are different from Accountants: they are forward-looking, analytical and often very technical in their approaches. Recently, I got a great opportunity to learn how FP&A is evolving in Europe’s strongest economy.
The past 5 years have seen significant transformations in the FP&A world. I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively and seen these changes. I saw a lot of changes in the FP&A World first-hand: both successful and painful. I met a lot of FP&A professionals – hard working, exciting, inspiring and often burned out.
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On 12th October 2017, 22 senior finance practitioners from such companies as Ericsson, IDG (International Data Group), Lagardére Sports, MSD, Nutricia, Philips, Pirelli, Regus, Salesforce, Telia, Tieto, etc., gathered in Stockholm to interactively discuss why Driver-Based Planning matters for modern FP&A. The discussion was thought-provoking and interesting: many finance practitioners considering fully driver-based planning model, however, just a few organizations have them.
On 13th June 2017, 29 senior finance practitioners from such international and local companies as ABN AMRO, CRH, Diageo, Gemalto, Henkel, Ingram Micro, Naspers, PvH Europe, Regus, Sandoz, Staples Solutions, TIP Trailer Services, Vlisco, etc., gathered to interactively discuss Rolling Forecast Best Practices at the FP&A Board in Amsterdam.
Organisations are finding it increasingly hard to plan or predict future performance due to the fast pace and complexity engendered by today's global, online business environment. And yet, within the vast quantities of data. available to management, there are tell-tale trends and correlations that reveal valuable insights to the direction they should take to maximise results.
The inaugural London FP&A Circle meeting took place less than two weeks following the UK vote for Brexit. In this dramatically transformed business environment the role of FP&A is more important than ever in helping to manage the value of the company. In undertaking this task, the analytical maturity of the company is very important.