FP&A Insights

FP&A Insights is a collection of useful case studies from leading international companies and thought leadership insights from FP&A experts. We aim to help you keep track of the best practices in modern FP&A, recognise changes in the ever-evolving world of financial planning and analysis and be well equipped to deal with them.

Stay tuned for more blogs and articles from great authors.

Utilizing Technology in FP&A
FP&A Tags:
FP&A Technology, FP&A Analytics

By Karl Kern, Accountant / Lecturer / Writer

This article addresses technology in FP&A. In his book "THE INNOVATORS" Walter Isaacson describes two ways of utilizing technology.  One way is artificial intelligence, machines thinking on their own.  Another way is augmented intelligence, people using machines to help organize information.

Read more
Are You an Ethical Numbers Presenter?
FP&A Tags:
Data Visualisation

By Randall Bolten, longtime Silicon Valley CFO, author of "Painting with Numbers: Presenting Financials and Other Numbers So People Will Understand You” and adjunct professor at U.C. Berkeley Extension.

RANDALL BOLTEN grew up in Washington, D.C., the son of a CIA intelligence officer and a history professor. He is passionate about the importance of presenting financials and other numerical information in a cogent and effective way, and in his current life is the author of Painting with Numbers: Presenting Financials and Other Numbers So People Will Understand You (John Wiley & Sons, 2012).

He is a seasoned financial executive, with many years directing the financial and other operations of high-technology companies. His experience includes nearly twenty years as a chief financial officer of software companies.

He has held the CFO position at public companies BroadVision and Phoenix Technologies, and at private companies including Arcot Systems, BioCAD, and Teknekron. Before his CFO positions, he held senior financial management positions at Oracle and Tandem Computers.

He received his AB from Princeton University, headed west to earn an MBA at Stanford University, and ended up staying in Silicon Valley. 

In addition to writing Painting with Numbers, he currently operates Lucidity, a consulting and executive coaching practice focused on organizing and presenting complex financial information. He divides his work time between Glenbrook, NV and Washington, DC, and maintains an office in Menlo Park, CA.

In recent posts we’ve seen how tiny changes in the way we present numbers can have a huge impact on how well the information is understood. In this post, we look instead at how those little things can affect how your integrity or your ethics might be perceived. 

Read more
The 11 Commandments of Supreme Forecasting
FP&A Tags:
Modelling and Forecasting, Forecasting Quality

By Timo Wienefoet, Principal at Kainos

The gold rush is a defining part of Silicon Valley. The gold of today is data, and many solutions are rushed to the world market from a small radius around Princeton University. On the other side of the Bay lies the University of California, Berkeley, a place of the Liberal Arts in contrast to the technology-driven Princeton.

Read more
Clinical & Statistical FP&A
FP&A Tags:
What is FP&A, FP&A People

By Karl Kern, Accountant / Lecturer / Writer

In his book THINKING, FAST AND SLOW Daniel Kahneman describes two schools of psychology within the study of decision making. Clinical psychologists advocate the use of methods like heuristics (rules of thumb) and intuition for making decisions. Statistical psychologists, on the other hand, advocate the use of methods like simple algorithms or formulas for making decisions.

Read more
+

Subscribe to
FP&A Trends Digest

We will regularly update you on the latest trends and developments in FP&A. Take the opportunity to have articles written by finance thought leaders delivered directly to your inbox; watch compelling webinars; connect with like-minded professionals; and become a part of our global community.

Create new account