One of the most important aspects of the FP&A role is to be able to provide insights by analysing the P&L. On the surface, P&Ls measure the profitability of the whole business and a lot of times FP&A professionals will look at P&Ls for the overall health of the organisation. 

There are many factors that influence a significant promotion in finance - be it into a manager role or large P&L responsibility. These can be formal education and certification, past performance, experience, etc.

However, what I have seen in the past, is that many people despite checking all these boxes still couldn't get ahead in their careers

The new xP&A world is much more connected than before with the ability to assess the component of risk management, multiple scenarios, modulations, and simulations. All of them are integrated and require a much closer approach to the business intelligence range of new skillsets.

If there is no financial planning, there is no financial control. Since financial planning and analysis (FP&A) is connected to all departments within a business, its fiduciary duty is to secure the realised value. There are three areas where the quality of financial planning can be leveraged to maintain this value.