As I walk around various offices or even in social gatherings, I find many conversations about artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and big data. And logically, then, the discussion quite often rolls into how our life will change due to the availability of data, how each of our actions is turning into data, how future consumer behaviour thus can be predicted etc. Thus people quite often discuss predictive analysis (PA), and we hear stories about its use in elections to predict voters' behaviour, customer behaviour, payment risks, etc.

A core aspect of financial planning & analysis (FP&A) is forecasting and budgeting. In this article, exposed are some of the more common myths so frequently accepted as truth within FP&A groups around the globe.
 

In this issue, we would like to look at key performance indicators (KPIs) from the perspective of a CFO. We will also discover which five important things will improve the effectiveness of a company's planning processes and look into how the analytics of FP&A are connected to the Simpson’s paradox. We will explain why data visualisation is considered to be a game changer for FP&A and then explain the 4 steps necessary to become a more valued FP&A professional.

The challenges of running a modern business get tougher and tougher. Mainly externally driven challenges including regulation, increases in business complexity for example in the level of competition, the nature of competition, a more complex global supply chain, increases in the speed of change, in no small measure driven by the acceleration in computing and digital technologies. All this leads to a more uncertain and more volatile business environment.