This Insights Paper examines five visionary trends that illustrate how the Agency Shift, where the initiation of FP&A activity is transferred from humans to advanced systems, is beginning to surface in practice. These trends collectively describe the conditions that must converge for Autonomous FP&A to function as a stable operating model. They also provide a roadmap for finance leaders who want to move from producing outputs to designing and governing the intelligent systems that shape decisions, resilience, and shareholder value.

This year’s FP&A Trends Survey draws on responses from 459 finance professionals across industries and regions and dives into the core elements that define modern FP&A — from Integrated FP&A and Scenario Management to data, technology, and team capabilities.

This paper is a practical guide for finance professionals looking to lead in the AI era. Based on global insights, it explores real use cases, adoption foundations, AI FP&A Trends Maturity Model, and actionable steps to move from automation to strategic impact.

In an era of data overload and fast-evolving digital tools, traditional FP&A methods are no longer sufficient. This Insights Paper offers a practical roadmap for Analytical Transformation, showing how to harness data more effectively, implement modern analytics platforms, and build a culture where insights drive decision-making. Drawing on a decade of global research and real-world case studies, it explores why transformation efforts often stall — and how to make them succeed.

This paper revisits five key FP&A roles: the Architect, the Analyst, the Data Scientist, the Data Storyteller, and the Influencer, which were first introduced in our 2021 research paper. We explore how these roles have evolved, their impact on Business Partnering, and how they will adapt to new challenges and technologies. 

FP&A teams have played a critical role in organisations for a long time, but traditional FP&A is no longer sufficient. Economic volatility, shifting demographics, emerging technologies, and data overload demand a more agile, insight-driven FP&A. This paper explores what makes modern FP&A teams effective, outlines four essential layers to meet today’s business needs and provides practical steps to implement them.