The CFO is commonly considered to be the sparring partner to the company CEO. Traditionally this implies a physical vicinity of the finance department to the CEO. However, during my career, I have found more and more finance organisations where remote working is prevalent. I can identify three models.
Although FP&A professionals are good at analyzing past events, past performance does not predict the future. How can we make forecasts more influential?
An xP&A Business Partner needs to be equipped with defined skills and competencies that bridge technical acumen, technology, and influence. The latest technological advances have enhanced and transformed FP&A frameworks. xP&A Business Partnering is the latest trend that is going well beyond just Finance and involves the entire organisation.
FP&A function is changing rapidly together with our world. xP&A means “Extended Planning & Analysis” and is now slowly taking place of the traditional FP&A. FP&A Business Partnering Maturity Model as below is showing us three stages of different aspects of core FP&A competencies. xP&A is covered under the "Leading State" column.
Every month the Managing Director or Country Manager has to report the business results to the CEO or internal board. Depending on the corporate structure, there are different narrative reports, each with a different focus. This defines the role of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) and the information that needs to be collected for future growth. Two opposite cases will make the same point.
There is a lot of hype these days about the concept of FP&A Business Partnering. At FP&A Trends Group, we introduced the concept of xP&A Business Partner. Who is it and why is this role important?