The benefits of measuring seasonality of accuracy are that users can plan high/low scenarios for each prediction based on the season-specific range of possibilities.  Departments can adjust how much capacity, safety stock, or cash reserves are needed based on their own worst case.  And it's easier to determine missing factors for model improvement when you focus on adding predictors to the high noise areas of the model.

Traditional FP&A systems are typically focused on one aspect of the management process.  For example, setting a budget, collecting a forecast, or delivering results in the form of a report pack.

Over the past 20 years, there have been concerted efforts to combine these processes into a single system – after all, what’s the point of a budget if you can’t report against it or collect a forecast to see if year-end goals are going to be achieved?

London FP&A Circle will take place on 27 January to explore Cash Flow Planning - Why the Traditional Profit-Driven Mindset Needs to Be Rethought

Jack Welch was quoted as saying, “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, then the end is near.”

In this video, Angelica Ancira, Global Digital Planning Lead at PepsiCo, explains the role Self-Service Analytics play in FP&A Storytelling, and how to get the most out of your Self-Service Platform.

The main criticism of the traditional budget is that it does not react to what is actually happening in the business during the year. But a Rolling Forecast solves that problem, helping companies to continuously plan (forecast) over a set time horizon.

What is the winning formula of Integrated FP&A? Join the Digital Middle Eastern FP&A Board on the 15th of February at 5:00 PM GST to find the answer to this question.

In this digest, you will find a guide to effective FP&A Storytelling, an article on dashboards, and an exploration of the psychology behind data visualisation.

Cultural change on FP&A is inevitable. As the world evolves, our cultural norms on business evolve too. The best way is to catch up with the speed of this daily evolving change is through scientific thinking. Now for our profession, data is the lowest meaningful element, such as an atom in a living organism. The advantage will favour the teams who will understand that indisputable fact and, we will witness the process closely in the future.
 

It is only by telling the story behind the numbers that we can see the full picture and use the numbers to make value-adding decisions.