We all have these horror stories where we have all sacrificed our personal lives during this challenging ‘Budget’ season. I guess they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I personally think that there are several ways to make your lives better during this period.

Traditional legacy and static methods are no longer sufficient for budgeting, planning, and forecasting. To help navigate this challenge, we must turn to Scenario Planning and Rolling Forecasts to guide us. 

The vast majority of companies still rely on traditional organisational designs characterised by hierarchical structures, and steering with budgets. But these designs are outdated, severely limiting a company's ability to act and respond in today’s fast-changing environments. 

How can organisations operate viably in this age of uncertainty?

The economic volatility of 2020 has revealed the shortcomings of the traditional FP&A process and the pressing need for transformation. For budgeting, planning, and forecasting in particular, conventional methods are no longer sufficient This is where Scenario Planning and Rolling Forecasts can help guide us. 

A plan, for an incompetent manager, is just an administrative task that needs to be completed to satisfy the boss and headquarters. Nothing else. There is no attempt to think about objectives, goals, roadmaps or any of the classic planning principles. For a boss this behaviour should be easy to detect, but if they are unaware of their inherent incompetence, then the incompetent managers will remain undetected.

In this volatile environment, implementing a flexible process and modern digital technology to manage change is increasingly important. No surprise the FP&A Transformation subject is high on companies’ agendas.

In this digest, we share research on digital transformation in the finance function, and a case study of how to establish a brand-new FP&A department. You will also find guides to the growing role of big data, and to designing data-driven planning architecture.

One of the biggest barriers for organisations to increase agility comes from unaligned top-down and bottom-up planning processes.

Integrated FP&A is not a new term. Most experienced FP&A professionals are probably already subconsciously doing it. Integrated FP&A promotes the idea of collaborative planning where finance professionals work with different parts of the organisation to create a holistic view and plan.

Although the world remains locked in battle with Covid-19, we are starting to emerge from survival mode and to consider our post-pandemic future. This means figuring out what's here to stay from the past 18 months, and what needs to change. One thing is certain, though: we are not going to continue where we left off in 2019 and 2020. 

In this uncertain business environment, organisations must strive to become more agile and data-driven. Developed by the International FP&A Board, the FP&A Maturity Model provides a roadmap for just such a transformation.