Annual Operating Planning is an important activity in many organisations.  Some refer to it as budget season and every organisation has its own nomenclature such as AOP, OB, LRBP, etc. This article covers best practices for a successful planning season, explains what best-in-class organisations do to create a solid annual operating plan and answers three burning questions.

Analysis is only as good as the decisions that result from it. In the uncertain business environment, organisations that provide people with the intelligence to make better decisions will outperform their competitors.

The key to modern FP&A teams is through empowered organisational governance, underlying a rich collaborative exchange of words, data and information.  This article explores how technology changed the way FP&A teams’ organisations in order to meet a more challenging landscape.

The webinar on 6 October at 11:00 AM PDT will focus on a leading case study of Applied Materials on how it succeeded in agile planning. 

Our business environment is changing dramatically. Smart devices, smart offices, autonomous vehicles are boosting and creating avalanches of data every day. Big data will benefit a business. It enables business with greater insights and new opportunities, but only if you are able to manage it well.

The webinar will take place on 12 October at 3:00 PM BST to discuss How Digital FP&A Can Change Decision-Making Culture.

By gaining a deep understanding of the key performance drivers outside of finance, and by expanding its field of prescriptive action into all functions across the enterprise, FP&A can move the next level up and transform itself into an extended Finance & Analysis (xP&A) organisation. This article explores why many of us still think in silos and reasons why traditional business controlling should evolve into extended planning and analysis (xP&A).

Although FP&A is at the forefront of this transformation journey, there are still a lot of questions and concerns. How do organisations successfully automate their financial reports and face the ever increasing business demands? Who are the future-ready FP&A professionals and what skills do they need?

Check out this digest – and discover the answers!

CEOs that are more strategically oriented and less numbers-oriented tend to want to partner with a CFO who has a strong command of the numbers. When that's not the case, and we have CEOs or leadership teams that are focused on their matrix, it can be challenging for the finance organisation. In the new article, Joao Almeida and Rich Feldman discuss some of the current challenges facing leaders in finance, and the role of capital planning in a time of increased uncertainty.

Despite the current circumstances of the COVID-19 epidemic, many FP&A teams have been able to adapt to the challenges and even become more effective during the crisis. Remote working or part-time working has led to more collaboration and is paving the way for new opportunities for both people and organisations. This article will describe the current FP&A challenges and the ways how FP&A teams can address them.