As the saying goes, “new year, new me”, so we would like to offer you the chance to have a look at your FP&A function and the ways in which you might improve your processes. In this issue, we will delve into finance transformation, the skill set needed to be a successful FP&A professional and a case study on performance management.

Finance Business Partnering is not a new concept to the many who have been doing it for years. What is new is that it has recently been given a new exciting title, and with that comes the fear that accountants and finance professionals need to be doing something new and in addition to their current duties. And that they need to find time for it.

The purpose of Financial Planning and Analysis is not to build perfect forecasts and financial solutions. The purpose is simply to make better business decisions. Numbers themselves can support decision-making, but the story convinces people to make the right decision. This article will discuss best practices in data visualisation that resonate with financial and non-financial people alike.
 

Do you believe cross-functional projects help in improving FP&A Business Partners’ interpersonal skills, strengthening their relationships with stakeholders and increasing their business acumen? To answer these questions, I would like to share the below business case from my experience in working at a global FMCG company.

The 10th London FP&A Circle will be held in the online format on the 18 June 2020 from 5-00 pm to 6-30 pm BST.  The subject of the meeting is "Building Winning FP&A Teams in a Time of great Challenges".

The Tokyo FP&A Board will meet on the 19th November 2020 for the third time. The professional debate will be devoted to the subject of FP&A Business Partnering.

The essence of the FP&A role is about helping to enhance the decision quality of the organisation. It measures this by reporting on, analysing and planning for the financial performance of the organisation. And it does this by partnering effectively with the business. This article focuses on the HOW FP&A practitioners could approach their work.

‘Getting the right data to the right people at the right place and time’ is the essence of the whole concept of data management. You can plan big steps for the long-term while making small steps to improve the situation in the short-term perspective.

In this FP&A Talks, we speak with Thomas Lundell, Finance Director and Chief of Staff for Enterprise Countries at NetApp. Thomas shares his story of how he took part in building and transforming the FP&A team at NetApp. FP&A Talks is a collaboration between FP&A Trends Group and Anders Liu-Lindberg

Setting targets and defining KPIs is one of the key tasks of FP&A professionals. Defining KPIs is tricky. When properly done they can really drive performance, but sometimes it is the other way around. We see this in the following practical example of the application of the Logical Thinking Process methodology for problem solving.