A few days ago, I was looking through some blogs on LinkedIn when I came across a comment that suggested the purpose of budgeting was to set stretch targets. A number of people seemed to support this idea, although I personally have to disagree for two key reasons.

“You cannot connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking back”, as Steve Jobs famously quoted. A key challenge to the accountancy profession, well any profession to that matter, is how to look forward and be more proactive, not constantly looking back and reacting.

Numbers may be the prime element within FP&A. FP&A is relied upon to provide numbers like operating income, net cash flows, and earnings per share. Do numbers like these and others mean anything?

These are exciting times for finance. The promise of technology for a sneak peek into the future gives finance a crystal ball on where to steer resources today for an optimal utilization tomorrow. Can the Arabic proverb “he who knows the future lies even if he is proven correct” be overcome?

Working in FP&A is one of the most dynamic & challenging careers in the finance and business world. It appears that FP&A professionals wear multiple hats, performing tasks of a master of communication, a strategic leader, a resource allocator as well as a positive influencer. However, nowadays we experience a lack of mature theories and models facilitating FP&A professionals’ development.

One element for FP&A teams to provide value is strategic partnership. Therefore, with any change in direction or focus, it is important to understand how to start. Below, I will cover a simplified and quick start guide for starting the strategic partnership process.

Nowadays a lot of concerns in business environment are focused around data. There are several drivers for that, such as regulations (e.g. GDPR), the growing amount of data, new technologies in data processing and analysis etc.

In this article we will look at the different methods an organization can use to set direction. Planning involves many kinds of methods that help managers make decisions.

FP&A professionals know their trade very well when it comes to the technical skills used to plan, forecast, and execute the strategy of a company. However, to truly influence the strategic directions they need to be able to influence their stakeholders.

Rolling Forecasts are an essential tool for financial planning and analysis (FP&A), with the potential to radically transform the traditional corporate budgeting process. If implemented properly, a rolling forecast expands planning horizons, reduces planning cycles, and helps in executing organizational strategies.