More than 15 years ago, the Harvard Business Review had already declared corporate planning and budgeting as all but dead. “Corporate budgeting is a joke, and everyone knows it,” the business magazine wrote in 2001. The polarizing article generated an enormous reaction. However, little has changed since then.

We’ve all come across checkpoints in our personal lives where we commonly think about or use phrases such as “let’s take a few steps back”, “I need to reset things” and “let’s start all over again”.

P&L management focuses on the items included into P&L (profit and loss) report. It has become an increasingly popular technique used by the top managers around the world. P&L responsibility scope goes far beyond being simply responsible for profits or loss. Managers must not only understand what stands behind and drives each item of the report, but also need to take steps to improve P&L statements.

The fourth meeting of the Dubai FP&A Board will take place on Tuesday, 23rd October 2018. The Board will interactively discuss Why Driver-Based Planning Matters for Modern FP&A.

Back in 2004 I spent a large portion of time overseas travelling around France. I would often find when talking to a “local” the first question I would ask was:  “Do you speak English?” Most times, the response I got was a short, sharp “No!”

I was recently invited to join FP&A-Trends’ Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Committee by Larysa Melnychuk, managing director. This blog is based on a case study presented at the June 2018 meeting.

The corporate planning process is a controversial subject on which opinions differ widely. But experience has shown that an effectively implemented planning process brings companies a clear added value in many respects. Enterprises are helped to achieve their set targets or to take corrective action if unforeseen changes occur in the background conditions.

Forecast accuracy is often a subject of discussion. What are the issues met that can generate such level of discussion? 

What are the key success factors for implementing an effective and efficient Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) process? The Singapore FP&A Board had a very interesting debate on the subject and the conclusions from the debate are reflected in this article.

Making projections is one part of an FP&A practitioner’s work.  The purpose of projections is to establish expectations on outcomes.  How can an FP&A practitioner give meaning to projections?