Dear colleagues,

Imagine having a crystal ball that not only forecasts the future but also maps out multiple pathways to success—that’s the power of FP&A in Strategic Planning.

At the heart of this vision, FP&A plays a pivotal role, transforming data into actionable insights and guiding organisations through the complexities of strategic decision-making. By identifying opportunities, mitigating risks, and ensuring alignment between financial goals and strategic objectives, FP&A professionals are the navigators that keep companies on course toward their ambitions.

In this digest we explore the aspects of Strategic Planning through the lens of FP&A. The featured content includes a comprehensive research paper on the role of FP&A in bridging the strategy-execution gap, articles on innovative company models for strategic planning, achieving the balance between growth and profitability, and the pitfalls of flat strategies, and a short video on best practices for aligning strategic and business planning.

As usual, you will find invitations to the upcoming webinars at the bottom of the newsletter.

Kind regards,

Larysa Melnychuk, CEO and Founder
FP&A Trends Group & International FP&A Board

Have you ever felt the frustration of trying to achieve success only to be held back by ineffective planning processes? Many organisations face this challenge, struggling with unrealistic strategic goals or activities that contradict their objectives. This issue, known as the Strategy-Execution Gap (SEG), is a widespread problem that can lead to inefficiencies, lost opportunities, and increased risks if not addressed. Despite numerous books and articles on the topic, the problem persists. The question remains: how do you close the SEG?

Read this paper to discover how FP&A professionals can act to bridge or eliminate the gap with a 5-level Strategy Execution Maturity Model. Through an analysis of case studies, interviews and consultations with senior practitioners of global companies in the field, this research offers practical solutions how to enhance strategic planning in your company and drive sustainable growth.

By Jack Xu

How is sound strategic decision-making in your organisation? What do we have to do to ensure the smoothness of this process? According to Jack Xu, founder of "Modtris Financial Modelling and Simulation", we have to understand the role of a company-centric business model. Such a model unites a company's anatomy, actions, goals, and uncertainty and can help us bridge the gaps between all organisational variables.

In this article, Jack explores the essentials of a company-centric business model and shares his insights on implementing it for optimal Strategic Planning.

By Parth Kulkarni

How can we find the perfect balance between two essential components of the business: growth and profitability? While the "one-size-fits-all" formula does not exist in the current business environment, FP&A leaders still have to manage both concepts to not compromise their organisations' long-term opportunities and financial stability. However, we cannot solely focus on any of those options, as each has pros and cons.

Read this article authored by Parth Kulkarni, Director FP&A at Adobe, to understand how to strike this balance between growth and profitability.

By Michael J. Huthwaite

Suppose you were asked to distil down your entire business strategy into a single graph or visualisation, how would you choose to show it? For most organisations, this sounds like an impossible task. Most strategies are either too disjoined... or even flat.

What is a flat strategy? How should it really look like? Why do we need to evaluate strategy in phases and not discrete periods? Read this article by Michael J. Huthwaite, Director of Product Management, Intelligent Reporting at Walmart, to find out answers to these questions and much more.

By Guilherme Saraiva

Strategic planning is essential for setting long-term aspirational targets that guide a company's growth and profitability. These targets should be well thought out, encompassing both financial and non-financial metrics, and remain flexible to adapt to changing conditions. Aligning these strategic goals with budgeting and forecasting ensures that every short-term plan and financial decision is made with the bigger picture in mind, maintaining a coherent direction towards the company's objectives.

In this video Guilherme Saraiva, ex Senior Director, FP&A at Discovery Inc, Washington D.C. FP&A Board Ambassador, discusses how FP&A can bridge the gap between long-term goals and short-term execution by aligning strategic targets with business planning.

FP&A Trends digital events are vendor-agnostic and complimentary. If you are not able to join the live session, you can register to receive the recording later.

10 July 2024

We are excited to announce the release of the 2024 FP&A Trends Survey! Over the past eight years, we have gathered insights from over 2400 finance practitioners worldwide, defining and analysing the latest trends and developments affecting the performance of FP&A departments. This year, we explored how FP&A teams help organisations navigate a fast-changing business environment through data-driven decision-making enhanced by advanced technologies and analytics.

Register for this webinar to explore the survey's key findings and learn important benchmarks and trends shaping the future of FP&A.

25 September 2024

Nowadays, traditional planning practices, where there is only one future, are no longer viable. FP&A Scenario Management becomes a game-changer that equips organizations with the ability to foresee and respond to multiple future scenarios and to achieve the short- and long-term goals.

Register for this webinar to learn from a panel of senior finance practitioners and thought leaders on how to unveil the potential of FP&A Scenario Management.

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