Dear colleagues,

Forecasting has become routine — yet reliability remains a challenge. We forecast often and revise frequently, yet hesitate to rely on the output when real decisions are on the table. The latest FP&A Trends survey shows that while cadence is improving, speed, clarity, and trust continue to lag.

This digest brings together reflections on why forecasting remains fragile, where confusion with planning weakens outcomes, and how some teams are improving forecasting instead of trying to perfect it.

As always, the survey is our reality check. I invite you to participate in the 2026 FP&A Trends Survey to help transform individual practices into collective insight. Further details are provided below.

Best regards,

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

Now in its tenth year, the FP&A Trends Survey continues to capture how FP&A is practised today — not in theory, but in the day-to-day realities of planning, forecasting, and decision support across organisations. This survey is not about maturity labels or future promises. Its strength lies in the collective experience it brings together over time. Each response adds depth to a long-running picture of how FP&A evolves in practice.

The questionnaire is short and focused, taking around 10 minutes to complete. As a participant, you’ll be among the first to receive the survey report, to be published in July 2026.

Click to start the survey

By Matt Poleski, NorthEast and Mid-Atlantic Regions CFO at Arthur J. Gallagher

Forecasting often fails for reasons that have little to do with models. Bias, judgement, and how assumptions are formed shape outcomes long before numbers are finalised.

Read this article to reflect on why forecasting errors persist — and why recognising limits is often the starting point for better decisions.

By Nate Kaemingk, Chief Forecaster, CFO at Better Forecasting

When forecasting and planning blur together, both lose clarity. Forecasts become targets. Plans turn reactive. Over time, trust erodes and decisions slow.

Read this article if your forecasts feel overloaded — and you want to restore their role without adding more process.

By Saurav Goel, Finance Business Partner at BT Group

Traditional forecasts struggle to reflect how complex systems behave. Digital twins offer a way to test change and explore outcomes rather than predict a single future.

Read this article to see how forecasting can shift from static views to more adaptive decision support.

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.

January 21, 2026

FP&A is not being automated out of relevance—but it is being redefined. As AI agents take on execution and analysis, the real question is no longer what FP&A does, but where human judgement truly adds value. Titles may stay the same, but expectations will not.

Register for this webinar to explore how FP&A roles are shifting in an agentic AI world, which skills become non-negotiable, and how finance leaders can redesign their teams for relevance, not resistance.

February 4, 2026

FP&A influence no longer depends on better models alone. As decision-makers face growing complexity and uncertainty, the ability to frame insights, connect scenarios, and guide strategic conversations becomes critical. Storytelling is increasingly the difference between analysis that informs and insight that drives action.

Register for this webinar to understand why storytelling is becoming a core FP&A capability and how finance professionals can turn analysis into narratives that influence decisions beyond the numbers.

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