The Ledger
Curated content foranalytical business leaders
Tag Archives: financial planning and analysis
Accounting Today: FP&A is the MVP of Your Organization
June 3, 2022
“The budget increases are especially good news as FP&A and corporate performance responsibilities continue to grow. Additional resources are needed to help FP&A teams partner with business unit leaders to develop models that include strategic and operational objectives, what-if scenarios, business drivers and key performance indicators.
Yet, even with an expanded and more visible role, in year three of the pandemic, 91% of the survey respondents have automated less than 75% of their FP&A processes. This is problematic for a number of reasons, including the challenges of manually managing data inputs from other teams from human capital management to product development, sales and more.”
FP&A Trends: Financial Planning and Analysis: Relevant, Reliable and Agile
May 10, 2022
“Scenario Planning is key, but it needs to be predicated on the right business drivers, run at the right frequency, and address the right business questions.”
FP&A Trends: Practical Cash Flow Modelling – A Technological Perspective
May 3, 2022
“A spreadsheet is not a database, it is a personal productivity tool. Data, structure and business rules are all mixed together in an insecure environment that is prone to corruption. In my view, even the most sophisticated cash flow spreadsheet is no more than a prototype.”
CFO Dive: CFOs Cling to Spreadsheets Despite Their Limits as FP&A Tool
April 18, 2022
“The biggest complaint among spreadsheet users is the time required by manual processes to complete even basic tasks, such as budget preparation.
“With so much time spent on manual processes, the analysis part of Financial Planning and Analysis gets lost,” the report says.
It takes between four weeks and three months for the typical organization to complete its annual budget, after which more time is spent correcting mistakes and updating data.”
FP&A Trends: The Evolving Role of Zero-Based Budgeting
April 14, 2022
“What is new in ZBB?
- ZBB is not a cost-cutting exercise. It is part of every line of the planning process.
- It is also a method to identify key drivers, so it is linked to driver-based planning.
- It is a rethinking of the traditional budgeting process.
- It is improving Business Partnering due to collaborations and the use of modern technology.”
FP&A Trends: How to Become a Compelling Storyteller
March 29, 2022
“More than half of the participants responded that they are still spending the majority of their time on data reconciliation and reporting. About 35% are spending the majority of time on analysing and interpreting data, while only 9% spends most of their time on storytelling and business partnering.”
CFO Magazine: Using Automation to Supercharge FP&A Teams
March 11, 2022
“How do you know if your company actually needs or stands to benefit from automation? If your team is over-reliant on spreadsheets, spends hours manually entering data, and has trouble processing and disseminating that data to decision-makers, you could be a prime candidate.”
FP&A Trends: What Skills Should FP&A Develop by 2030
March 7, 2022
“The term Financial Planning and Analysis is evolving to the broader concept of Scenario Planning, with a rolling planning window opposed to a fixed annual 12-month focus; planning will be a single integrated strategic financial and operational model with on-demand frequency versus 3–5-year corporate plans. The Scenario Planning approach is also highly technological with automated and advanced analytical systems that allow an output within 1 to 3 hours, versus the old planning model driven by manual Excel spreadsheets that would require weeks or even months to consolidate. Finally, the new approach to planning allows multiple scenarios with supporting documentation that facilitates decision-making.”
FP&A Trends: Continuous Planning To Dynamic Business Environment
February 9, 2022
“Continuous Planning replaces the traditional static and calendar-driven process. It is a dynamic and open-ended planning approach that responds to internal and external events as they occur. In addition, the use of technology facilitates planning agility and flexibility through real-time analytics and automation.
To be successful in continuous planning, a dynamic mindset is necessary. Compared to traditional planning, where the goal set-up process is done only once, continuous planning allows organisations to achieve more of their targets.”
