There is something about cash that improves everyone’s interest in Finance. Revenue misses forecast? We should discuss it. Gross margin moves? Let’s understand the drivers. Cash gets tight? Suddenly the CFO, CEO, Controller, three department heads and someone who hasn’t spoken to Finance since the Christmas party would like an update. Preferably this afternoon. That’s […]
I have a fairly simple test for a forecasting process. When the forecast changes, can anyone explain why? Not which cell changed. Not which department submitted a new number. Not that revenue is now $600,000 lower than it was three weeks ago. What changed in the business? That question sounds embarrassingly basic until you’ve sat […]
I have a strong opinion about building an FP&A function from scratch: Don’t start by hiring FP&A people. I realize this is an inconvenient opening for an article about building an FP&A function. But I’ve seen companies decide they need FP&A and immediately jump to the org chart. We need a Director. Maybe two analysts. […]
I’ve noticed something slightly strange about the way I learn. Whenever someone explains something new to me, my brain immediately starts looking for something old. A person. A meeting. A mistake. A company I worked for. Something my mother said 25 years ago. A completely unrelated Tuesday in 2011. Anything, apparently, that will give the […]
I can usually tell pretty quickly when a finance function isn’t working. Not because the forecast is wrong. Forecasts are wrong all the time. If being wrong disqualified a finance team, we’d have to shut down the profession. It’s usually smaller things. Someone says, “Let me check with Mike.” Then someone else says it. Then […]
I have trust issues with beautiful financial models. Not because I don’t like them. I do. Give me clean tabs, consistent formatting, sensible colors and a model where I don’t need an archaeological expedition to find the assumptions. I’m happy. But I’ve been around Finance long enough to know that a beautiful spreadsheet and a […]
I have a slightly inconvenient habit in Finance. When the numbers are bad, I ask questions. When the numbers are good, I ask more questions. Revenue is $800,000 ahead of forecast? Great. Why? Gross margin improved three points? Wonderful. What happened? Cash collections suddenly accelerated? Now I’m suspicious. This is probably not the personality trait […]
I started my career as a billing temp. Not exactly the traditional origin story for a finance executive. No investment banking. No glamorous rotational program. No dramatic montage involving Wall Street, three computer monitors and someone yelling about EBITDA. I was billing people. But one of the first things I remember doing was asking if […]
One of the more curious things I’ve noticed over the years is that budgets are often approved long before anyone walks into the conference room. That sounds ridiculous, of course. The meeting is on everyone’s calendar. The deck is polished. The assumptions have been circulated. People ask questions. Slides get skipped. Someone inevitably says, “Let’s […]
Your 40s are where financial decisions stop being theoretical. You’re earning, juggling responsibilities, and thinking ahead—all at once. But this is also the decade where small missteps compound faster, and “I’ll fix it later” gets expensive. I’ve made some of these mistakes myself. Others I’ve seen play out repeatedly. None of them look dramatic in […]