How AI Is Changing Accenture’s Consulting Business Model: The Billable Hour Has a Proble
Accenture is investing heavily in AI while investors question what artificial intelligence means for consulting revenue, billable hours and profitability. I have a fairly simple question: What happens when the technology that makes your employees more productive also makes your services worth less? I have a rule when companies announce enormous productivity improvements. I look […]
How CFOs Are Using AI to Prepare Earnings Calls: The Financial Reporting Risks Nobody Wants to Explain
How CFOs use AI to prepare earnings calls, anticipate analyst questions, and strengthen reporting controls without losing credibility.
AI Chip Stocks Are Falling. Your Forecast Shouldn’t Pretend They Can’t
AI semiconductor market volatility financial forecasting: A supplier concentration problem. Sarah Schlott explains the financial planning implications and practical forecast questions.
Your First Finance Hire: Are You Solving a Problem or Just Collecting Job Titles?
Sarah Schlott talks with Story Recruitment founder Tom Hunter on FP&A Today about first finance hires, fractional CFOs, hiring mistakes, and why the job title should never come before the problem.
Long-Range Financial Planning: Build a Three-Year Plan Without Pretending to Predict
A practical three-year financial planning framework for CFOs: build driver-based scenarios, test cash needs, and avoid false precision.
Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Budgeting: Which One Should Finance Trust?
Top-down and bottom-up budgeting each solve a different problem. Learn how to reconcile them using a realistic FP&A example.
How to Build a Business Budget From Scratch Without Guesswork
Build a practical business budget from scratch using revenue drivers, cost categories, cash timing, and a worked example.
Budgeting and Forecasting: Seven Controls That Make the Numbers More Reliable
Seven practical FP&A controls that improve budgeting and forecasting reliability, from assumptions and versioning to cash checks.
Predictive Budgeting: When the Algorithm Gets the Assumptions Wrong
Predictive budgeting can improve planning, but only when finance tests the inputs. A practical FP&A guide with a worked example and model controls.
FP&A Forecast Credibility: How CFOs Keep Optimism From Becoming the Official Number
How CFOs protect forecast credibility, separate management targets from realistic expectations, and use evidence-based decision triggers.
FP&A Decision Rights Framework: How CFOs Turn Financial Analysis Into Action
An FP&A decision rights framework helps CFOs clarify who recommends, approves, executes, and revisits material financial decisions.
How to Forecast SaaS Renewal Costs and Avoid Software Budget Surprises
Learn how to forecast SaaS renewal costs, separate software expense from cash payments, and make informed renewal decisions.
How to Calculate the Impact of a Supplier Price Increase on Gross Margin
How a supplier cost increase affects gross margin, pricing decisions, and customer demand—with a practical worked example.
How to Build a Financial Forecast Model in Excel: A Step-by-Step FP&A Example
Build a financial forecast model in Excel with a practical FP&A example and interactive calculator covering revenue, expenses, working capital, profit, and cash flow.
FP&A Software Implementation Timeline: How Long It Takes and What CFOs Should Budget
How long does FP&A software implementation take? I explain realistic timelines, hidden costs, ROI, and when CFOs should bring in outside help.
Board Forecast Bridge Analysis: How CFOs Explain What Changed and What to Do Next
How CFOs reconcile changes in EBITDA forecasts, distinguish temporary setbacks from structural risks, and turn board reporting into better investment decisions.
Forecast Assumption Ownership: How CFOs Stop Planning Surprises
Learn how CFOs assign forecast assumption ownership, improve FP&A accountability, and catch operational changes before they become financial surprises.
Capital Expenditure Stage Gate Process: When CFOs Should Release the Money
Learn how CFOs use a capital expenditure stage gate process to evaluate project risks, time funding decisions, and protect investment returns.
Sales Capacity Planning: How CFOs Test Revenue Targets Before Hiring
How CFOs use sales capacity planning to test revenue targets, model hiring and ramp time, and avoid costly sales headcount decisions.
Business Unit Profitability Analysis: How to Separate Real Losses From Allocated Costs
A reported divisional loss may hide a profitable business. I walk through business unit profitability, shared costs, and the decision that actually matters.
Capacity-Constrained Financial Planning: A CFO Guide
Learn how CFOs use capacity-constrained financial planning to prioritize demand, protect margins, evaluate expansion, and forecast cash flow.
Your CFO Changed the Forecast. Was That Judgment or Wishful Thinking?
Learn when CFOs should override financial forecasts, how to document management adjustments, and how FP&A can improve forecast accuracy.
Post-Acquisition Synergy Tracking: Where Did the Promised Savings Go?
Learn how CFOs track post-acquisition synergies, reconcile promised savings with actual results, and improve M&A integration reporting.
Capital Allocation for CFOs: When Every Investment Looks Good
Learn how CFOs prioritize competing capital investments using NPV, scenario analysis, capital constraints, and strategic financial judgment.
That $24,000 Job Looked Profitable. So Where Did the Money Go?
Learn how to calculate job profitability, uncover labor overruns, and improve service business margins with a practical $24,000 project example.
Lease or Buy the Equipment? I’d Like to See the Numbers Before We Sign Anything.
Should your business lease or buy equipment? Compare total costs, present value, financing, cash flow, and risk with a practical worked example.
Your Business Might Be Sitting on More Cash Than You Think. Let’s Find It.
Learn how to calculate the cash conversion cycle, understand DIO, DSO, and DPO, and find opportunities to release working capital with a practical example.
Your Monthly Management Report Is Beautiful. Does Anyone Actually Do Anything With It?
Learn how to turn monthly management reports into decisions with a practical financial example, action-item framework, and reporting improvements.
Should You Outsource the Work or Keep It In-House? Let’s Do the Math.
Should you outsource or do the work in-house? Learn make-or-buy analysis with a realistic example, break-even formula, and decision framework.
Your Biggest Customer Is 30% of Revenue. How Much Risk Is That, Really?
Is one customer too much of your revenue? Learn to calculate customer concentration risk and stress-test its impact on profit and cash flow.