You ever watch someone calculate margin while actively lying to themselves? It’s a spiritual experience.There’s this faint look of serenity—like a monk in a burning building—while they insist that yes, this customer is profitable, and no, of course the CSM isn’t secretly doing onboarding, support, and three calls a week of emotional labor because “they’re […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pexels-gabby-k-5635106-1.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-14 18:00:582026-09-24 21:57:14Cost to Serve: The Line Item You’d Rather Ghost Than Model
The worst forecast I ever delivered was also the most “accurate.”It hit the board with a 1.2% variance to actuals. Applause. Confetti. CFO high-fived me in the hallway.And yet—I knew, standing there with my little Excel trophy—I had failed. Because what didn’t happen? We didn’t see the customer flight risk.We didn’t reroute spending early enough […]
Running your entire FP&A process in Excel is like flying a commercial airline with Google Maps. It’ll get you off the ground. But you’ll crash the minute conditions change. Let’s get something straight:This is not an anti-Excel piece. This is a pro-sanity one. Excel is the most powerful modeling tool in finance. No question. But […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-natri-792199.jpg8011200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-08 18:00:042026-09-24 21:57:21We Tried Running a $100M Forecast in Excel—Here’s What Broke First
If your finance team still chases “variance explanations” like it’s CSI: Miami, you don’t have an FP&A function. You’ve got forensic accounting in a lab coat. Variance analysis becomes a distraction when every difference gets the same attention. For the mechanics—thresholds, drivers, and how I decide what deserves investigation—use my budget variance analysis guide. This […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pexels-n-voitkevich-6919757-1.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-07 17:30:352026-10-01 00:24:20Stop Chasing Variances: Why Your FP&A Team is Solving the Wrong Problem
It’s not just you—the AOP is broken. By the time your operating plan is finalized, conditions have already changed. Yet every finance team still rolls out the same rigid framework, convinced that precision equals control. But the smartest CFOs know that an AOP built for static reality won’t survive dynamic conditions. This post unpacks why […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-thecoachspace-2977565-1.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-05 18:03:082026-10-01 00:04:19Why Most Annual Operating Plans Are DOA by Q2 (And What Smart CFOs Are Doing Instead)
Most companies don’t scale because they lack capital. They stall because they never designed an operating system strong enough to handle the weight of growth. And the finance team? They’re often the last to get one. Instead of operating like a product org with sprints and a clear roadmap, or like sales with a CRM […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pexels-cowomen-1058097-2041627-1-1.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-04 18:07:412026-09-24 21:57:27Designing Your Finance Operating System: The Hidden Lever Behind High-Performance Companies
There’s a silent saboteur inside every FP&A forecasting process. Not bias.Not bad inputs.Not even the politics. It’s time. Not as in timing—that’s obvious.As in calendar drift: the misalignment between when things are supposed to happen and when they actually do. At first glance, it looks like nothing. Your sales team says Q3 will close $4M.Great—you […]
There’s a secret weapon most CFOs underuse.It’s not a model. Not a dashboard. Not even a board slide.It’s language. This isn’t about jargon or spin.This is about narrative clarity—the kind that turns raw data into decisions.The kind that aligns departments before they drift.The kind that moves the board before the market does. This post unpacks […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-kampus-8428066-1.jpg8011200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-07-03 09:00:062026-09-24 21:57:35The CFO’s Hidden Leverage: Why Stakeholder Communication Is the Real Strategy Stack
We’ve all been in that meeting. The numbers are final.The slide deck is sharp.The CFO is ready to present. And then someone from product throws in a curveball:“What if we shifted the launch to Q4 instead?” Cue the scrambling.Cue the side-eyes.Cue the last-minute model edit while everyone pretends this wasn’t foreseeable. But here’s the thing: […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-thirdman-8485854-1.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-06-27 15:49:352026-09-24 21:57:36The Hidden Power Move in FP&A: Collaborative Decision-Making as a Financial Strategy
I’ve been in finance long enough to remember when FP&A was the last to be invited to the big meetings—if we were invited at all. We were the spreadsheet people. The ones who showed up late in the process to confirm what everyone else already decided. That version of FP&A is dying. And in 2025, […]
https://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-cowomen-1058097-2041627.jpg8001200Sarah Schlotthttps://sarahgschlott.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/icon-10c-two-blob-light_clearspace-1030x1030.pngSarah Schlott2025-06-13 20:55:262026-09-24 21:57:392025: How FP&A Teams Are Winning the Seat at the Strategic Table
Cost to Serve: The Line Item You’d Rather Ghost Than Model
You ever watch someone calculate margin while actively lying to themselves? It’s a spiritual experience.There’s this faint look of serenity—like a monk in a burning building—while they insist that yes, this customer is profitable, and no, of course the CSM isn’t secretly doing onboarding, support, and three calls a week of emotional labor because “they’re […]
The Cult of Forecast Accuracy: Why Chasing Precision is Wasting Everyone’s Time
The worst forecast I ever delivered was also the most “accurate.”It hit the board with a 1.2% variance to actuals. Applause. Confetti. CFO high-fived me in the hallway.And yet—I knew, standing there with my little Excel trophy—I had failed. Because what didn’t happen? We didn’t see the customer flight risk.We didn’t reroute spending early enough […]
We Tried Running a $100M Forecast in Excel—Here’s What Broke First
Running your entire FP&A process in Excel is like flying a commercial airline with Google Maps. It’ll get you off the ground. But you’ll crash the minute conditions change. Let’s get something straight:This is not an anti-Excel piece. This is a pro-sanity one. Excel is the most powerful modeling tool in finance. No question. But […]
Stop Chasing Variances: Why Your FP&A Team is Solving the Wrong Problem
If your finance team still chases “variance explanations” like it’s CSI: Miami, you don’t have an FP&A function. You’ve got forensic accounting in a lab coat. Variance analysis becomes a distraction when every difference gets the same attention. For the mechanics—thresholds, drivers, and how I decide what deserves investigation—use my budget variance analysis guide. This […]
Why Most Annual Operating Plans Are DOA by Q2 (And What Smart CFOs Are Doing Instead)
It’s not just you—the AOP is broken. By the time your operating plan is finalized, conditions have already changed. Yet every finance team still rolls out the same rigid framework, convinced that precision equals control. But the smartest CFOs know that an AOP built for static reality won’t survive dynamic conditions. This post unpacks why […]
Designing Your Finance Operating System: The Hidden Lever Behind High-Performance Companies
Most companies don’t scale because they lack capital. They stall because they never designed an operating system strong enough to handle the weight of growth. And the finance team? They’re often the last to get one. Instead of operating like a product org with sprints and a clear roadmap, or like sales with a CRM […]
The Silent Killer of FP&A Accuracy: Calendar Drift
There’s a silent saboteur inside every FP&A forecasting process. Not bias.Not bad inputs.Not even the politics. It’s time. Not as in timing—that’s obvious.As in calendar drift: the misalignment between when things are supposed to happen and when they actually do. At first glance, it looks like nothing. Your sales team says Q3 will close $4M.Great—you […]
The CFO’s Hidden Leverage: Why Stakeholder Communication Is the Real Strategy Stack
There’s a secret weapon most CFOs underuse.It’s not a model. Not a dashboard. Not even a board slide.It’s language. This isn’t about jargon or spin.This is about narrative clarity—the kind that turns raw data into decisions.The kind that aligns departments before they drift.The kind that moves the board before the market does. This post unpacks […]
The Hidden Power Move in FP&A: Collaborative Decision-Making as a Financial Strategy
We’ve all been in that meeting. The numbers are final.The slide deck is sharp.The CFO is ready to present. And then someone from product throws in a curveball:“What if we shifted the launch to Q4 instead?” Cue the scrambling.Cue the side-eyes.Cue the last-minute model edit while everyone pretends this wasn’t foreseeable. But here’s the thing: […]
2025: How FP&A Teams Are Winning the Seat at the Strategic Table
I’ve been in finance long enough to remember when FP&A was the last to be invited to the big meetings—if we were invited at all. We were the spreadsheet people. The ones who showed up late in the process to confirm what everyone else already decided. That version of FP&A is dying. And in 2025, […]