I have never understood why December 31 gets so much authority over financial planning. Apparently the calendar changes and Finance is supposed to lose interest in what happens next. It’s October. We have a three-month forecast remaining. Very useful. Management is making hiring decisions that will affect next summer, Sales is talking about deals that […]
I don’t think a company wakes up one morning and suddenly needs FP&A. There usually isn’t a ceremony. Nobody cuts a ribbon. What happens instead is that the CEO asks a question that used to take ten minutes to answer, and three days later Finance is still working on it. Someone wants to know what […]
I can usually tell when a company has confused its budget with its forecast. It’s September. The business has changed. Sales are running below plan. Hiring moved. A product launch slipped. A large customer expanded unexpectedly. Marketing changed its spending. And somehow the forecast still looks remarkably similar to the budget everyone approved nine months […]
“FP&A consultant” is one of those job descriptions that can mean almost anything. Build a forecast. Fix a model. Help with the budget. Prepare something for the board. Figure out why margins are falling. Untangle a reporting process that apparently requires three people, six spreadsheets and one person who absolutely cannot take vacation. All technically […]
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. […]
Why a Government Furlough Should Worry CFOs The headline reads:“U.S. market regulators begin furloughs as federal funding lapses, curtailing oversight and delaying IPOs.” On the surface, it’s Washington politics.But the ripple effect is economic. When regulators go silent: IPOs freeze. Investor confidence falters. Transparency evaporates. It’s not that companies stop operating. It’s that the referee […]
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