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.
Tag Archive for: FP&A Forecasting
Continuous Planning vs. Rolling Forecast: What Is the Difference?
Finance has accumulated enough planning vocabulary that we can now spend half a meeting agreeing on what kind of forecast we are discussing. Rolling forecast. Continuous planning. Dynamic planning. Driver-based planning. At some point I expect “Forecasting: The Remix,” which would at least feel appropriately 1997. The distinction I care about between a rolling forecast […]
How to Measure Forecast Accuracy in FP&A Without Gaming the Forecast
I have a mild distrust of forecast-accuracy celebrations. Not because accuracy does not matter. It does. But I have watched forecasts land close to actual results for reasons nobody predicted, while another forecast missed because the business changed and Finance was the first group to explain why. One gets a gold star. The other gets […]
Rolling Forecast vs. Annual Budget: Do You Actually Need Both?
Every annual budget eventually becomes a historical document. Sometimes it takes twelve months. Sometimes it takes until February. A customer delays, hiring moves, pricing changes, a launch slips, and the beautiful approved plan begins acquiring the practical usefulness of a Blockbuster membership card. This is usually when someone says, “We need a rolling forecast.” I […]
FP&A Forecasting Process: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide
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 […]
Sarah Schlott
FP&A consulting, forecasting, accounting support and finance strategy for CFOs and growing finance teams.