CFOs want FP&A to become stewards of value creation, not just to keep score.
If you’re a business leader or CFO committed to future-proofing your company, we highly recommend that you read a new brief from Bain & Company, When Financial Planning and Analysis Needs an Overhaul.
To operate in the post-COVID-19 digital world, you may need a financial planning and analysis reinvention at your company. FP&A has to take a new approach within organizations, addressing critical gaps in skills, adopting new ways to work, and developing better technology and data solutions. As the Bain brief discusses, companies across various industries have been pushing for years to have FP&A teams take on a greater role in helping them navigate complex transitions. The pandemic has only accelerated the need for FP&A to be capable of helping business leaders and CFOs anticipate risks, navigate change, and identify opportunities. The tech sector is a perfect example of an industry that needs to transform FP&A, according to Bain. As software and SaaS become more competitive, and digital change drives fast iterations of business models, FP&A has to play a more active role in supporting communications with customers and investors, reallocating operating expenses and capital spending, and assessing the impact on growth and profitability.
At OPEXEngine, we agree wholeheartedly with Bain that in order for FP&A teams to be able to function at the highest levels, they need “access to clean data and the right tools.” Data-driven conversations assure that everyone, from your management team to your board members and investors, has a common language to use to make strategic business decisions for the future of the company. If you’re a software business leader or CFO, we highly recommend you read the thought-provoking brief.
