Hi everyone! My name is Anna, and I am an FP&A-holic.

Yes, I said that, I am addicted to financial planning and analysis.

I am excited when all the checks in my financial models are colored green, and I get thrilled out of digging into data and finding insights that lead to better business decisions.

After 15+ years in FP&A, I’ve learned some hard truths — things I wish someone had told me earlier in my career. Whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned FP&A pro, I hope these insights will help you stand out and thrive in this evolving field.

As FP&A professional, how often do you feel that you do something you shouldn’t?

Having unique access to data about all the activities throughout an organization, it is not uncommon that FP&A teams are often asked to perform tasks which are not necessarily aligned with their core objectives.

No wonder that discussions over understanding the scope of FP&A pop up all the time. It is crucial for us as FP&A pros to navigate the boundaries of our roles and maintain a clear focus on adding value to the company.

So, the scope of FP&A: what is in and what is out?

With constantly evolving role of the finance function in the organization, these are FP&A practitioners who feel the most pressure to be jack-of-all-trades. Growing variety and complexity of tasks force them to develop skills, both hard and soft, to keep up with all requirements and expectations.

There is a specific product on the market I could associate FP&A with, and this is a Swiss multi-tool.

So, if FP&A were a Swiss multi-tool, how could we sell it?

FP&A is the sexiest job in finance… While this may seem like an overstatement, FP&A positions are becoming incredibly popular and sought-after.

Moving into FP&A from other fields of finance, such as accounting and audit, has recently become very trendy. Internet is full of advice, courses and trainings focused on this transition.

So, what is so special about the FP&A role that it attracts that much attention and has almost become a buzzword within the finance community?

Hurricanes are among the most violent storms on our planet producing strong winds, heavy rains and floodings.

Budgeting is a type of short-term planning the goal of which is to transform strategic objectives into operational plan by allocating available resources.

Though one is a natural phenomenon and the other is a business process, budgets and hurricanes have more in common than it may be noticed at first sight.

Emerging FP&A practice steps out of the shadow of other finance functions as a standalone entity and involves its own mission, goals, organization, processes, tools and skills.

This article discusses typical activities and key responsibilities of the FP&A practitioners, the range of skills required to perform these tasks, common roles and career path of the FP&A professionals and how FP&A is distinguished of other finance functions and disciplines.

Many FP&A professionals have faced the misunderstanding of the role of the FP&A function and its core activities in the company. Unfortunately, the existence and support of some of the misperceptions create a negative image of FP&A practitioners in the eyes of their colleagues and make the profession less attractive from the standpoint of graduates and young specialists. For FP&A professionals it is critical to be aware of these misconceptions to address them as soon as possible.

From a strategic standpoint, FP&A capabilities to provide business insights and drive informed decision-making can become a source of competitive advantage for the company. That is the reason why many finance and FP&A leaders are taking the steps to transform their functions.

This article describes the FP&A maturity assessment model focused on major tasks of the function and built around 3 key areas – processes, tools/systems and people.

Many finance and FP&A leaders are now facing transformational projects trying to find the future shape of the FP&A organization. Comparing FP&A performance metrics (qualitative and quantitative) against the peers and best practices can be very useful when assessing the current state of FP&A, creating a vision of the future state, finding the ways to enhance existing capabilities and identifying opportunities for improvement.