Datarails

See for yourself OpenAI doing FP&A magic Start with publicly available data Download financial data (balance sheets, savings) eg from Tesla Plug into Chat GPT 4o Prompt: "Act as a management consultant and analyze this data with an FP&A lens" Get volume analysis, volatility analysis, moving averages. From Christian M. on our recent session: AI in FP&A: Hype vs Reality on FP&A Today talking to Glenn Hopper 

Let’s take some time to respect the achievements of FP&A. Here are 7 ways FP&A transformed businesses: Amazon 📦 FP&A modeled Amazon Prime analyzing free shipping against a scenario offering 10% off orders. Today an average Prime customer spends $1,400 each year. Amwell 💉 When COVID-19 limited access to physician care Amwell’s FP&A modeled use rates based on 57,000 doctors delivering care. Chemours 👩🏭 The Chemours team directly improved margins by creating models for each of their manufacturing sites across the $6 billion company.  The Economist 📰 FP&A forecast subscription revenues for its 1 million customers to address the rise of digital as their “biggest risk and opportunity”.  Lego 🏗 Scenario planning during COVID-19 led to economic uplifts by reinvesting travel savings into working from home equipment. Levi’s 👖 FP&A foresaw and modeled the leap from skinny jeans to a baggie look among fashionistas. IBM 💾 IBM's FP&A analysis proved that the PC market was not profitable leading to them selling its PC business to Lenovo for $1.25bn. This enabled them to focus on more profitable consulting, software, and service businesses.

Excel is the new dating app 👀🔥📈 Credit Finance Bro (@youraveragefinancebro) TikTok

Skip Herman Kastroll is the Senior Director of Insights & Analytics at AmPhil. They help non-profits raise more money and advance their missions. (Skip also happens to be a happy Datarails user, crediting the platform with transforming how he is able to manage and communicate his company’s finance processes). Here, Skip outlines 3 proven strategies for turning financial data and analysis into insights that help management make informed decisions, often on a quick turnaround. 1️⃣ Simplify! When presenting financial data and recommendations, use plain language (not the finance nerd-speak that we love!). Identify the main message and convey it in a clear and concise manner so management can quickly grasp the basic points and understand their implications for the business. 2️⃣ Make the Recommendations Practical. Point out the best possible solutions. Management usually has considerations beyond just the financial data, so use case studies whenever appropriate to help management visualize the way forward and act on recommendations. 3️⃣ Differentiate Between Interesting and Actionable. Keep your eye on the ball. Provide just enough detail on the expected benefits and risks and be prepared to briefly present greater detail. Link to the full article in the comments 👇🏼

1. Nominate the best of the best in the CFO's Office 2. Translating Finance Insights for Effective Decision-Making with Herman Kastroll 3. FP&A Today When AI Outperformed Financial Analysts – Alex Kim 4. Meme of the Week Catch your weekly (super digestible) Datarails summary

21 Top finance cheat sheets on LinkedIn (Volume II) Created by leading finance professionals: Josh Aharonoff, CPA Nicolas Boucher Brian Feroldi Financial Modeling World Cup Soufyan Hamid Abdul Khaliq Oana Labes, MBA, CPA Nathan Liao, CMA Anders Liu-Lindberg Asif Masani Syed Nadeem, ACMA, CFM Whatever your role in finance 21 Cheat Sheets to keep you ahead of the game. 1. 9 Ways to Forecast https://lnkd.in/dZyHcntD 2. Accounts Payable vs Accounts Receivable  https://lnkd.in/dVedujvN 3. Accounting KPIs 4. EBITDA Explained 5. Investing Ratios 6. Key Financial Ratios 7. 10 Common Excel Errors  http://bit.ly/xl-errors 8. Excel Functions Pyramid  https://lnkd.in/d82cvj3F 9. Everything You can do in PowerPoint  https://lnkd.in/gPKSmE25 10. Steps to creating the perfect finance chart  https://lnkd.in/dgKEg4tW 11. Preparing your Budget Calendar 12. The General Ledger Closing Checklist  https://lnkd.in/dKER6cQZ 13. 20 Rates You Should Know 14. How to Analyze Financial Performance 15. Top 7 Profitability KPIs 16. Depreciation vs. Amortization 17. 13 steps to make financial analysis better 18. CFOs FP&A KPI Fact Sheet https://lnkd.in/dbzvfPwc 19. Data Analysis Cheat Sheet  https://lnkd.in/dg7NHZQq 20. 5 types of financial projection 21. Cash Conversion Cycle

Too many in the finance and FP&A space don't get the recognition they deserve. At Datarails, we spend all day talking with top CFOs, FP&A Pros, and Strategic Controllers. We see their incredible professionalism and business impact. And we think the world should know about it! That’s why we’re opening nominations for the 2024 Office of the CFO Awards. Who would you nominate? Who’s a visionary CFO you’ve worked with? What about the FP&A analyst whose forecasting took your company to the next level? Who has shown you that AI for finance isn’t just a gimmick, but rather a valuable tool for gaining previously unseen insights? Want to put your CFO, FP&A or controllers name in the hat? (You can also nominate yourself of course). Thanks to our all-star judging panel Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA Christian Wattig Aviv Canaani Glenn Hopper Nominate now ❎ https://lnkd.in/eBZD-aU6 (Warning swag and fame follow)

Know your weakness

1. Turning Blockbuster FP&A Stories into Movie Posters 2. How to get on CFO headhunters’ radars and win your next role 3. Meme of the Week Catch your weekly (super digestible) Datarails summary

Us: let's turn some customer stories into movie posters. Them: who has the time for that? Us: 👀 🍿 🍿 🍿 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “They had Quickbooks. They never expected an integration like this.” Starring Timothy Pico, Controller at ThinkPlumb: 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Canada’s Largest frozen fruit and veg wholesaler stayed late doing manual FP&A. Until one day, they didn’t. Starring Tereza S., Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Alasko. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What Secrets Would You Find? Starring Robert Kendrick VP of Finance, American Board of Internal Medicine 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ She chose Excel, her next decision was destiny. Starring Melissa McKenzie Project Manager at Nova Medical Centers 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This finance tale wags the dog food sales Starring Charlotte Kelly Head of FP&A, Butternut Box 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ They knew auto body repair. But trusting their data was the most exhilarating ride yet. Starring Jeff Mackay, CPA, CMA Director of Finance, Kirmac 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Closing your Month End Opens Opportunities Starring Kyle Harris, VP of Finance at MyCarrier 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Data reconciled. Patient Lives Transformed. Starring Great Falls Clinic Finance team. Be part of the next great finance story (get in touch).