Datarails’ Post

The Duality of FP&A FP&A requires skills in both analysis and influence. Creating complex financial models and forecasts is a puzzle to solve, while business partnering involves understanding people. Christian Wattig joins me on this week's #growcfoshow and explains this further. Christian believes this skill combination is what makes the role truly special. FP&A isn't just about technical skills - it's equally about psychology and storytelling. Models and presentations mean little without buy-in. We must convince others our recommendations are worth supporting. This is where FP&A professionals rise to their best. When ideas influence strategy and tactics, shaping a company's direction, the job becomes most rewarding. Technical skills alone will not have true impact. 🏆 The role demands both left and right-brain thinking. Are you up for the challenge of this dual nature? Combining puzzle-solving with influence leads to real results. 🔍 Listen to the full episode https://lnkd.in/eVP3vDNq

FP&A, your new best friends 👯♀️ Cue up, “You’re my Best Friend” by Queen. If there is one relationship you need to solidify immediately in RevOps… it’s FP&A.  They will be your biggest champions, but if you do it wrong they will be your biggest blockers. In some organizations, FP&A analysts also masquerade as RevOps analysts for company leadership.  While they are the final financial authority on the company’s financials and key metrics, many times they are not going to be able to answer the question “why” since they are removed from day to day operations.  That’s where RevOps can come in. A strong partnership between RevOps and Finance is a match made in heaven and it is reciprocal.  RevOps can always make sure that they are building things in the context of how Finance thinks about the business (think of key definitions / financial metrics). Finance can always come to RevOps as a first step to get to the truth on what’s happening operationally that’s impacting the balance sheet. If RevOps teams prove themselves as responsible fiduciary servants of the company, that trusted relationship will also extend to budgeting.  Finance will know when RevOps asks for money or the ability to purchase a new platform, it’s worth the cost.  One of RevOps primary goals is to establish consistency across the revenue org.  That consistency only will help FP&A be able to forecast more effectively across each revenue team. And at any company, if FP&A and your CFO trust you… good things will follow. #revops #gtmstrategy

AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL VIDEO FOR FP&A PROFESSIONALS... Are you aware of the most common skills gaps in FP&A teams and why they exist? It's critical to understand the gap between the learnings from your professional qualifications versus the skills needed for your specific role. Most people fail to properly understand this gap and therefore do not invest in the necessary training to overcome their skills deficiencies. What stands out for you from this video?

🎧 Tune in to GrowCFO's latest episode of the #growcfoshow to hear our own Jane Riley unveil the secrets behind developing a scalable FP&A team, with FP&A expert Catherine Marks. This episode is a goldmine for finance professionals looking to elevate their game, here is what you can takeaway: 🎙️ Discover why a versatile finance pro is your secret weapon in laying the groundwork for a scalable FP&A team. 🎙️ Learn how to navigate the challenges of recruitment and employee retention in the competitive landscape of FP&A talent. 🎙️ Uncover the strategies for fostering a collaborative culture that empowers your team to tackle new challenges head-on. Don't miss out on this enriching discussion and let us know your thoughts! #FinanceLeaders #fpanda #CFOInsights https://lnkd.in/eVPT8XVN

Here's a really important video for FP&A professionals and team leaders...

Need help elevating yourself in your FP&A role? Take something annoying off your boss’ plate. They’ll thank you and you’ll have a chance to prove you can play 1 level up. Just make sure your current job is being done 100%.

Here’s the key indicator of rockstar finance teams: They have solid storytelling skills. ⭐️ They don’t just email you overwhelming data tables to review. They keep their messaging + dashboards concise, compelling, intuitive, and relevant. ⭐️ Non-finance teams are actually following along (and engaged!) when finance teams talk and/or send emails. Finance jargon is mitigated - they speak your language. ⭐️ CFOs make their C-suite peers look good infront of the Board + shareholders by ensuring teammates have weaved financial/operational datapoints into their presentations with confidence. Came across this great presentation on storytelling by Shannon Cole of Gartner. Link in comments for those looking to upskill their storytelling game. Shannon not only compares financial storytelling to a Pixar movie, but also flags the risk of sub-par storytelling - spoiler alert…declining EBITDA. Also using this post to manifest a future Pixar Animation Studios movie where the hero is actually a CFO 😁 Want to show some love to your rockstar finance teams? Tag them in comments below 👇🏼 #storytelling #fpanda #finance

Check out my article about the 5 pillars of building the winning FP&A team Thanks to Larysa Melnychuk and FP&A Trends Group for giving me this opportunity. https://lnkd.in/d3TU7ADJ

Post 8: FP&A- 360 degree view, Convincing and Confidence I am pretty sure and can say on behalf of all FP&A professionals here that every day there is a lot of convincing and debates on different point of view across various subjects. FP&A function has an inherent “Challenge the status quo” characteristic. Basis my experience so far to conclude a successful alignment, below pointers can help: 1. Have a 360 degree view- Understand end to end impact of an ongoing discussion and various ingredients required to execute the decision out of it. Example: if we align to recognize revenue for a SaaS product, ensure we have the mechanism to decipher its volume or the monetary value logic to arrive its revenue. 2. Promise only what you can deliver: Assess what can be delivered practically. If it’s an unconventional delivery, list down the support required from management. Senior stakeholders never restrain from providing support but what they need is clarity on the inputs required from them. Simply list down the decisions you require from them. That’s it 3. Convincing and confidence: The 1st person who can bring confidence on your piece of work is no one but you. In our domain, we do need to give a lot of caveats wherever required to cover for any ambiguity. However, remember caveats are sides and not the main course. Demonstrate confidence and put your analysis as if you have supreme trust on it (obviously with logic and data) Feel free to share your pointers in comment!! #fpa #leadership #dataanalysis

Is RevOps blending more with finance now? It's not really a trend I've had my eye on, but 📈 Jeremey Donovan of Insight Partners got me thinking more deeply about it when we spoke recently. Jeremey made the point that RevOps is increasingly engaging in tasks that "traditionally" fall under FP&A. It's no longer just about tracking bookings from different channels; it's about diving deep into the financial returns and costs, optimizing and fine-tuning investments based on comprehensive analyses. For RevOps folks, this should be a very comforting development: it suggests a broader, more strategic role for RevOps, intertwining operational effectiveness with financial acumen to ensure not just growth but profitable and efficient growth. Nine out of ten times, when I ask someone about the biggest challenge they see in RevOps today, their answer highlights the struggles of making RevOps more of a strategic rather than purely tactical role. As this change unfolds, integrating financial thinking into operational strategies will become crucial, helping shape better business outcomes. It's a promising time for RevOps, signaling a future where it's pivotal in steering financial strategy and business achievements. So, what do you think — is the future of RevOps in finance? You can check out the full conversation between Jeremey and I here 👉