Vertice’s Post

Andrew Dickson is a long term thinker, Finance leader, and occasional world traveler on a journey from Ohio to Houston and now Boston across the Energy & startup world. Today he is the Senior Director of FP&A at SevenRooms, leading a small but mighty team, bringing better strategic planning practices to a growing hospitality software business. From doing multi decade exploratory energy forecasts at Shell to never missing a public forecast at HubSpot, here is what he has learned across his career: ⚖ 📝 Understanding Unit Economics 📝 ⚖ At HubSpot, Andrew learned a ton about how to measure the performance of a SaaS company by understanding its unit economics under the leadership of an industry leading FP&A team. He learned how to understand the collective inputs to help make better strategic planning decisions. When breaking down unit economics, he stresses that you can’t just look at the LTV / CAC ratio. That’s often misunderstood in SaaS. On the LTV side of the equation, you’ll need to understand the number of units sold, revenue per unit, and the effort it takes to service customers from the product & customer success departments. From a cost perspective, it’s imperative to understand how easy it is to sell the product, efficiency of the sales department, and how costs like marketing expenses are deployed. Is there an account based marketing approach? Is it demand generation across various channels? Does PLG factor into the costs? The main thing that Andrew believes is overlooked in a unit economic analysis is churn rate. If a startup can focus its activities on getting more customers to stick around for longer, everything gets a little bit easier. 3 Career Insights / Learnings 🏃♂️ Take Risks – “I would have told myself to take more early on, honestly. It’s easier to do early on when you have less personal responsibility. The risk I took was letting an organization tell me where to go, whether it was Texas or South India, and I was willing to do what I needed to do to speed up my career and learnings” 🎨 Make Yourself Useful – “Whether you’re new or have been at a company for 5 years, especially in smaller organizations, look to be a jack of all trades. When I joined HubSpot I knew nothing about SaaS, so to hit the ground running I learned all their FP&A system and became the subject matter expert so I could contribute to the team while I was climbing the learning curve everywhere else” 👫 Be Human – “Over the last few years the world has been turned upside down. A lot of us have gone into remote settings where we’re not seeing everyone’s lives as much as we used to. Over Zoom, Slack, Doc, etc. you don’t see as much and it can feel robotic. It’s really important to remind ourselves that we’re coworkers and humans that need to be there for each other” ⚓ Andrew is building in Boston ⚓

Abacum in Forbes! Co-founders, Julio Martínez and Jorge Lluch, kick started our mission to make every Finance Team the hero in their organization. Learn more about our approach and how we are empowering mid-market finance leaders through our advanced FP&A solution. 🚀 Check out the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dJp5tfTT

🚀💼 Calling all finance aficionados & biz whizzes! 🌟 Controllers are the new superheroes in the finance league, steering the ship through the digital storm! 💥 Imagine having a Swiss Army knife 🔪 for numbers – that's your modern-day controller! 📈 Traditionally, these number ninjas have been the backbone of daily accounting operations, but hold onto your calculators – they're evolving into strategic advisors to the CFO! 🧠 With tech like AI & and machine learning on the rise, the role is shifting from crunching numbers to crafting strategies. 🤖✨ 💡 Picture this: A world where financial closes happen at the snap of your fingers – no manual grind needed. That's the future controllers are paving towards. They're not just balancing books; they're balancing innovation with reliability, ensuring every figure tells a tale of progress and precision. 📚➡️🚀 💸 And talk about valued! These finance heroes are among the top earners in the biz, and rightly so, as they ensure the company's financial narrative is accurate and auditable. 💰✅ 🔍 But wait, there's more! Controllers are also taking the driver’s seat in digital transformation, leading the charge for the entire finance team. They're not just part of the conversation; they're shaping it, turning data into decisions that drive the business forward. 🏎️💨 🌐 From Silicon Valley to Wall Street, these pros are making sure companies are reporting with the utmost precision, all while looking ahead to what's next. It's not just about GAAP compliance; it's about guiding companies through the ebb and flow of economic tides. 📊🌊 👥 Whether you're a seasoned CFO or an up-and-coming financial maven, embracing the evolution of the controller role is key to navigating the uncharted waters of tomorrow's business landscape. 🧭🌐 🔝 Ready to rise to the challenge? The path from controller to CFO is being redefined, with a trail blazed by innovation, strategy, and tech-savviness. It's an exciting time to be in finance, and the opportunities are endless! 🌟🔗 🤝 Remember, finance isn't just about numbers; it's about narrative. It's not just about ledgers; it's about leadership. And it's not just about closing books; it's about opening doors to the future. 💼🚪🔮 #finance #controller #CFO #strategy #digitaltransformation #innovation #accounting #leadership #AI #machinelearning #futureoffinance #financialclose #GAAP #SaaS #careerpath #businessacumen #financialstorytelling #valuecreation #fintech #growthmindset

The NYE ball has dropped, the confetti is cleaned up and the calendar now reads 2024 🎉. For companies with a 12/31 year end, this also signifies that planning season is drawing to a close. So before we throw ourselves fully into optimism and execution for this new year, I want to post some #cfo thank yous and reflect on some learnings.   Thank you to Planful's core Finance planning team - the folks who endure the stress, long hours and (multiple) last minute changes! We planned better and more efficiently this cycle than any I've been a part of in my career. Chris Edwards, VP Finance - the leader who makes it go Jeff Zicarelli, Director of Finance Tommy Clarke, Finance Manager Adam Leash, MBA Leash, Senior Finance Analyst Ryan Rasmussen, Senior Finance Analyst Melissa Dreuth, Chief People Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO Danielle Russell, Global Controller   I'd be remiss not to acknowledge all of the budget owners at Planful. With Planful's Budget Manager Experience, we're all able to collaborate and drive the planning process. And, of course, thanks to Planful - the planning system is truly a key member of the team!   Three from '23 - Learnings from this planning cycle: 👷♀️ Workforce planning - We planned comp changes at the employee level using precise benchmarking data, which allowed people managers to be more strategic and improved transparency 🔢 Data & drivers - We added more drivers from more operational source systems making our plans smarter. This drove alignment across the org on planned outcomes and what gets us there 🏎 You can go faster! We seeded multiple scenarios in Planful, linking key drivers to historical data and our strategic goals. Then we hit GO on the planning meetings. This prepared approach cut our budget process in half by allowing us to dynamically adjust driver based assumptions while vetting w/ key budget stakeholders. Tag your own planning team with a thank you in the comments! Add your planning learnings!

I rely on Bessemer Venture Partners's content when considering SaaS finance/KPIs and building models and budgets. This beautiful piece of content highlights how CFOs can be successful in their jobs, on both a strategic and tactical level, within what I view as the top challenges for early growth VC-backed SaaS companies: 1. KPI definition, tracking- and constantly revisiting. 2. Collaboration with the CEO and management team. 3. Board communication. https://lnkd.in/dUx5WBMp

Working on your 2025 financial plan? Check out the resources that Michelle Valentine has collected below. You may even recognize at least one of the contributors! As Michelle reminds us: "As we stand on the cusp of 2025, the only certainty is change" and "Your financial plan is more than just an exercise—it's a roadmap for your company's future." When the only certainty is change, we all have to be ready to zig and zag and dial up and/or down investments, and this must start an aligned plan and roadmap.

I found this article about a fellow Fractional CFO very interesting. It gives a great view on what I love to do…..dig deep into a company’s operations and make the connections between OPs, Finance and Strategy to effect real change. https://lnkd.in/eyNy5_YN

Today's CFOs are looking for the right people to lead critical teams such as FP&A as they become more strategic players in their businesses. In an environment where data-driven strategies can provide a key competitive advantage, the pressure for the FP&A team to serve as the “real analytical powerhouse” of finance has only increased, Edward Bush, CFO of FP&A software provider Cube said. As CFOs evolve into “chief future officers” and assume more strategic responsibilities, FP&A’s support is crucial, Bush said in an interview. To understand more about the needs of the modern FP&A team, CFO Dive chatted with key experts including Bush, Cube CEO Christina Ross, Gartner's Randeep Rathindran and Flywire CFO Cosmin Pitigoi. #fpanda #financialplanningandanalysis #strategicinsights #cfoinsights https://lnkd.in/e3HFu-xp

🌋 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐅𝐎 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!  ⏰ October 8-10, 2024 💼 𝐃𝐚𝐲 1: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 & 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 The role of the CFO has never been more critical. Day 1 dives into how modern finance leaders are transitioning from scorekeepers to strategic business drivers. 🔹Opening Keynote: Rodolphe A., CEO of Spendesk 🔹 Panel: From Scorekeeper to Performance Driver 🎤 Roy Hefer, Kinga Blaut, & Raluca Ragab 🔹 Panel: Unleashing the Power of AI in Finance 🎤 Paul Jun, Sarah F., & Joyce Mackenzie Liu 🚀 𝐃𝐚𝐲 2: 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 As technology transforms finance, Day 2 focuses on how CFOs can build efficient, high-performing teams and adopt the right tools to future-proof their organisations. It also features our Top CFO Tools Awards Ceremony where we are celebrating the best tools shaping the future of finance, as voted by the CFO Connect community. 🔹 Panel: Building a Modern, High-Performing Finance Team 🎤 Antonio Reza, Kelly Chang, CFA, Val Elliott FCCA & Dav Masaon 🔹 Panel: The Triumphant Tool Stack – Enhancing Your Finance Systems 🎤 Robert Goldenberg, Daniëlle Keeven, Richard R. & Luke Streeter 🔹 Top CFO Tools Awards 🎤 Michyl Culos, Luc Hancock, & Luke Streeter 🌱 𝐃𝐚𝐲 3: 𝐂𝐅𝐎 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Day 3 is all about leadership in finance. It explores navigating economic uncertainty and scaling organisations, with insights from some of the world’s fastest-growing companies. 🔹 Spendesk Connect: Discover the next evolution of Spendesk’s finance tools, designed to help you scale with confidence. 🔹 Panel: Navigating Economic Uncertainty – Strategies for Resilience and Growth 🎤 Amel Chouikh, Philippe Bouaziz, Stephane D., & Alexis Vilette 🔹 Panel: Scaling Stories – Leading Finance in Hyper-Growth Environments 🎤 Jennifer Loo, Nelly M., Jay Peir, & Maria Hedengren 👥 Speakers from leading companies like Uber, Google, Visa, Deel, Lavazza Professional UK, TravelPerk, and more will share their expertise on finance automation, building high-performing teams, and strategic leadership. Don’t miss out on these thought-provoking discussions! 👉 Register for Summit 2024: https://lnkd.in/eTidVd7T

FP&A Case studies 2 Resharing PepsiCo's Transformation Through FP&A, PepsiCo, a leading global food and beverage company, underwent a significant transformation in its financial planning and analysis (FP&A) practices to drive better decision-making and financial performance.The FP&A team at PepsiCo implemented advanced data analytics tools to improve forecasting accuracy and provide real-time insights into key business metrics. They also leveraged scenario planning to assess various market conditions and potential impacts on the company's financial performance. By improving collaboration between FP&A and other departments, such as marketing and sales, PepsiCo was able to develop more targeted strategies and allocate resources more effectively to drive growth and profitability. As a result of these efforts, PepsiCo saw a significant increase in revenue and profitability, with the FP&A team playing a critical role in guiding strategic decision-making and driving business success. Airbnb's Strategic Financial Planning, Airbnb, a popular online marketplace for lodging and travel experiences, has been successful in driving growth through strategic financial planning and analysis.The FP&A team at Airbnb leverages advanced data analysis tools and financial modeling expertise to forecast revenue and expenses accurately, enabling the company to make informed decisions about resource allocation and investment priorities. To support the company's rapid expansion into new markets and business lines, the FP&A team collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to develop comprehensive financial plans and scenarios, ensuring that the company's growth initiatives are aligned with its overall strategic objectives.Through effective financial planning and analysis, Airbnb has been able to achieve strong financial performance and sustainable growth, positioning the company as a leading player in the global travel industry.These real-life case studies highlight the crucial role that FP&A plays in driving business success and strategic decision-making within organizations, demonstrating how thoughtful financial planning and analysis can lead to improved financial performance and sustainable growth. #tuesday