Category

FP&A

FP&ATechnology
April 28, 2022

Technology as the Backbone of Change

The importance of harnessing big data and implementing a holistic solution to drive finance transformation and process optimization. The pandemic exposed the deficiencies in many companies’ planning processes and technology infrastructures. As events unfolded at a breakneck pace, FP&A leaders were expected to deliver quick insight to support critical strategic decisions. However, many were hampered by a lack of data visibility and inflexible and suboptimized forecasting and planning processes. According to members of NeuGroup for Large-Cap Heads of FP&A, which met in Atlanta…
Justin Jones
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FP&ATechnology
March 3, 2022

Crunch Time: Extreme Uncertainty Raises the Stakes for FP&A

To become strategic business partners, FP&A leaders must provide data-driven insight to support critical decisions.Like the pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine is forcing companies to rethink their business and financial plans. While the worst financial repercussions of the sanctions are within Russia, the impact of the crisis goes far beyond. Spikes in oil prices and inflation are throwing into question companies’ annual budgets, changing forecasting assumptions and making it imperative that FP&A realizes its potential as a strategic advisor to the…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19FP&ATechnology
January 4, 2022

Moving Finance Beyond Resiliency in 2022 Amid the New New Normal

How to approach finance this year while addressing unknowns and going beyond best practice, toward innovation.By Nilly EssaidesIn 2021, finance organizations focused on building their companies’ capacity to withstand shocks and bounce back. They automated existing processes so they can be executed remotely and with fewer staff. They forecasted more frequently. They continued to pile up cash (see companion piece by NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu). They integrated planning activities and embraced scenario analysis to account for a lack of relevant…
Justin Jones
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FP&ATreasury Management
December 1, 2021

Bridging the Gap Between Treasury and FP&A 

By Nilly EssaidesTechnological advances are fueling the convergence of once-disparate finance processes, as they increasingly rely on the same tools to execute critical processes. In addition, faced with continued disruption in business, economic and financial conditions, CFOs expect finance organizations to contribute greater value through faster and more insightful decision-support. To do so effectively, legacy silos among different areas of finance must be dismantled. Going Beyond Best Practice to Process Innovation Nowhere is the need to bridge barriers more urgent than…
dgarcia
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COVID-19FP&A
October 28, 2021

Forecasting in the Fog: FP&A Teams Become a Lighthouse—And a Rudder

With supply chains still in flux and Delta not quite in the rearview, FP&A teams need to shine a brighter light on future developments.The pandemic rendered most corporate budgets and forecasts obsolete, and FP&A had to quickly step in to provide some visibility into future performance.  According to peer group leader Brian Kalish, the Covid-19 pandemic was like “a bank of fog rapidly and unexpectedly engulfing a ship at sea.” Teams must now find new ways to pilot the ship…
Justin Jones
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FP&ATechnology
September 23, 2021

Expanding Horizons: Making the FP&A Mindset Cross-Functional

One member’s team streamlined its approach to forecasting with a transformation model from FP&A solutions provider Jedox. FP&A teams use data analysis to help companies understand their finances and plan for a long term future—but why limit this to only the finance group? At a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Financial Planning and Analysis, Dr. Liran Edelist, president of Jedox, shared how the company’s planning and analytics solution supports digitizing the FP&A function and broadening its scope. (Dr. Edelist has a…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalFP&A
September 16, 2021

Here and Now: The Benefits of Right-Time Finance for FP&A

At a time when agile enterprises are in favor, OneStream suggests finance functions live more in the moment.Accounting functions tend to look backward, with reporting that’s subject to close processes and consolidation. Planning and forecasting, on the other hand, is looking forward, seeking to support business partnerships by helping managers predict what’s coming. Covid—especially the early period of the pandemic, which was arguably the most forecasted and re-forecasted period in modern history—has helped emphasize the importance of focusing more on…
Justin Jones
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FP&ATechnology
July 1, 2021

Rolling Forecasts by FP&A Gain Ground in Pandemic Despite Obstacles

The pandemic and rapid recovery underscore the benefits of more frequent forecasts by FP&A, but transitions can be messy. At a recent NeuGroup meeting for heads of FP&A teams co-sponsored by fintech OneStream Software, more than half of members surveyed said they are updating their forecasts more frequently—some using rolling forecasts—a practice prompted by the pandemic and continuing because of the rapid economic rebound. Instead of updating the standard 12-month forecast yearly, more teams now continuously update throughout the year. Most…
Justin Jones
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