FP&A Today

Great FP&A? It has to be Heinz - with Egor Lyasko

Egor Lyasko is Head of FP&A, Northern Europe at The Kraft Heinz Company, encompassing some of the world’s most loved brands including Heinz ketchup, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Lunchables. After gaining a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Oxford, Egor started at Kraft Heinz as a trainee rising rapidly in six years to Head of FP&A, Northern Europe.
What we covered in this episode:
His rapid career rise at Kraft Heinz attracted by the ketchup maker’s “culture of ownership.”
The principles of finance transformation and the core lessons learnt
How Kraft Heinz manages its annual budget cycle (and what he would do differently next time)
The role of integrated business planning at the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage conglomerate
The importance of being a “mini CFO’ in a sales finance partnership role
FP&A as Guardians of the P&L
Why he doesn’t have an ambition to become a CFO
His perfect retirement dream
His favorite Excel function
 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
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Glenn Hopper: Using ChatGPT to Build an FP&A tool and What Happened Next

Many CFOs preach about keeping up with technological change. But CFO Glenn Hopper went a step further. As ChatGPT talk reached fever pitch he was ready with a proof of concept for an FP&A version of Chat GPT. For good measure he also provided 30 pages of documentation about the process (“Application of ChatGPT to Build an FP&A Tool”) - to acclaim among FP&A professionals.
Hopper, a serial startup CFO, and U.S. Navy veteran who earned a master’s degree at Harvard says: “I wanted to see if someone with just a base understanding of the underlying technology could use artificial intelligence to first off build a tool that would help automate some of the FP&A processes and secondly, get to a way where you could use that tool to interact with your company's financial data.”
The Chat GPT project was a perfect technical project for Hopper, playing to his technological mindset and  skills foreshadowing technological transformation for finance professionals as explored in his book Deep Finance In the Information Age: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Finance-Corporate-Information-Age/dp/1637351240. The study also draws on his career and love of FP&A.
In this episode Glenn Hopper discusses
His unusual transition to CFO, moving from journalism in the Navy to product manager.   
How a passion for writing helps to formulate projects and challenges in finance
His experience with financial transformation in finance companies and the lessons he learned from the experience – as set out in his book Deep Finance
How having a mathematical and analytical mindset is crucial for anyone in FP&A
How his biggest corporate failure (missing a $1.5million invoice in budget preparation) was essentially his “origin story” to becoming a transformative CFO
How he wrote a feature film – a low budget horror movie, The Hanged Man which streamed on Netflix
His favorite Excel function
Links from the show
Deep Finance In the Information Age: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Finance-Corporate-Information-Age/dp/1637351240
“Application of ChatGPT to Build an FP&A Tool” - https://github.com/ghopper3/ChatGPT-Project/blob/main/ChatGPT%20for%20FPA.pdf
The Hanged Man (2007) Written by Glenn Hopper https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185596/
 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Glenn Hopper on LinkedIn
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Unleashing your audit skills to be a successful FP&A leader

Nicolas Boucher has a simple message to anyone who wants to move from audit to FP&A.
The  Head of Finance and Controlling at Thales says: “You can do it. I am an example of that.”
He says many skills are transferable from audit to FP&A. “Looking at financial statements from different companies in different situations and different industries” is one. Another is understanding “the figures compared to the past or compared to trends to give assurance to the figures. This is actually what you are doing as FP&A when you are analyzing the actuals against the budget or against last year.”
After seven years in audit at PwC which took him around the world and saw him get “battlefield promotions” Nicolas didn’t want to remain in audit forever and wanted “something more operationally close to the business.”
In this week’s podcast he explains how he made the move from audit to FP&A and the skills he has learnt in his 15 years as a finance leader.
Whether it is his past as a DJ (“When you have control of the microphone from 500 people, you need to know what you have to say and to have the confidence to do it”) or board reports and his daily content as a global finance thought leader with 127,000 followers on LinkedIn he explains the importance of stopping people from being “ bored” or losing attention.
He also reveals the inside scoop on a new course “giving everything that I learned the last 15 years” - that he wishes he had been given when starting out. 
In this episode Nicolas reveals:
How to shape your audit skills to to get a role in FP&A
His key learnings in a finance career that has taken him all over the world including France, the US, and Singapore, and across audit, controlling and FP&A roles.
The secrets to hitting 126,000 followers on LinkedIn as one of the leading FP&A (and general finance) influencers
His lessons from a large-scale finance transformation at Thales
The importance of communicating “bad surprises” early 
His early DJ Career and the lessons for a career in finance
His new course, Become a High Performing Finance Professional
His favorite Excel function
Links from the show
https://nicolasboucher.online/ Become a High Performing Finance Professional course with links to his content online 
 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Nicolas Boucher on LinkedIn
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Carmen Turner: Giving the Insights for Great Business Decisions

What does Carmen Turner love about FP&A? “Being able to provide businesses the insights they need to make great business decisions.”
 
The Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at Carmen Consulting Group who has managed the FP&A business partnerships at top companies such as McGraw Hill, says: “I work to help the businesses manage their budgets to target and understand their financial story.”
But she started her career not in finance (or through a traditional route).
She began her career as an electrician.
But programming robots and wiring facilities saw her gain skills which have been used daily in her 14-year finance career - not least troubleshooting, problem solving, collaboration, communication and the ability to educate others on complex (financial) wiring. 
In this week’s podcast Carmen provides insights into how FP&A teams can give business the appropriate insights to deliver great decision-making. 
This episode covers:
Carmen’s definition of FP&A as a primary educator in the business
How doing an MBA switched her on to FP&A as a passion
How she built the first FP&A certification more than a decade ago and how it helped her understand how processes differ across industries and companies
Putting her finance-first thinking to the test when starting her FP&A consulting business
Her four step approach to mastering sales-FP&A business partnerships
How to effectively build a sales compensation strategy that works
Why she advocates for rolling forecasts 
The importance of adopting a risk and opportunities approach in budget and forecasting 
The importance of a buffer in place when it comes to budget deadlines 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Carmen Turner  on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
 
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
 

Asif Masani: All About FP&A

Asif Masani has an inner belief that has guided his entire career. “Whatever I learn something, I don't feel good if I don't share it”.  
 
This ethos has taken Asif on a journey to become an FP&A leader and author. He has just published his first book about FP&A, hit nearly 60,000 followers on LinkedIn and his daily advice has almost single handedly opened the eyes of Indian finance people to FP&A as a career. Unsurprisingly, his education-first focus has led him to lead FP&A (APAC and India) at e-learning company Coursera (which facilitates 7000 courses, and which set up its FP&A team three years ago). 
 
For such a stalwart of FP&A only nine years ago Asif  admits “I had never heard about FP&A before” until he landed on a role as financial analyst at Citi. He has since had FP&A roles at companies including Pfizer, and Great Learning.
 
In this episode Asif talks to Paul Barnhurst about his career journey: 
 
From audit at EY to FP&A
How a struggle to find a job led him to become a top FP&A influencer
The top advice for finance people to build their own online brand
How he embarked on writing his new book, All About FP&A, a 220 page guide for those entering the profession
How FP&A operates at e-learning provider Coursera a 4k employee company offering 7000 courses
The importance of special projects driving value in FP&A at Coursera
Core metrics which he tracks closely 
The evolution of FP&A in India 
The outsourcing of finance functions to Indian companies
The biggest trend in FP&A in 2023
 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
https://www.datarails.com/fpa-today-episode-44-asif-masani-all-about-fpa/
Follow Asif Masani on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
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FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com

Why a Top VC is Backing FP&A all the way

The VC behind buzzy startups Calm, GoFundMe, Udemy and Gong is bullish on FP&A.  Ryan Abdullah an Investor at Norwest Venture Partners tells FP&A Today says there are four reasons why VCs rely on FP&A, particularly during a downturn.
Firstly there is a huge increase in appetite for forecasts. Secondly  FP&A must take account of labor shifts in startups (not least caused by large layoffs). Thirdly, ( investors who are all about growth) see FP&A as an ally and “profit center” to help businesses “grow and do better”. Fourthly FP&A is delivering an agenda with other departments to define budgets “rather than just entering numbers in a spreadsheet.”
In this episode Paul talks to Ryan Abdullah covering:
 
How VCS look at the role of FP&A and the benefit to their portfolio companies
Which financial insights and KPIs matter most to investors
The role FP&A plays in big fundraising?
What do VCs see as FP&A magic 
The importance of realistic and accurate models for VCs
The importance of robust software for handling and cleaning financial data
The challenges and opportunities for SaaS KPIs
His biggest success and biggest failure
Ryan’s photography hobby and how it helps him to think about investing 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Ryan Abdullah on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com

How Can you get the Top Finance Job (and be Effective)?

Kevin Appleby, COO of Grow CFO, asks potential CFO applicants a simple question.
 
Okay, I  know you want to become a CFO.
 
But what sort of CFO do you want to become?
 
In fact, he explains, there are three types of CFO.
 
You need to know which one you will be.
 
The “Financier”. Specialists in startups, they excel at tackling fundraising rounds, and M&A. They often move from company to company.
The “Transformational CFO”. This CFO wants big improvements in processes and in the way that the internals of the company work together. This CFO often heads several departments including finance, procurement, HR, and IT.
The “Strategist” – the clear right-hand man or woman of the CEO, constantly analyzing the strategic direction of the company.
 
Somebody from an FP&A background fits into any of those roles depending on what they want and their strengths, argues Appleby.
 
But getting to know your strengths as CFO or in FP&A is crucial to achieve the most from your career. He says: “If you're strong in something and you take time to develop it, you can become fantastically good. If you weak in something, you can spend a lot of time to become mediocre.”
 
This is just one of the insights that Kevin Appleby has gained as he mentors top CFOs in the UK and the US as part of the fast-growing mentorship service Grow CFO. In this episode of FP&A he maps his career from audit (“I never really wanted to be an auditor”) and FP&A (“back then FP&A as a term didn't really exist”) at one-time great manufacturing company, Imperial Chemicals Chemical Industries (ICI) and as a management consultant at PwC turned mentor and consultant with Grow CFO.
 
This episode is essential for anyone seeking to move from finance or FP&A to the top finance position. Kevin Appleby explains to Paul.
 
How GrowCFO was founded and how it is identify skills launching CFOs you into the next phase of their career
The core competencies of highly successful CFOs
The importance of budgeting and zero-based budgeting and the increasing power of FP&A for CFOs
Why the value of your business is a multiplier of the bottom line (not the top line)
Why every business (not just manufacturing) must engage with activity analysis
His biggest FP&A Failure
His best advice for FP&A professionals
 
Links from the show
 
Grow CFO - https://www.growcfo.net/
 
Grow CFO Competency Framework https://www.growcfo.net/growcfo-competency-framework/
 
Career routes to the CFO https://www.growcfo.net/research/career-routes-to-cfo-2022-report/
 
Watch the full show on YouTube
 
Read the full transcript and blog
 
Follow Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
 
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
 
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
 
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
 
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
 
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
 

How to Land your Next Awesome FP&A job (in a Downturn)

First the good news.
FP&A hiring is not slowing down.
In fact, FP&A is considered even more crucial in challenging business circumstance,  according to FP&A recruiters and hiring managers brought together in this special edition of FP&A Today.
Michael Jouris, finance recruiter, Addison Group says: “I have seen a lot of acquisitions by private equity backed companies in the recent months and they want to be more sophisticated with their reporting and in these times, FP&A is more important than ever.”
Sophie Bunce, Director of FP&A at fast-growing SaaS company Paddle who, has just hired more FP&A professionals in her finance team, adds: “In any economic environment, good FP&A is necessary. But In  a rough economic environment, FP&A is even more important.”
Joining Paul Barnhurst for this special episode:
Sophie Bunce Director of FP&A at Paddle
Angela Kulzer, Director of Sales and Recruiting, RiverLink Staffing
Michael Jouris, Addison Group Executive Search Consultant, Finance & Accounting.
This episode is essential listening for anyone looking to a future role in FP&A, or seeking to hire for an FP&A role in the future.
Highlights from this episode on lessons to secure your next role include:
Perspectives on the current market for FP&A job seekers
Remote working in 2023 within the CFO’s Office
How to separate the “what” and the “how” in updating your finance experience and talking about your career 
How to powerfully show the outcomes previously achieved in your roles (based on what employers actually want to hear)
LinkedIn vs Resumes
How best to apply for a new role in FP&A while in an economic downturn
The importance of your network
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Connect with our guests on LinkedIn:
Sophie Bunce Director of FP&A at Paddle.
Angela Kulzer, Director of Sales and Recruiting, RiverLink Staffing
Michael Jouris, Addison Group Executive Search Consultant, Finance & Accounting
Connect with Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Connect with Datarails on LinkedIn
 
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
 
Get in touch at www.datarails.com

How Marketing and Finance can Click Better

Aviv Canaani, VP Marketing, Datarails, and Christian Wattig, Head of Training at Datarails and founder of FP&A Prep,  join Paul Barnhurst for a conversation about marketing vs finance in a business. 
In the world of business it sometimes feels like finance and marketing are talking a different language. Christian Wattig has been the FP&A leader at some of the highest profile marketing teams on the planet at P&G and Unilever where campaigns for brands such as Dove, Skippy and Hellman’s saw marketing spend hundreds of millions of dollars.  In this episode he talks about some of the biggest challenges, misconceptions, and opportunities between FP&A and marketing and actionable insights when partnering with creatives in a business. 
Joining Paul and Christian is Aviv Canaani, VP Marketing, Datarails. 
Giving the marketing take on the finance-advertising relationship, Canaani has led multi-million dollar marketing campaigns at companies including IBM. Since then he has led marketing at hyper growth startups, Workiz and Datarails. In this frank discussion Canaani talks about the conflicts with marketing: “We are not always sure that the finance people have our best interests at heart.”
Also in this episode
How can FP&A teams work with marketing on long-term marketing investment 
How to build trust between finance and marketing
The best way to make a finance case for marketing investment 
How to best market to an FP&A audience
How FP&A can help measure direct response marketing
Making yourself aware of the wildly different incentives for finance teams vs marketing teams 
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Connect with Christian Wattig on LinkedIn
Connect with Aviv Canaani on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
Links from the episode
FP&A Prep
https://www.fpaprep.com/
FP&A Prep is a one-stop shop for content, training, and mentoring on Financial Planning & Analysis topics.
The #1 FP&A Community (Slack) Join here 
https://www.datarails.com/the-global-community-for-fpa-leaders/
A global community and resource hub for modern FP&A leaders like you

Jeanette Dorazio: What do CEOs really want from FP&A?

A slightly different episode this week, featuring not a finance chief, but a CEO talking about the power and impact of FP&A on business strategy. Jeanette Dorazio, CEO of Leadpages, joins Paul to discuss the daily impact FP&A is having for her company, a leading SaaS no-code website and landing page builder.
In this episode Jeanette Dorazio discusses with Paul:
How FP&A teams can actually get that coveted seat at the table by “seeing the patterns” in a business
How FP&A works with her in monitoring key metrics for growth 
The CEOs playbook for FP&A during a downturn 
The best and worst FP&A work she has seen in her career 
Why FP&A should be a “very close first” for hiring into the finance team after the CFO
Why the visibility of FP&A needs to improve 
The power of Excel in shaping her journey through product management to CEO
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Jeanette Dorazio on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
 
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
 
Get in touch at www.datarails.com