FP&A Today

Getting FP&A teams to harness their data to reach their goals is the holy grail. Nathan Bell, Managing Partner, VAi Consulting, is among the most in-demand experts. Bell has unique experience– having started in computer science, before leading finance teams at Native American Bank, Digital Media Trends and Gartner– where he advised hundreds of FP&A teams facing chaotic data situations). In this masterclass, he shares a practical framework looking at the expectations, fear and hype surrounding data, analytics and AI for FP&A teams. In this episode: From a computer degree to leading finance teams How Nathan discovered the power of telling stories as Chief Credit Officer at Native American Bank Overcoming the challenge of presenting to non- financially literate CEOs The challenge when finance is “last in line” When companies don’t have good data and what FP&A teams can do “Federated data governance” and avoiding turf battles why setting up self-service data as CFO came back to bite me Using a “metrics cascade” clarifying data and metrics Critical thinking as the new superpower for finance teams in the AI age Key to setting up pilot AI programs Dinner time when your wife is also a CFO Key quotes: Remember PPDAC. Problem Plan, Data, Conclusion. Your Plan, what Data you need to capture against that plan, analysis, and Conclusion. “If you can master that in that order, I think from a skillset, you’re, you’re ready” – Nathan Bell. Critical Thinking as the new Superpower for FP&A “Critical thinking is gonna be more powerful than ever. I don’t think there’ll ever be a situation where we’re going to let AI make the decision without going through a human to look at the data. We need to ask what do we do? What’s the action? What’s the decision?” Connect with Nathan Bell on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-bell-1038662/ https://vai-consulting.com/

Tory Bauman, Vice President, FP&A at Zayo Group joins new host Glenn Hopper. In this fascinating episode they go deep on FP&A metrics and processes at one of the most exciting companies in telecoms. Tory leads an FP&A team underpinning business decisions at Zayo whose network stretches over 16.8 million fiber miles and spans 141,000 route miles. With telecoms long at the forefront of technology, Tory explains her cutting edge philosophy around FP&A realizing “ leadership’s strategy and their goals” “closing gaps” and making necessary “pivots”. In this episode Tory reveals: Her move from accountant to finance and why she made the switch How FP&A at Zayo is set up and the main metrics tracked including the importance of being good stewards of billions of dollars in capital investments Measures for forecasting churn Alignment as crucial to business partnering Early warning signs and predictive analytics FP&A and cost per event on telecoms network Using external data and macro side on the pricing decisions How Zayo is profiting by providing connectivity and bandwidth in the AI revolution How I am trying to develop my experience in capital markets and mentorship Why I am not shy about letting people know I want to be a CFO Her golf career and the impact it has made on her finance goals Connect with Tory on LinkedIn

It’s the end of an era. This is Paul Barnhurst’s last episode as FP&A Today host. And in this episode he introduces new FP&A Today host: Glenn Hopper. Glenn Hopper is a Chief Financial Officer with two decades of experience leading finance operations for private equity-backed companies. Glenn is an author and journalist, US Navy Veteran, #1 AI Finance leader, and a passionate advocate for FP&A. In this episode: Glenn’s whirlwind career since he last appeared on the show Training FP&A on AI Why getting started on AI in finance is a painful audit Why the first stages of AI implementation in finance have nothing to do with AI Launching the definitive LinkedIn course for generative AI and finance Why it is vital for finance professionals to understand the base of AI Glenn’s favorite episode of FP&A Today Why I decided to become the new host of FP&A Today Why there’s no need to hide my Southern accent on the show Turning the tables on Paul Paul’s final message Follow Glenn Hopper at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbhopperiii/ Follow Paul Barnhurst at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy/

Rosemary Linden more than earned her stripes in FP&A over twenty years. Her roles included VP FP&A at Alliant Insurance Services. Director of Global FP&A at WD-40 Company and at Solera. But after two decades in corporate finance she moved to being a fractional CFO serving small businesses (typical annual revenue of around $10million) managing an assortment of responsibilities. This episode is for anyone in finance who may be looking to escape the corporate grind and set up as a Fractional CFO. But Linden warns it is not for everyone. “One of the first things I’d say to think about is, do you really want to be a fractional CFO? Because that’s different from being a full-time CFO at one particular company and comes with its own challenges.” In this episode: Moving from corporate finance after 20 years to dealing with “astute” small business owners as a fractional CFO in San Diego Why FP&A is an ideal training ground to become a CFO Secrets for telling a good story Getting to what you want the people in a room to “walk away knowing” Cash flows at small companies, opportunities and challenges Dealing with seasonal variances at small businesses Advice for starting your own business as a fractional CFO Moving to a more analytical mindset Difference between, strategic planning and financial planning (Case Study San Diego Civic Youth Ballet) My most dangerous deep sea dive, being team Excel and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Follow Rosemary Linden on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemarylinden/