A Day in the Life of an FP&A Pro
What exactly does an FP&A Pro Do? I recently wrote about what makes a good FP&A professional and many other considerations about being in FP&A. But there are other questions I didn’t touch on…and they’re substantial.
Carl Seidman is a trusted business advisor specializing in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), business strategy, and finance transformation. He coaches and advises FP&A professionals at Fortune 500 corporations and middle-market companies, helping establish best practices, processes and sustainable business models. At the same time, Carl brings finance professionals greater control over their careers by helping them build their skills while eliminating time-wasting activities and mistakes.
Should I Choose a Career in FP&A? Consider These Skills and Traits
Attendees of my financial planning & analysis (FP&A) and university programs commonly ask about different roles in FP&A. They may be CPAs, Controllers, financial analysts, investment bankers, private equity associates, and finance/accounting majors and don’t fully know what an FP&A career looks like.
What Most Small Family Businesses are Doing Wrong When it Comes to Managing Cash and Working Capital
I’ve been having a lot of calls with small businesses over the last two months and thought it would be beneficial to share with you some of the questions I’m receiving and recommendations I’m making. Many of these discussions focus on cash flow and in particular.
Here’s What a Company That Values Vulnerability, Trust, and Transparency Can Accomplish (Part 2)
In Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly, she shares a story told in a Harvard Business Review article about the “snowball effect” of vulnerability in leadership. To summarize a great example, the CEO of a large corporation decided to “get real” with his team about some missteps he had taken.
Here’s How Lack of Trust Can Destroy a Company (Part 1)
When I think of the culture of a company, the first thing that comes to mind is the picture inside the walls of that organization. Do they value each employee? Is leadership honest? Are goals transparent?
Why Most Training Programs Fail
It seems as though, throughout this past year, everyone has been hyping their successful pivot from in-person to virtual training. Since early 2020, trainers and training companies alike have invested in technology they touted as being better than everyone else’s.
The Core of Succession Planning: Ways to Start Thinking About What Succession Planning Means for Your Company
By 2030, every Baby Boomer on the planet will be 65 years of age or older. If every Boomer were to retire at 65, that would mean an entire generation has left the workforce. Of course, not every person in this generation will stop working; however, according to Pew Research, COVID greatly accelerated retirements in 2021.
FP&A of the Future: Agile Planning and Predictive Analytics
The future of FP&A will not be slow and static. FP&A will borrow from many of the traditional planning and analysis processes and will make them more dynamic and accessible to companies of all sizes.
How To Take Mini-Retirements & Enjoy Life Now
I did an interview with Jamila Souffrant pre-COVID (in 2018 to be exact) that I hadn’t previously shared. Jamila found me having stumbled upon my TEDx talk. Coincidentally, it turns out we were both featured by CBS as part of a series on financial independence they had done just weeks earlier.
The Problem With Your Financial Models
I recently spoke with Anthony Castro of the CFO Leader Podcast about how CFOs can architect and construct better financial models. We also chatted about tips to becoming a better review of financial models prepared by others.