Ask the Experts: Finance Priorities in 2023

Recently, we hosted a conversation with Vareto President Lalit Singh, FP&A Strategy Consulting CEO James Myers, and Mobileum VP of FP&A Glenn Snyder for a conversation around strategies for FP&A as we head into 2023.

Watch now:

Key takeaways:

• Make sure to understand your company's business drivers as well as stakeholders' underlying needs and priorities so that you can coordinate strategy with FP&A. Do this in the most efficient way possible by holding department leaders close to their budget, reviewing forecasts more frequently, and helping generate impact without adding resources.
• Plan for three scenarios (best, stretch, and worst case) and identify trigger points for hiring or other activities.
• In the face of uncertainty, FP&A teams can leverage the rule of three: planning (best, worst, stretch), alignment (board, exec team, and middle managers), and cost control (people, marketing, and vendors).
• Review your plan quarterly to stay agile against triggers that may change your plan (e.g., corporate event or extreme variances).
• Overcommunication is key and make sure no one is surprised. The more people know about their situation and the impact of their role in the business, the more they'll be motivated and stay. We need to ensure that those who are not impacted feel secure; you can offer equity, comp adjustments, and re-align expectations for their role.
• AI is helping with predictive trends (like pricing) and tying underlying business metrics to the financials.
• Data remains the biggest pain point for FP&A teams as we head into 2023. Clean data means having a better source of truth and aligning around business goals.

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