Blog
An AI Adoption Framework for FP&A TeamsA reference guide on where AI works in FP&A today, how adoption usually progresses, and the use cases I have actually implemented. Created with AI,…
Testing Claude for Excel: Practical Lessons from a Lifetime Excel UserTesting Claude for Excel using real sample files. Lessons on checking AI output, cleaning data, and using AI to improve Excel workflows.
AI Lowers Build Costs but Raises Coordination Costs.AI makes building tools cheap but coordination expensive. Lessons on ownership, integration, and avoiding burnout.
When AI Makes Thinking Too EasyAI facilitates System 1 thinking and may suppress System 2 thinking. This is a hypothesis that I have been reflecting on lately. As Daniel Kahneman…
AI Broke Every SaaS LTV Forecast. What Can FP&A Teams Do About It?At a dinner event recently, someone floated the idea that every SaaS company that forecasted customer lifetime value (LTV) before AI was wrong. I had…
Strategic Planning For FP&A: Guide to Identifying Key Questions To AnswerAs strategic planning starts to pick up for most companies, finance teams should start to zero in on the most important strategic questions facing…
Strategic Planning For FP&A: How To Nail The Kickoff MeetingYou’re in FP&A and the CFO suddenly asks you to lead strategic planning out of the blue. You just joined a few weeks ago.⚡Do you know where to start?…
Strategic Planning For FP&A: Helpful Strategic FrameworksStop being just the FP&A reporting team—lean into strategy. This post shares a practical framework any FP&A leader can apply to sharpen strategic…
Strategic Planning For FP&A: 4 roles That Are EssentialStrategic planning isn’t easy. When multiple teams and diverse skills come together, the process can go off the rails. 🛤️ Based on my past…
Strategic Planning For FP&A: What Is It? What is FP&A’s Role?Q2 is when many companies kick off strategic planning, and this process is one of the best opportunities for FP&A to help drive impact. The stakes…
Understanding Long-Term S&P 500 Performance for InvestorsI received my first stock investment in the 6th grade when my mom gifted me a single share of Disney. At the time, this included a free trip to…
Rethinking ROI in Finance: Key Questions to Ask“What’s the ROI?” 🤔 This is a fair question that I have often asked during my FP&A career, but it’s not always the right one. To be clear, if the…
Building Scalable Hiring Processes in FinanceCurrent and future headcount data is critical for a financial forecast but can become a massive time suck 🌀 for FP&A teams if a scalable workflow is…
Follow up to ‘Building an FP&A team from 0 to 5’Last week, I wrote about growing an FP&A team from 0 to 5, based on my experience. This week, I hand-picked sources, added them to Google’s…
Building an FP&A team from 0 to 5Last week, somebody asked me about how I would build an FP&A team from 0 to 5. Here is how I would approach it. 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿Start…
Launch of Sea Cloud Consulting: Strategic FP&A For Early-Stage Growth CompaniesI’m excited to announce the launch of my FP&A consulting business, Sea Cloud Consulting. When I was working full time, I always wished that I had an…
4 Strategic Approaches for Finance in R&D Management (Cost Savings 3 of 3)During an interview for an FP&A role at a biotech company several years ago, the head of R&D asked how I would evaluate their sizable annual R&D…
Maximizing G&A Efficiency: Cost-Cutting Strategies (Cost Savings 2 of 3)When the pressure is on to reduce costs, G&A often finds itself on the chopping block. It’s seen as an easy target (“just overhead”), but this view…
Strategic Cost-Cutting Without Layoffs (Cost Savings 1 of 3)Controlling costs is a critical part of FP&A, both during budgeting and as actuals are reviewed each month. However, catalysts such as a revenue…
What Makes a Great Financial Model in Excel?In past FP&A roles, I often used the slower days around the holidays to refine and improve my models. It’s a great time to step back and reflect, and…
How to Validate Financial Models EffectivelyI have seen a lot of posts on how to create a financial model. But how do you check a model done by somebody else? This is how I do it: (1) Validate…