https://seacloudconsulting.com/Practical FP&A thinking for growth companieshttps://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/29/point-ai-at-your-budget-folder/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/29/point-ai-at-your-budget-folder/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700Want to use more AI in your budget process this year? Connect a folder and let AI work with files.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/23/3-ways-to-use-ai-in-excel/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/23/3-ways-to-use-ai-in-excel/Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700Budgeting season is coming up for a lot of companies. Here is a simple framework for the three main ways you can use AI with Excel.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/17/dont-toss-ai-slop-grenades/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/09/17/dont-toss-ai-slop-grenades/Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0700I heard this term on a podcast recently, and the meaning is clear if you have ever received half-baked AI output at work.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/08/09/ai-adoption-framework/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/08/09/ai-adoption-framework/Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0700A 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, heavily influenced by my professional experience.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/03/07/testing-claude-for-excel-practical-lessons-from-a-lifetime-excel-user/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/03/07/testing-claude-for-excel-practical-lessons-from-a-lifetime-excel-user/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:43:54 -0800Testing Claude for Excel using real sample files. Lessons on checking AI output, cleaning data, and using AI to improve Excel workflows.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/03/01/ai-coordination-costs/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/03/01/ai-coordination-costs/Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:21:18 -0800AI makes building tools cheap but coordination expensive. Lessons on ownership, integration, and avoiding burnout.https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/02/24/when-ai-makes-thinking-too-easy/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/02/24/when-ai-makes-thinking-too-easy/Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:25:56 -0800AI facilitates System 1 thinking and may suppress System 2 thinking. This is a hypothesis that I have been reflecting on lately. As Daniel Kahneman explained in 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸, there are two types of thinking: 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝟭 – automatic and intuitive, but prone to mistakes𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝟮 – deliberate…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/02/10/ai-broke-every-saas-ltv-forecast-what-can-fpa-teams-do-about-it/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2026/02/10/ai-broke-every-saas-ltv-forecast-what-can-fpa-teams-do-about-it/Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:15:51 -0800At a dinner event recently, someone floated the idea that every SaaS company that forecasted customer lifetime value (LTV) before AI was wrong. I had not made this connection before, but it makes sense that many companies overestimated LTV. It would have been impossible to predict the competitive…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/guide-to-identifying-key-strategic-questions-in-finance/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/guide-to-identifying-key-strategic-questions-in-finance/Sat, 24 May 2025 10:02:40 -0700As strategic planning starts to pick up for most companies, finance teams should start to zero in on the most important strategic questions facing the company. 🎯 Do you know how to do this? Here’s a practical guide to identify strategic issues that need to be addressed: 🔍𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/leading-strategic-planning-in-fpa-first-steps/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/leading-strategic-planning-in-fpa-first-steps/Sat, 24 May 2025 09:57:24 -0700You’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? There is a lot to consider, but one of the first steps is a kickoff meeting with senior leaders. Here are some practical questions (not exhaustive)…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/transform-your-fpa-team-with-these-strategic-frameworks/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/transform-your-fpa-team-with-these-strategic-frameworks/Sat, 24 May 2025 09:52:00 -0700Stop 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 thinking. 🎯 In Good Strategy / Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt introduces the “kernel of strategy” and breaks it down into three components:• Diagnosis•…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/4-roles-that-are-essential-for-successful-strategic-planning/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/05/24/4-roles-that-are-essential-for-successful-strategic-planning/Sat, 24 May 2025 09:45:15 -0700Strategic planning isn’t easy. When multiple teams and diverse skills come together, the process can go off the rails. 🛤️ Based on my past experiences, I have realized that there are four roles that are essential for successful strategic planning. Some people can play multiple roles, and multiple…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/04/08/strategic-planning-in-fpa-a-guide-for-success-1-of-6/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/04/08/strategic-planning-in-fpa-a-guide-for-success-1-of-6/Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:03:49 -0700Q2 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 are high, as bad decisions or lack of action could hurt the company’s growth or focus. Over a series of posts, I’m going to share what I have learned […]https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/30/understanding-long-term-sp-500-performance-for-investors/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/30/understanding-long-term-sp-500-performance-for-investors/Sun, 30 Mar 2025 21:58:45 -0700I 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 Disneyland! 🎢 I’ve basically been invested in the stock market ever since, but it can feel unsettling at times, especially with recent headlines and the…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/20/rethinking-roi-in-finance-key-questions-to-ask/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/20/rethinking-roi-in-finance-key-questions-to-ask/Thu, 20 Mar 2025 22:13:44 -0700“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 amount is large enough and/or the return is forecastable, then ROI is the right way to go. However, for ‘small-to-medium-sized’ requests with uncertain…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/20/building-scalable-hiring-processes-in-finance/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/20/building-scalable-hiring-processes-in-finance/Thu, 20 Mar 2025 22:05:24 -0700Current 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 not created from the beginning. Lately, I’ve been working with two clients, one early-stage and one more mature, which has made me reflect on how to…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/02/follow-up-to-growing-an-fpa-team-from-0-to-5/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/03/02/follow-up-to-growing-an-fpa-team-from-0-to-5/Sun, 02 Mar 2025 17:30:53 -0800Last 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 NotebookLM, and used the software to summarize insights. By selecting the sources myself, I avoid the ‘average answer’ that AI models like ChatGPT might…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/22/building-an-fpa-team-from-0-to-5/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/22/building-an-fpa-team-from-0-to-5/Wed, 22 Jan 2025 10:54:53 -0800Last 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 by hiring someone with a broad skillset who is eager to learn and comfortable taking on everything. Strong financial modeling skills and the ability…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/15/launch-of-sea-cloud-consulting-strategic-fpa-for-early-stage-growth-companies/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/15/launch-of-sea-cloud-consulting-strategic-fpa-for-early-stage-growth-companies/Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:24:08 -0800I’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 experienced resource that I could call when times were busy, either for project-based work or as a second set of hands. That is what I’m now offering.…https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/15/4-strategic-approaches-for-finance-in-rd-management-cost-savings-3-of-4/https://seacloudconsulting.com/2025/01/15/4-strategic-approaches-for-finance-in-rd-management-cost-savings-3-of-4/Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:20:20 -0800During 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 investment. I suggested project-level discounted cash flows (DCFs), but my answer was impractical and incomplete. R&D is often a challenging area for…