This article explores how financial planning and analysis (FP&A) professionals can leverage alternative data sources — such as social media sentiment, satellite imagery, web scraping, and geolocation data — to enhance traditional financial metrics and gain competitive advantages. Through a retail case study, technological enablers like AI and real-time analytics, and practical implementation strategies, the article demonstrates how non-traditional insights can transform financial forecasting, improve decision-making agility, and help organisations navigate market uncertainties despite integration challenges.

Imagine stepping into an immense, ever-evolving digital library where every piece of data is a book waiting to reveal a hidden secret about your business.

We are now well into Q1 of the new year and as such, it’s the perfect time to conduct an annual financial health check –