5 ways that CFOs create value in their organisation
The role of a CFO is a highly prized one and one that carries significant cache within any company. It is one of the few positions that cover a broad scope of responsibilities both at a strategic level and within the lower day-to-day perspectives of running the FP&A activities. As such, a CFO’s focus can easily slide if they don’t have a clear understanding of what the priorities are and how they’re driving real value in the company.
In this article, we’re going to explore 5 key ways that CFOs create value – and how the various Apliqo solutions can accelerate them.
The role of the CFO as a strategist and value creator
While a CFO has always been more strategically involved than the rest of their team, there is still a lot of opportunity for growth and, in forward-looking teams, we’re seeing things change quite quickly.
Using driver-based planning to improve forecast accuracy
Forecasting and planning in complex environments requires a delicate balance between attention to the granular details and a bigger-picture view of what we’re actually trying to accomplish.
The 10 commandments of FP&A
Here at Apliqo, the FP&A process is at the heart of what we do and so in this post, we thought we’d share our 10 commandments for what strong FP&A execution looks like. While somewhat tongue-in-cheek, there’s a lot to be gained from getting these things right. Now, without any further ado, onto the ten commandments.
Evaluating how 3 different inflation scenarios can impact your business performance
As we enter a period of recession and higher-than-normal inflation, everyone is scrambling to identify how it might affect their businesses and what they can do the manage the impact. This is a challenging exercise because we don’t really know how persistent this inflation will be and what ancillary effects might come as part and parcel of the macroeconomic shock. As such, companies should be preparing for all scenarios and that’s where a sophisticated FP&A tool like Apliqo FPM can be so useful.
A sophisticated, unifying FP&A tool is more important than ever
If you were to chart the changes in accounting and financial reporting regulation over the past 20 years, you would see a staggering increase in complexity. In what was already a highly-regulated industry, we’ve seen further administrative and structural obstacles placed in front of large corporations that are supposedly there to protect the integrity and accuracy of financial information – for the good of the stakeholders.
How FP&A solutions can help organizations deal with supply chain challenges
One of the primary economic themes of the past couple of years has been a reckoning in terms of how global supply chains perform in the midst of turmoil. For most of our economic history, there has been a steady increase in globalization over time with key players specializing in various products and services – and then exporting those all over the world. Countries stopped a vast majority of their local production because they could get those goods cheaper and of better quality from elsewhere.
Unleash the Power of Integrated Planning
There’s a famous quote from Mike Tyson that says: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This is often how we feel when we try to make plans for our business. It looks great on paper and everyone thinks that they’ve built in enough margin for error – and then the circumstances change again and you’re back at square one. It can be very frustrating, we know, but there are ways to mitigate this risk and to improve the overall accuracy of your planning endeavours.
9 pillars of a well set up FP&A System, first time
When you’re first approaching any new FP&A system implementation, it can be very overwhelming. There is a lot to get right and the decisions you make early on will have an outsized impact on how the entire system works for you over the long term. Worst case a poor initial decision can have lasting consequences which you will need to live with.
How scenario stress-testing can help you weather the recession
After years of economic expansion, we’re finally seeing the tide turn again as we enter what looks like it will be an extended recession. When you consider the impact of the pandemic, widespread inflation, war in Ukraine, and supply chain issues across the board – this is not something that should surprise us. But if you haven’t been paying attention and considering the impact of a recession on your business, you might find yourself in that position.