FP&A Today

By Sarah SchlottBusiness Management

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Typical duration
59 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

FP&A Today episodes

January 17, 2023Jeanette Dorazio: What do CEOs really want from FP&A?
A slightly different episode this week, featuring not a finance chief, but a CEO talking about the power and impact of FP&A on business strategy. Jeanette Dorazio, CEO of Leadpages, joins Paul to discuss the daily impact FP&A is having for her company, a leading SaaS no-code website and landing page builder.
In this episode Jeanette Dorazio discusses with Paul:
How FP&A teams can actually get that coveted seat at the table by “seeing the patterns” in a business
How FP&A works with her in monitoring key metrics for growth
The CEOs playbook for FP&A during a downturn
The best and worst FP&A work she has seen in her career
Why FP&A should be a “very close first” for hiring into the finance team after the CFO
Why the visibility of FP&A needs to improve
The power of Excel in shaping her journey through product management to CEO
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Jeanette Dorazio on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
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FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.

Get in touch at www.datarails.com
45 min
January 10, 2023Casey Woo: My Adventures in Finance from Wall Street to Silicon Valley
Casey Woo is a serial high Tech CFO turned investor. The Harvard educated financier “escaped” a life as an Investment Banking Analyst, at Morgan Stanley to take a big pay cut and join a 10-person startup (“If you wanna do tech, you gotta go to the Bay Area”).
Since then, he has held finance at CFO roles including at WeWork and property tech company Landing before founding an “operators community” turned investment fund FOG ventures.
In this episode Casey talks to Paul Barnhurst about his journey:
How finance was seen as a “second class” citizen when he entered Silicon Valley and how he had to “learn a new language”
How he built up the Operators Guild “a club of number twos” ( finance, ops, HR, talent, legal, IT) into an exec community of 700 leaders who now run the FOG VC
What good FP&A looks like at an early stage company
When early stage companies are making $200,000 $300,000 total is when FP&A can be a powerful addition
Why FP&A leaders need to focus on business first rather than finance first
The CFO’s future as the Office of Business Intelligence that will separate the The Ancien Régime CFOs with those who can adapt
If CFOs are not “pounding their fists on the table” asking to own data they will not survive
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Casey Woo on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
53 min
January 03, 2023Ian Schnoor: Going from Good to Great in Financial Modeling
This episode is all about financial modeling from one of the world’s experts. Ian Schnoor is
Executive Director at the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) & President and Founder at The Marquee Group. In this episode he provides frank assessment of why most financial models fail and how you can take instant actions to instantly transform your financial modeling.
This is absolutely essential listening for anyone considering taking the Financial Modeling Institute’s world-respected accreditation program. The program is recognized by companies like Goldman Sachs, Moody’s KPM and Morgan Stanley as the most rigorous validation of financial modeling skills and ranges from foundational, to advanced, to Chartered Financial Modeler and Master Financial Modeler.
In this episode:
From investment banking to creating the world’s only accredited financial modeling training
The skills you will need to pass the robust accreditation by the Financial Modeling Institute
Why employees are increasingly requiring proof of financial modeling skills
The multi-disciplinary skills required to excel in modeling including design, data flow, communication and storytelling
How the integrated 3 statement model is the table stakes for being considered a good financial modeler
How you can get your financial model humming smoothly - you should not have to pop your car hood to show the engine
The power of a committee approach to modeling and design in a company
Nixing our favorite function question: There should be no favorites in Excel, but pick the tools that will help you to get the job done you have in front of you
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Ian Schoor on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
58 min
December 29, 2022The Complete Year in Review with Top FP&A 2023 Predictions
In this special jam-packed episode Paul Barnhurst looks back on 2022 (and with special guests) reveals the biggest predictions for FP&A in 2023.

This episode looks back at one year of FP&A Today and how our dedicated audience helped us reach more than 40,000 downloads in our first 35 episodes across 100 countries.

In between we hear Paul’s favorite FP&A guest insights from the first 35 episodes interspersed with new hot takes on everything you need to know in FP&A for 2023 from FP&A leaders, Soufyan Hamid, Hector Rubalcava, and Mario Vasquez.

In this episode:
The winner of the yearly question of FP&A Favorite Excel function revealed 🥇
The best Excel jokes you need to know
The favorite Excel functions of Jordan Goldmeier, Lance Rubin, Kathy Svetina, Francesca Valli, Jon Laudi, Chris Reilly and Paul Barnhurst
The #1 advice to make your FP&A journey better in 2023 from Jack Alexander, Zoe Cooke, Stéphanie Herbots, Chris Reilly, Carl Seidman, and Paul Barnhurst
Predictions for FP&A in 2023 from Soufyan Hamid, Hector Rubalcava, and Mario Vasquez
How to move from accounting to FP&A with Cameron Janke
The revolution with Gen Z FP&A with interns at Credit Suisse and American Express entering the finance workforce for the first time

Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
57 min
December 27, 2022Glenn Snyder: The Secrets to Building World-Class FP&A teams
Glenn Snyder, builds high performing FP&A teams from scratch.
Now VP of FP&A at Mobileum, a telecom analytics leader, Glenn continues to enhance a reputation for transforming FP&A into an engine for Silicon Valley growth earned over nearly two decades.
Previously he has built finance partnership teams At Charles Schwab, followed by revamping annual budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting at $4B global Real Estate company Digital Realty, restructuring a15-person FP&A team at Global Growth Holdings, and leveling up the FP&A and Data Analytics teams at online design marketplace Zazzle before his latest FP&A adventure at Mobileum .
In this episode Glenn reveals the secrets to building high performance FP&A teams. Glenn discusses:
His reason for sticking with FP&A over 18 years (not least the ability to strategically interact with every aspect of a company)
The power of quarterly forecasts to secure alignment in a business and transform a business direction
Why building a new FP&A team will see you work 80 hours a week and considerable “mental awareness”
The power of creating a three-year FP&A Strategy in your first 90 Days which sees 95% of goals hit
The power of eliminating manual work in FP&A
How to powerfully speak up in FP&A (even as an introvert)
How to differentiate a leader’s role in FP&A vs those you manage
The secrets to hiring someone for an FP&A role and how to find the things that can be taught vs those that can’t
Why FP&A and data analytics need to work better together
The real way to approach build a successful finance business partnership that lasts
His most valuable lessons after achieving several finance software implementations
The failure that forced Glenn to work on his soft skills and transformed his career
His secret life as a lifelong baseball fan and published author

Watch the full show on YouTube.
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Glenn Snyder on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
53 min
December 20, 2022Data Visualization & Storytelling: All your Questions Answered
In this special LinkedIn Live/ FP&A Today, join Paul Barnhurst and our all-star panel to answer your questions about hard-won experiences about data visualization and storytelling to get FP&A a seat at the table.
Our special guests joining Paul Barnhurst are:
Pooja (Laddha) Jaju, Lead Financial Analyst (6Sense and Accenture)
Soufyan Hamid, Independent FP&A Professional (Proximus, Deloitte)
Ron Monteiro, Founder KICT Inc (Campbell Soup Company,
The questions they tackle from around the world, include:
How data visualization is important for your career and growth in the business?
The first dashboard you created and what you learnt from that experience?
Your favorite chart for making an impact
The Absolute Worst chart in FP&A
Getting your finance team to better understand the importance of data visualization when in a leadership role?
How improving your presentation skills can advance your career?
How can you best present month end financials using principles of storytelling?
Most powerful advice to ace your next presentation

Watch the full show on YouTube.
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Pooja (Laddha) Jaju on LinkedIn
Follow Soufyan Hamid on LinkedIn
Follow Ron Monteiro on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn

FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.

Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
1 hr 3 min
December 13, 2022Jeff Marx: How to Land your Dream Job with a Finance Passport
Jeff Marx, VP and Treasurer of large global chemical manufacturing company Hexion, reveals how anyone in finance can land their dream job. His method is to encourage anyone in finance to adopt a method called “the finance passport”.
Rather than chasing “shiny titles that look good on LinkedIn” anyone in FP&A should consider the concept of a “finance journey” to become an all-round player. This means taking a trip through Treasury, tax, audit, and investor relations to be rounded and be able to talk confidently about all aspects of finance, improving your impact on whichever role you are in, but is especially powerful for anyone with CFO ambitions. “I've had roles in internal audit, financial planning and analysis, controllership” says Jeff revealing how this journey has transformed his mindset.
In this episode Jeff talks to Paul Barnhurst about:
Understanding the finance passport and how to adopt this shift in your career
Moving from a promotion-based to a growth-based mindset in finance
The difference between a finance “athlete” and a finance “specialist”
How Treasury and FP&A can work most effectively together to drive business efficiency
His favorite Excel formula
Why ability to communicate effectively remains the best advice for anyone in FP&A
Watch the full show on YouTube.
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Jeff Marx on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
50 min
December 06, 2022Joseph Clayton: The outsized role of FP&A in big real estate deals
68 Ventures is a holding company for numerous operating entities transforming the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida Panhandle.
FP&A is central to this mission, says Joseph Clayton Business Analyst at the company. At 68 Ventures the FP&A team is tasked with analysis that is fueling multiple big ticket real estate deals. Specifically, FP&A oversees a due diligence process to “ensure we're getting land at the value that we need in order to sell those lots at a profit to pay back our lenders, pay back our investors” alongside “tracking the schedule of the project.”
But Joseph’s career actually started in basketball.
With aspirations of playing in the NBA, Joseph played college basketball until injury cut this career short. After being warned off law as a profession, he found a passion for finance after a series of roles showed him the powerful role of “financial data is in the decision-making process."
This inspiration of game-changing finance remains at the core of his mindset at 68Ventures. He discusses the central role of finance in providing storytelling and business partnering in a complex holding company which has 17 different entities. The 68 Ventures brand comprises an entity purchasing land, another developing the projects, home building, to a landscaping entity and pest control company (companies include Truland Homes, Vault Mortgage, Southeast Plumbing and Gopest).
In our first episode tackling FP&A and the real estate sector, Paul Barnhurst talks to Joseph Clayton about:
The key metrics real estate FP&A leaders need to obsess over
The role of FP&A as interest rates rises impact homebuying after a sustained period at rock bottom
The partnership and decision-making process of FP&A across a company with 17 different entities
The whys, and how’s as 68Ventures went through a process of replacing manual Excel processes to choosing an FP&A software company - and the lessons learnt
How to overcome an instinct to achieve complete accuracy in forecasting
Watch the full show on YouTube.
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Joseph Clayton on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
50 min
November 29, 2022Cole Dixon: How Cotopaxi uses FP&A in its Mission
You may not have heard of Cotopaxi. But you have likely heard of similar companies doing something different- Ben & Jerry’s, Allbird, Patagonia, and BrewDog.
What these companies have in common is B Corp certification. This is awarded to businesses for meeting the highest standards of accountability when it comes to social and environmental impact. Last year Cotopaxi also gave away $1.3million in donations as part of its pledges.
But how does an FP&A team work to advance this mission? How can FP&A work to achieve goals which are ultimately not about maximizing shareholder wealth.
Cole Dixon is FP&A Director at outdoor sports company Cotopaxi which has a tagline of Gear for Good on its high performance and eye-catching gear. For Dixon, the FP&A function at the company is central to “upholding a mission of our founders Davis Smith and Stephan [Jacob] that Cotopaxi can get us exploring and make a positive impact on other people’s lives. So we’re really truly committed that all of our products can be repurposed and that we prioritize human rights.”
Every FP&A metric – units per transaction, average order value, average store volume, the inventory returns for stores – also incorporates the company-wide mission.
Listen to the fascinating story from Cole Dixon in this week’s FP&A with Cole Dixon and Paul Barnhurst.
In this episode Cole reveals:
The Ecommerce metrics and FP&A role that helped Cotopaxi to open stores during the pandemic
How FP&A partners with marketing to succeed in new ventures, such as the outdoor gatherings (Questival)
How Cotopaxi handled scenario planning and cash flow planning as stores closed during the pandemic
How he dealt with his biggest failure at Skullcandy, the lifestyle audio brand where he managed FP&A prior to Cotopaxi
How to build an FP&A team from scratch as he did at Cotopaxi
The importance of constantly “looking forward” to finding new values for in FP&A
Watch the full show on YouTube.
Read the full transcript and blog
Follow Cole Dixon on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
43 min
November 22, 2022Sruthi Lanka: Why Top Startups see FP&A as Central to Strategy
Engineer-turned-CFO Sruthi Lanka was drawn into finance after seeing her parents - themselves brilliant engineers - losing money in the markets. “I couldn't understand how people who could solve incredible math puzzles in their head could not figure out how to make a return in the markets. And so that's what led me down this path of navigating into finance.”
Today she is CFO at investing app, Public.com, the biggest competitor to Robinhood, famous for the “GameStop Frenzy which rattled markets in January 2021.

In this episode Sruthi reveals
Her vision for FP&A as central to business and executive leadership
Her experience of The GameStop Frenzy in late January 2021 which coincided with her joining Public.com, helping it explode from “a relatively young startup to having over a million members”
The centrality of data or analytics partnering with finance and why some engineering and SQL is an important skill set for CFOs
Her founding membership of FSuite in which StartupCFOs meet to discuss everything from the best tools to complex challenges they are facing
Why a regular monthly meeting with FP&A is “sacrosanct” - in order to optimize what is measured and show progress against targets
The importance of FP&A doing the “hard work” of building “simple” financial models
Watch the full show on YouTube
Read the full transcript and blog
Show Links
FSuite (A thriving, invitation only community where CFOs turn to excel in their career and day-to-day)
Follow Sruthi Lanka on LinkedIn
Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn
Follow Datarails on LinkedIn
FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.
Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.
Get in touch at www.datarails.com
39 min

About FP&A Today

From the publisher's feed

FP&A Today is the podcast for Financial Planning and Analysis. The weekly show dives into the challenges and opportunities within the world of FP&A, interviewing FP&A leaders, CFOs and…