FP&A Today

The FP&A Life at GE, Microsoft–and Now Google


Listen Later

Antonio Reza is the Head of Finance for Google Cloud Consulting in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). In this episode he reveals the FP&A life and lessons he has learned over the past 14 years working in finance and strategy at Google, Microsoft, and GE. He brings experiences across 10 different countries leading teams across the globe spanning different industries (he also speaks four languages). In this episode he reveals:

  • How Getting into GE’s finance and FP&A training was life-changing
  • Why so many tech people like himself are inspired to get into finance 
  • Country specific differences in finance that he has learnt over his career 
  • Google in the midst of AI revolution and how we used AI at Microsoft for our commercial forecasting 
  • How AI in finance is still about automation – with insights the next frontier for FP&A
  • How FP&A at Google and Microsoft FP&A teams are set up 
  • Why “Walking  the Shop” remains core to his career in finance
  • How the biggest companies in the world manage real-time data
  • Despite the technological avalanche storytelling and persuasion is fundamental at the top tech companies
  • Why FP&A needs to focus on snapshots vs “real-time” dashboards 
  • FP&A Need to Ask Why x5 Times: The Secret of great storytelling 
  • Why I am focused on grasping and applying the economic picture in my work 
  • My biggest challenges in moving from individual contributor to manager early in my career 
  • How a  “failure” led to my team and I staying in the office for 56 hours trying to close an audit – and the people skills I learnt along the way 
  • Why Despite working at Google, Excel still bosses Google Sheets for finance teams
  • Using your 20s to hustle and have a successful career 

  • Follow Antonio at X (Formerly Twitter) 48k Followers https://twitter.com/theantonioreza

    LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/theantonioreza/

    Subscribe to Antoniio’s Newsletter Money & Robots https://www.theantonioreza.com/

    Further Reading

    WSJ: Google Finance Head: Anything That Can Be Automated, We Strive to Automate

    The Pyramid Principle:Logic in Writing and Thinking by Barbara Minto

    Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It; Chris Voss

    The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma; Michael Bhaskar and Mustafa Suleyman

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    FP&A TodayBy Glenn Hopper

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    41 ratings


    More shows like FP&A Today

    View all
    Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg by Steve Bragg

    Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg

    253 Listeners

    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,831 Listeners

    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    381 Listeners

    TED Business by TED

    TED Business

    1,117 Listeners

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER by The Future of Finance is Listening

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER

    119 Listeners

    Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

    Cold Call

    191 Listeners

    The Accounting Podcast by Blake Oliver & David Leary

    The Accounting Podcast

    336 Listeners

    Women at Work by Harvard Business Review

    Women at Work

    1,404 Listeners

    Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

    Inside the Strategy Room

    170 Listeners

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    794 Listeners

    Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

    Business Breakdowns

    344 Listeners

    WorkLab by Microsoft

    WorkLab

    59 Listeners

    HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

    HBR On Strategy

    87 Listeners

    Financial Modeler's Corner by Paul Barnhurst AKA The FP&A Guy

    Financial Modeler's Corner

    16 Listeners

    FP&A Tomorrow by Paul Barnhurst

    FP&A Tomorrow

    23 Listeners