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Hello Reader 👋

OK, I know, it's been a long time I hadn't written you a letter and I'm totally sorry for that.

It's easy to be trapped in the urgencies (travels, course, workshops, etc.) that you often set aside what really matters.

But I'm back and with a topic that troubled my mind back when I was a Finance Business Partner.

Because sometimes, you're so obsessed with pleasing everyone, so pressured by external parties, so tired of being the gatekeeper that you end up approving something you wouldn't had in other times.

So what happens when you give an approval for the wrong reasons and that you regret it?

That's what we're seeing this week.

So take a coffee, sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 26k other readers

This week in FP&A Stories

🚨 You Knew It Was a Bad Idea But You Gave the Green Light Anyway

We’ve all done it.

You’re sitting on a business case that doesn’t feel right. The assumptions are optimistic, the benefits are vague, and the risks are quietly mentioned on page 17.

But the project has momentum. The sponsor is senior. Everyone else seems aligned. And Finance?

Well, Finance is asked to “validate.”

You raise a few questions, maybe. You add a note about follow-up. You request sensitivities and push for an “updated version.”

But in the end, you give the green light.

• Because saying no would cause friction.
• Because you’re tired.
• Because you already tried pushing back earlier and it went nowhere.

But you still sign off. And the worst part? You know you don’t believe in it.

We Call It Pragmatism, But It’s Often Just Fatigue

I remember once: we received an RFP from a huge potential customer and in the first meeting for the bid, you could already feel the mood: "it's a must win, so Finance, back off".

Way to be impressed when, as a senior Finance Business Partner, but still no CFO, you receive that in your face from the Chief B2B Officer.

So you start working on it.

You tell yourself you’ve done your part. That your role is to support, not to challenge everything. That it’s not worth the political battle. That you’ll monitor the situation “closely” anyway.

But the truth is: it’s a short-term move. Because when the project fails, Finance is in the loop. We reviewed the case. We ran the numbers. We were part of the meeting.

And nobody will remember how careful your wording was. They’ll just remember that you said yes.

The Hardest Part Is the Backbone

Standing your ground doesn’t mean shouting in a meeting. It means offering a version of the truth that’s useful, not just polite.

In this example I gave above, I knew the margin was, even in the best case, barely enough to support all fixed costs.

I had tried challenging the assumptions or even the need for us to bid on that RFP. The responses were vague. Leadership had clearly bought into the story already.

So I stayed in the room, played along, and flagged the risks... quietly.

It didn’t feel good. Not during, not after. I wasn’t wrong on the numbers. But I wasn’t right on the posture either.

Since then, I’ve learned to do it differently.

• I don’t try to block. I just make sure the trade-offs are clear.
• I don’t argue in public. I align before the meeting.
• And when I really don’t agree? I frame it as: “I can support this only under these conditions.”

Sometimes, it’s the same project with a smaller scope.

Sometimes, it’s a delay of three months.

Sometimes, it’s just asking for a second check-in before full launch.

But I don’t say yes just to stay liked.

What If You Said Yes and It Backfires

It happens. You said yes, the project fails, and now fingers are pointing.

Don’t start justifying or erasing your involvement. That makes it worse.

Instead, own your part. Bring clarity, not excuses.

Step in early and say:
“Here’s what we based our decision on, and here’s where it turned.”
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Show what you’ve learned from it and what you’ll monitor next time.

And most importantly, don’t overcorrect by becoming that person who says no to everything afterwards.

One bad sign-off doesn’t kill your credibility.

Pretending it didn’t happen does.

That's a wrap for this week

See you next week!​