Go beyond your technical finance job by becoming a real Finance Business Partner. I'll share in each newsletter my knowledge about financial storytelling and business partnering.
FP&A Stories - 📖 The FP&A Playbook for 2025
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Hello Reader 👋OK, it's been super long I haven't taken the time to write you something. Truth is, I was exhausted at the end of 2024 and only prepared 2025 in the last month. In this preparation, I was wondering what the priorities of a top FP&A team were. Everyone is talking about the trends that will “redefine” FP&A in 2025
Sound familiar? Every year, we hear the same predictions. Yet somehow, the same Excel files, forecasting debates, and endless budget discussions keep happening. So instead of another list of trends, let’s focus on something more useful: What’s actually worth changing in 2025? And what’s just noise? So take a coffee, sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 22k other readers This week in FP&A Stories 📖 The FP&A Playbook for 2025: What’s Worth Changing, What’s Not
📹 Recap 2024 - Thank You
🤝 Corporate Training Workshop - Plan Your Team Event
📖 The FP&A Playbook for 2025: What’s Worth Changing, What’s NotWhat’s Worth Changing in 2025Some shifts in FP&A are long overdue. If you’re looking to improve how finance works with the business, here’s where to start: 1. From Reporting to InfluenceI know it's comfortable but my recent contacts with CFOs (mainly in Europe) show that they still consider that Finance teams spend too much time on their reports vs the time they spend helping the business stakeholders. 📌 What to do: Start the year by looking at your standard reports. Which ones drive action? Which ones are just sent around because “they always have been”? Cut what’s unnecessary, and focus on helping people interpret what’s left. Believe me, most people won't notice that some reports are not sent anymore. 2. Fewer, But Sharper InsightsSomewhere along the way, more slides = more credibility became the standard in FP&A. That’s a mistake: even if you have a templated deck that you fill every month (sometimes asked by the CFO self), generally only the firsts and general are shown during a presentation. 📌 What to do: Instead of filling your template manually and integrating every explanation of every variance, start first with a "waterfall slide" followed by as many deep dives as the columns in your waterfall. Keep on using the templates filled automatically with graphs and tables but leave the explanations for the main points in the "waterfall slides" 3. AI & Automation: Smarter, Not OverhypedYes, AI is here. Yes, it’s useful. But no, it won’t do FP&A’s job for them. 📌 What to do: Automate the repetitive tasks (data cleansing, variance analysis, rolling forecasts). But don’t expect AI to replace your judgment: understanding the business context will still be your unfair advantage. Indeed, all the business knowledge is not in the form of data nor in text form, so AI will just guess but rarely are their explanation convincing. What’s NOT Worth ChangingNot everything needs an overhaul. Some things in FP&A still matter, no matter how much tech evolves. 1. Scenario Planning Still MattersThe world is unpredictable, and despite all the AI hype, humans still need to think critically about risk and strategy. 📌 What to do: Make scenario planning part of your ongoing process, not just a budget-season exercise. 2. Storytelling is Still a Competitive AdvantageSlides and tables don’t convince people. Presentations don’t make decisions. People do. 📌 What to do: If you can’t make your insights compelling, they won’t matter. Sharpen your storytelling skills (and I'm not talking about just making your slides “look good,” but to help others act on the right insights. 3. Relationships Will Always MatterNo matter how advanced FP&A becomes, influence still comes from trust. 📌 What to do: Stop thinking of business partnering as “helping.” Nobody asked for FP&A to be their guide in life. Be useful, not just available. Bring insights that challenge their thinking, not just confirm what they already know. Final Thoughts: Small Adjustments, Big Impact 2025 will bring change, but not everything needs to be reinvented. The biggest wins will come from small but meaningful improvements:
Not every new trend is worth chasing. But knowing what to refine and what to keep is what separates great FP&A teams from the ones just reacting to the noise. So, what’s on your list? What’s actually worth changing in 2025? Let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 📹 Recap 2024 - Thank YouLast year was amazing! And mainly thanks to
So I summed up all my year in this video and I would love you to watch it 😉
Amazing, huh? 🤝 Corporate Training Workshop - Plan Your Team EventI hope you enjoy this newsletter and all the content I share on Linkedin. I made it an important rule to share as much knowledge as I could because I genuinely want to see our Finance community become important in the decision-making process. That's why all my content is free (newsletter, Linkedin, freebies,...). But of course, it doesn't fill the fridge so I deliver workshops to companies to help them learn
and I do that in multiple forms ▶️ In-person training: The Finance Stage will improve your team's storytelling skills with a 4-step approach using a practical use case adapted to your industry. We end the course with group presentations where each gets feedback So if you have a team, or work in a company that would love to develop these areas Instead of an umpteenth training about AI or Excel, have your team learn to:
Why don't you contact me so we can plan your 2025 training program? That's a wrap for this week See you next week! PS: Whenever you're ready to develop your financial storytelling skills and become the visible face of finance, join the Financial Storytelling Program |
FP&A Stories
Go beyond your technical finance job by becoming a real Finance Business Partner. I'll share in each newsletter my knowledge about financial storytelling and business partnering.
Hello Reader 👋 Last week, I had the chance to go to Austin, TX to attend the AFP FP&A Forum 2025 and it was amazing. But I also had the honour to present a topic that's hyper trendy these days: how to use AI. And you know my game: Storytelling. So I dived into the problems CFO see in our FP&A presentations and how we can deal with them with AI tools. And that's what we're seeing this week. So take a coffee, sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 24k other readers No shame in using AI if...
Hello Reader 👋 I am no CFO, never been one, and probably will never be. But believe me: when I was in a meeting room, there was not a single decision that was made without that people turned to me to have a sort of approval. Maybe they were afraid of me because I'm tall and bearded, but I prefer to think that I developed an aura that made me indispensable. It's not easy but there are behavioural tips that can make any FP&A pro as strong as a CFO. And that's what we are seeing today 👇 (That...
Hello Reader 👋 In the last weeks, we've seen how to build credibility without sounding like a know-it-all analyse your stakeholders to truly understand them negotiate to create a win-win situation That's good, but where is the finance part in all of this? Because unless you want to become a psychologist, you'll have to mix that personal approach with data. Learning how to influence with numbers without giving the impression that you're right (even if you are) is the most difficult thing I...