Imagine being able to say every day, “we have a great FP&A team here”.

• Time-consuming processes don’t allow for time to be spent on what really matters – solved.

• Inability to react quickly because of a lack of driver-based planning – solved.

• Disconnected data and version-control issues produce problems and inefficiency– solved. 

• Ineffective tools and processes lead to poor accuracy in planning and analysis– solved. 

• A lack of a holistic partnership approach across the whole business– solved..

• Poor measurability of performance and embedded accountability– solved. 

• A lack of effective scenario planning and an ability to act quickly– solved. 

• Subpar upskilling across financial, analytical, strategic, and organizational skills– solved.

This doesn’t have to be wishful thinking.

Gain a better understanding of FP&A and what other companies have done to be successful.

What’s The Role of the FP&A Professional in Today’s Environment all about?

• Common reporting structures of FP&A departments and how the roles of CFO, Controller, and FP&A are aligned.

• The differences between Controller, or senior accountant, responsibilities and those falling to the FP&A team.

• How financial business partnership plays a role in improving the strategic positioning, operational alignment, and financial health within the organization.

• How the strategic pyramids and strategic financial mapping can aid FP&A in supporting operating groups.

• How FP&A can monitor financial condition and variances, conduct scenario analysis within business models, and forecast capex.

• Which companies benefit from a formal FP&A function and how it helps.

• Differences between traditional corporate finance and modern FP&A

• Similarities and nuances across FP&A at large, midsized, and small companies

• The technical and non-technical skills needed to thrive in FP&A.

• Other resources and support from the Seidman Financial FP&A training ecosystem.

By the end of this on-demand course, you will have learned:

• What the role of the FP&A professional looks like and how it has changed in recent years.

• Top financial issues facing companies of all sizes and industries and how FP&A plays a role in solving them.

• FP&A’s key roles and responsibilities, daily activities, and areas of operational focus.

• How companies without FP&A functions and succeed far better with them.

Hi I’m Carl.

You’re probably wondering who I am and what makes me qualified to lead you on this journey into the FP&A profession. You may also be wondering why there are so few training and development courses in financial planning & analysis (FP&A)? 

Who am I and Why Am I the Best Person to Lead You?

The best people to teach, coach, and inspire are those who have been where you want to go. You want someone who’s spent the entirety of their career in FP&A and management consulting – not investment banking, academia, or writing Excel books. 

I’m an FP&A practitioner who consults with current clients, across 6 continents and upwards nearly two dozen industries. I help them establish effective FP&A practices, processes, and teams. At the same time, I support financial professionals, positioning them for greater control of their careers by helping them build their competence and confidence while eliminating time-wasting activities and mistakes.

The FP&A development methodologies and curriculums I’ve developed over the last 20 years have been implemented by leading organizations as part of their financial leadership development program (FLDPs) for top talent and emerging leaders. Because of the prestige and reputation of these programs, I’m one of the most prolific speakers in the FP&A circuit, addressing companies, associations, and student groups around the world.

I serve as an FP&A and CFO advisor to entrepreneurial businesses throughout North America and Europe, assisting them with financial planning, strategic value enhancement, and revitalization.

I’m a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and have earned other professional credentials including the CIRA, CFF, CFE, CGMA, AM (Accredited Member in Business Valuation), CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), Certified Anaplan Model Builder, and was a National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) 40 Under Forty honoree. I hold a BA in finance and economics and an MS in managerial accounting.

Want to learn more? Check out my LinkedIn profile at:

www.linkedin.com/in/carlseidman

As your leader, I’ve been where you want to go.

Why did I create The Role of the FP&A Professional in Today’s Environment?

As you probably know as an experienced or aspiring FP&A professional, there is not a single university with a major in financial planning & analysis. Further, few undergraduate or  graduate students are familiar with FP&A upon finishing school. This means that almost all education and development within FP&A is realized on the job. 

And that’s the problem.

More than a decade ago, FP&A Directors at large corporations would come to me and complain that, while their people were smart and talented, they lacked the fuller acumen and skill sets to perform at the highest level in FP&A. Many of these companies had invested in financial modeling training, most often delivered by ex-investment bankers. But those programs completely missed the mark due to the instructor’s lack of FP&A experience. Further, the curriculum being taught was geared toward capital markets and M&A at Wall Street banks – it didn’t touch upon operations, data management, budgeting and forecasting, variance analysis, business modeling, data visualization, business presentations, running scenarios, critical thinking, and strategic planning.

And so Seidman Financial FP&A training programs were born. 

When I created FP&A training programs nearly a decade ago, it was because companies couldn’t find the training they so desperately wanted. In fact, small and midsized companies, often operating with no formal FP&A function, had nowhere to turn aside from these non-aligned financial training courses. 

The goal was to take my two-decade long career in FP&A and management consulting and weave it into a training curriculum that would make the greatest amount of difference in the shortest amount of time, create standardized practices across the FP&A function, and empower teams to elevate the quality of their work.

Fast forward 10 years – these corporate training programs have become the premier professional development courses in the FP&A space. They have been delivered live, in-person and virtually, to over 300 companies and more than 13,000 people at these companies, public seminars, and professional associations.