Paul Barnhurst argues most FP&A professionals aren't actually effective business partners because they lack real influence over decisions. Raw numbers alone don't tell the story. The panel suggests influence, not just reporting, is the real benchmark for FP&A success.
To be great at FP&A, don't you have to be influencing the business? Isn't that saying the vast majority hasn't reached the level the business needs? We're failing at business partnering as a whole. And I'm not saying any individual, but as a whole, as a profession, we're well short of where we need to be. Is that a fair assessment?
That's a fair assumption. What I would love to say is that it's an average.
Sure.
This is why it's important to say that numbers do not tell a story.
Here comes the statistical part around this.
Because the thing is, this number is from companies that I had contacts with, not especially ones who took my training. And I realized that when I'm requested to provide a training in a company, that often means that people are already aware of the last mile that they have to provide. They just need the system for this. And so I realized that when I compare the groups in the companies I go to and provide the training and the average, the whole population, we already have a better status. I don't recall the numbers exactly because it was individual to every client,
Trust and Leadership Lessons for FP&A From 100+ Top Leaders with CFO Jon Laudie
