Software is eating the world, and that includes the Finance department. The Modern CFO is now responsible for company wide performance - which is a major promotion from just “making the backoffice run on time.”
A major catalyst behind this trend is the ability to get all performance metrics in one dashboard for decision making.
There are now more than 100 planning tools, 25 spreadsheet programs, and 10 financial modeling modules that are purpose built for the office of the CFO, and more specifically, FP&A teams.
To get a grip on the everchanging CFOtech landscape, I brought in a category expert - Paul Barnhurst, the FP&A guy.
Here’s what we covered in our discussion:
Part I: How big is the world of FP&A?
“My best guess would be 100,000 to 150,000 professionals in the US, and maybe 300,000 to 500,000 globally”
Part II: FP&A Tools
“In the last 3 years we have seen roughly 50 tools enter the market. I often segment the market into what I call 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, and 3rd Gen tools.”
“Finance and the CFO are becoming more commercial and strategic…and tools have played a huge role in that evolution”
“We are seeing a blurring of the lines between FP&A and BI tools.”
Part III: Buying FP&A Tools
“With the new tools, implementation can get you up and running for some small businesses in as little as a few hours or days, instead of weeks or months. A few tools even have a free trial period.”
Part IV: FP&A Careers
“FP&A is one of the only roles in the company that gets a 360 view of the entire business”
“Get out from behind your Excel Spreadsheet.”
FP&A Demo Days on May 23rd from 8:00AM to 3:00PM PT
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