Paul Barnhurst

Founder of The FP&A Guy | Providing training and content that helps FP&A and Finance Professionals be better at their job today and tomorrow.

I am a passionate teacher and creator of FP&A content. I enjoy helping FP&A professionals become more effective creators of value for their businesses. Today, I provide content and training on important subjects, including FP&A, Excel, Power Query, Data Visualization, Storytelling, and more. 

I host three popular podcasts, FP&A Tomorrow, Future Finance, and Financial Modeler’s Corner, which bring you the best and brightest people in finance and FP&A. 

I am a Microsoft MVP and have earned the AFP FP&A Certification and the FMI Advanced Financial Modeler Certification. 

I am a big advocate of FP&A planning tools and share research on FP&A software. I have also published several market guides to help buyers understand the landscape. 

☛ Feel free to contact me – Pbarnhurst@thefpandaguy.com

Podcast Host

Paul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy

More Learning Resources Coming Soon

Something I have been really proud of is the fact that I have helped nearly 200 students through affiliate resources, educate themselves, and earn FP&A Certifications while getting a discount. 

On my website today, you will find links to the following programs:

➡️ AFP - Certified Corporate FP&A Professional
➡️ CFI - Financial Planning and Analysis Professional
➡️ Wharton Online - Financial Planning & Analysis Certificate Program
➡️ Financial Modeling Institute - Advanced Financial Modeler
➡️ FP&A Professionals Institute - Certification and discount on all courses

New stuff coming soon

➡️ AI Finance & Business Cert from Columbia
➡️ AI Finance Club
➡️ Copilot Course
➡️ CFO Tech certification from CFO Leadership Council
➡️ Financial Modeling Training from people such as Carolina Lago and Giles Male
➡️ Copilot training
➡️ Power BI and Power Platform Training

and I have my own new course dropping soon. 

I am excited to offer exclusive discounts on nearly 20 programs in the near future.  I continue to look for great programs to add, and the ones I have added, I either built part of the program, completed it, or I know the people responsible for it personally.  

I work to ensure every one of these is a quality program; I do not just add a program for the affiliate commission.  I also work to get you a discount with these programs.  If you know of a great training program I should add to my website DM me and let me know. 


In the meantime, here is my table comparing the most common FP&A Programs.

FP&A Guy Hot Takes

➡️ Finance is not nor ever will be a revenue center

➡️ ChatGPT will lose the enterprise market to other LLM tools and become primarily a consumer tool

➡️ FP&A will become the most common career path to becoming a CFO

➡️ Dashboards overrated, Data Storytelling underrated

➡️ Budgeting is overrated, planning and target setting is underrated

➡️ Excel is overrated and spreadsheets are underrated

➡️ Pies are only good for two things eating and playing Pac-Man

➡️ FP&A tool selection is overrated and implementation is underrated

➡️ Youtube is overrated, Podcasting is underrated

➡️ Excel formulas are overrated, modeling design principles underrated

➡️ Cafe Rio Sweet Pork is overrated and Crow Burger is underrated

➡️ Water with lots of ice is best

➡️ Jordan over Lebron

➡️ Clean-shaven is overrated and big beards are highly underrated

➡️ VBA is overrated and Power Query is underrated

Friday Humor

1. How do you describe an FP&A Professionals Job?

It is 80% cleaning data and 20% complaining about cleaning data

2. What is the difference between an FP&A Professional and an Accountant?

When an accountant gets creative they go to jail. When an FP&A Professional gets creative they get promoted. 

3. Not all CFOs use a MAC but all CFOs who go to jail used a MAC

4. What is the best place to store an Excel error message?

Column FU row 2 - FU2

5. What do Gold diggers and Cell References have in common?

If you want them to stay in place you need to throw money at them. 

6. Why was the spreadsheet constipated?

Because it could not BUDGET :)

7. What Does EBITDA really stand for?

Earnings Before It Tumbles Down Again

Earnings Before I Tricked the Dumb Auditor

Earnings Before Interest Therapy Depression and Anxiety

Earnings Before I Totally Deny Actual profits

Earnings Before Imaginary Things Disappear Again

Everyone Brags, Ignoring The Debt Altogether

8. What does Adjusted EBIDTA stand for? 

Earnings without any of the bad stuff

New job, a big, visible project, I was not sure how to solve. I turned to Power Query and the rest is history.

➡️ Within 4 years, I received 4 promotions

➡️ I fell in love with Excel for the first time and craved learning more, and today I am a Microsoft MVP

➡️ I impressed my boss countless times by, in the words of Oz du Soleil whooping up on crap data and providing value-added insights 

I owe a lot of my success today to that decision to learn Power Query. It was one of the best investments I ever made in my career. Still have my early books from Rob Collie and Ken Puls. 

If you do not know Power Query, stop waiting and get started learning today. 

Let me know in the comments what is holding you back? How can I help you on your journey? 

It is time to make Power Query one of the most utilized tools in Excel.

Most finance people hate their ERP.  

As my Future Finance Co-host often says, there are two things that will get you fired as a CFO

1. Fraud
2. Mentioning you want to replace your ERP

That is why it is so exciting to see what people such as John Glasgow are doing in this space.

John quit his job and built Campfire because he believed a better option existed.  

I have had the privilege of meeting John personally multiple times, interviewing him for my podcast, and attending Campfire's AI Summit. I can say I have come away impressed with him and what he has accomplished at Campfire every time. 

On a personal level, I am very grateful for Campfire as they have been the exclusive sponsor of FP&A Unlocked for the last six months.  Their sponsorship has allowed me to continue to bring the best and brightest guests in FP&A.  It has also allowed me to continue offering CPE credits for my accounting friends. 

That is why I am so excited to announce I will be hosting a webinar with John and Hank.

In this webinar, we will introduce you to what John and team have been building at Campfire, "Ember Agents." It is AI agents built for the modern accounting team, and they just released it in the last few days.

We will be discussing how Ember agents automates work for your teams, from flux analysis to accruals.  This webinar will include a live demo so you can see Ember Agents in action. 

Register today so you do not miss this exciting event. 

📅 Date: March 31st, 2026
⏱️ Time: 10 - 11 AM PST
🔗Register Here: https://lnkd.in/gZREc3zU


Sponsored by Campfire

After 40 years, Excel is not DEAD; in fact, it is getting a new intelligent layer that will help transform the future of finance.
 
An intelligent coworker is on every desktop. Microsoft Excel is leading the way in the era of AI. Brian Jones, Excel product team lead, shared his thoughts this week on Financial Modeler's Corner.
 
Anyone who tells you Excel is dead is not paying attention or a liar. Claude ChatGPT, Microsoft, and lots of startups are pumping hundreds of millions into building an intelligent layer for Excel.
 
That is why I wanted to bring Brian on and talk firsthand about Excel and Copilot. Below are some takeaways about how to use Copilot to get the most out of it in Excel.
 
➡ Use Copilot to Understand Workbooks You Inherit - Ask Copilot "What is this workbook about and how does it flow?" before diving into an unfamiliar model. It's like having a knowledgeable colleague walk you through someone else's work.
 
➡ Use AI for Tedious, Time-Consuming Tasks First
→ Broken formula references, reformatting, restructuring layouts,
→ adding documentation and comments
These are high-value, low-risk starting points. Let AI handle the grunt work so you can focus on analysis and judgment.
 
➡ Build a skill sheet. A dedicated worksheet inside your workbook that tells Copilot how you work. Tell it your layouts, formatting, formula preferences Tec. Great for teams with their own modeling standards. Think of it as an advanced template that guides the AI to work the way your team works.
 
➡ Model Choice Matters - Copilot in Excel lets you toggle between Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI models. Each has a different awareness of finance concepts and workflows. Test both for your specific use case Remeber outputs can differ meaningfully it takes time to get the most out of AI.
 
➡ Prompt Differently, Get Different Results - How you phrase a request significantly changes what you get. Experiment with different approaches to the same task. This is a new muscle finance professionals need to build.
 
➡ Keep retesting what failed. Unlike traditional software, Copilot improves continuously. Something that didn't work six weeks ago might work today.
 
Brian put it well: every spreadsheet is essentially an app. And for the first time, there's an intelligent coworker sitting beside you helping you build it, understand it, and improve it.
 
Excel isn't going anywhere. Learn it deeper, then let AI take you further.
 
Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/gsQkvFcH
 
 
🎓 Master the fundamentals so you can be better at AI​ and modeling earn your Advanced Financial Modeler accreditation from the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) today at https://lnkd.in/gQV55MxS (Use code Podcast to save 15%)

Rey (Reinaldo) del Valle came up through the ranks of FP&A at Disney, MTV Networks, FedEx, Norwegian Cruise Lines. He then leveraged his FP&A experience to become a CFO and has worked on several major turnarounds and scale-ups during his career. He was even nominated for Los Angeles CFO of the year due to the amazing work he is doing.
 
Key highlights from the conversation:
 
→ Great FP&A transforms data into actionable insight. Always ask "what do we do with this information?"
→ Benchmarks matter more than people think (Rey saved $500K+ in audit fees by knowing what "normal" looked like)
→ You can't cost-cut your way to profitability in a turnaround—find the growth levers
→ Strategic messages need 7+ touches before they penetrate the organization → Active listening beats having all the answers (even as CFO)
 
Rey shared his FP&A as architects' framework. We work with leadership to understand their vision, then design the financial roadmap to get there. Accountants ensure structural integrity, but we're creating the blueprint.
 
Speaking of turnarounds, Rey stressed that nobody ever turned a business around by just cutting cost. While working at ABC Family, the business grew operating profit from $20M to $200M over 4 years. Not through aggressive cost-cutting, but through strategic collaboration efforts across the business to grow profitability.
 
Listen to the full episode to hear Rey's take on making the FP&A-to-CFO transition, why subtotal functions are his secret Excel weapon, and what he learned from managing through entertainment industry strikes.
 
Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gd42bApE
 
Campfire sponsors FP&A Unlocked. It is the AI-first ERP powering next-gen finance & accounting teams. General ledger, revenue automation, close management, and so much more—all on one unified platform.
 
What are you waiting for more learn more at:
https://lnkd.in/dKxnyDNV

In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst sits down with Rey (Reinaldo) del Valle to discuss what it really takes to move from reporting t

Open article: FP&A Career Path for Finance Professionals to Become Strategic CFOs with Rey Del Valle by Paul Barnhurst • 2 min read

FP&A Career Path for Finance Professionals to Become Strategic CFOs with Rey Del Valle

Exciting Announcements 🏀🏀🎓🛜

1. Market Resources - Several new training programs from trusted resources, including three focused on AI and finance, are on my website, all with exclusive FP&A Guy codes to give you even more value 

2. My website has had an overhaul with a new design and several new pages. Check it out at TheFPandAGuy. Let me know what you think, and thanks, Claude, for helping me it :) 

3. March Madness Brackets are here

🔵 FP&A Software Bracket - Vote for your favorite FP&A software and let us see if Runway can defend its title. This year, we have new upstarts, including

➡️ Claude for Excel
➡️ Copilot in Excel
➡️ ChatGPT for Excel
➡️ Una Software 
➡️ FinQore 
➡️ Pluvo 
➡️ and more

We also have traditional programs like

➡️ Workday Adaptive Planning 
➡️ Oracle 
➡️ Board 
➡️ Prophix 
➡️ and more poised for a deep run

If voting for your favorite software isn't your cup of tea, then fill out your March Madness bracket and prove you know basketball. Prizes for winners. 

Head on over to my website, fill out your bracket, and find a great learning resource. 

Go Cougars win it all!

AI tool consolidation will accelerate. 

This morning, I got an email saying Superhuman had acquired Rows.com. Superhuman was acquired by Grammarly last summer. 

The goal of these acquisitions is to create an AI-based productivity platform. 

Companies are racing to make the right AI acquisitions to create AI platforms. 

I expect to see more of this type of acquisition in finance and FP&A in 2026.

I think we will see companies focus more on platforms than on best-of-breed point solutions.

This has been HG Capital's investment thesis in the space. Look at who they have large ownership stakes in insightsoftware, Lucanet, Prophix, and OneStream. 

All these companies offer a platform of solutions, and all focus 100% on the office of the CFO. 

My prediction is that we are quickly heading toward tool consolidation, and it will be more of a platform consolidation than the same type of tool buying a similar product in the same space. 

I think for many AI ideas, the ship has sailed, and it will be a difficult road for many new players. The AI finance market is fragmented, and I believe consolidation is on the horizon. 

I talk to multiple companies weekly and stay close to the space. If you are interested in some of the research I have put together feel free to reach out.  I will share an update soon on some of the new tools I have seen.

Open article: Rows — The AI Analyst Platform by rows.com

Over 5,000 CPE hours earned from FP&A Unlocked 🥳 🎆 🪅 

I am proud to offer CPE credit. I have done that since the beginning as a service to others. I did it with FP&A Today, early on with Financial Modeler's Corner, and today with FP&A Unlocked. 

I am the only podcast I am aware of that offers both.

➡️ CPE credit for accountants
➡️ Continuing education credit for people who have the FPAC

I wanted to share a few stats I am proud of related to my podcast and CPE hours earned:

1. 103 Episodes all with CPE credit available
2. 5,233 CPE hours earned to date
3. Over 50 hours earned per episode
4. 142 hours earned from the highest episode
5. 4.9 average ratings for episodes on Earmark
6. 725 people have rated episodes

I am incredibly proud that, in addition to offering a valuable educational experience, I can help people earn CPE and FPAC credit. In the near future, my courses will also be eligible for FPAC credit. 

Huge thanks to Earmark and Blake Oliver for creating such an amazing platform that allows me to offer this service.

The life of a LinkedIn content creator as told through his DMs. These are all real message summaries some with a little sarcasm most without 


➡️ Dear Steven

➡️ Dear Amanda

➡️ Can you find my husband a job?

➡️ Will you do my homework I do not understand it

➡️ We have a family fund that wants to invest in The FP&A Guy Vertical 

➡️ Will you collaborate with me and sell my product even though you know nothing about my product or me 

➡️ Can I promote your podcast I will get you millions of views 

➡️ Will you hire me to do FP&A

➡️ Do you need random software designed for a company with lots of employees?

➡️ You seem nice can we chat offline always with an American name, a pretty photo and a fake job

What is your story?

Seeing an expert share an "AI Prompt Pack" for the 10th time on LinkedIn today then close LinkedIn and consult an expert. Prompts are one small part of optimizing what you get from AI.  

#STOPTHEMADNESS

A watershed moment for modeling with AI in Excel has arrived!
 
This week on the ModSquad, Ian Schnoor, CFA, CFM, Giles Male, and I tested the new Claude Excel add-in.
 
This week we tested Claude on:
 
→ A deferred revenue schedule
→ The AFM FMI Henderson Case Build
→ A CFM FMI Debt Build
 
For the Deferred Revenue Schedule the build was a 9 out of 10 and included documentation better than what 95% of modelers would have provided. There were still some small issues like formatting, documentation layout, and using different functions each time but the results were impressive.
 
Ian had Claude build a full 3-statement model from an AFM case study in 15 minutes, and a complex quarterly debt sculpting model from a CFM case in 10 minutes.
 
For both cases, the results were amazing. Balance sheets, balancing, debt schedules, accurate, correct IRR, etc. There were still minor issues emphasizing the need to know what you are doing to find them, but output was light years ahead of where it was six months ago.
 
Here is where I landed after this episode:
 
→ The mechanical build is being solved — start using AI for it when it makes sense and saves you time
 
→ You still need to know your craft:
 
1. Because catching the subtle errors is more important than ever
2. Because AI often uses more complex formulas and functions then we would use
3. Because your boss expects you to validate the model and understand the assumptions deeply
4. There are times it makes sense to build on your own, just because AI is better, does not mean it is always the solution.
 
→ Don't outsource your judgment. Augment it.
 
→ Documentation and scoping are high-value, low-risk places to start today
 
We've come a long way from our early episodes, where we debated whether to even show the output or not, it was so bad.
 
🎙️ Watch the full episode:
https://lnkd.in/g9mUHSyK

"I didn't understand a single word. We're not doing any of it."
 
This was said by a CEO to Jeff Greenfield after they both witnessed a marketing expert give a presentation.
 
It is a reminder that if people do not understand what you are doing, it does not matter how good it is. This week, Jeff shares advice on marketing attribution, how people need to understand the attribution model, and how marketing and finance can work better together.
 
Key Takeaways:
 
→ Don't rely solely on Google Analytics. It's built to measure Google channels, which means it consistently undervalues upper-funnel channels like social, CTV, podcasts, and display. Finance should understand this structural bias before accepting marketing's numbers at face value.
 
→ Expand your marketing data model beyond clicks. Add an impressions column alongside clicks and sales in your tracking sheet. Graph all three over time and look for lagged correlations. For example, clicks today often result from impressions from days or weeks ago.
 
→ Separate base sales (what you'd get with zero advertising) from incremental sales (what advertising actually drove). A platform like Google may "take credit" for organic or word-of-mouth sales. FP&A should push marketing to isolate true incremental impact.
 
→ Finance and marketing need to agree upfront on how success will be measured before a budget is submitted. When the CFO and CMO are using different models and definitions, budget meetings become adversarial rather than strategic.
 
→ Use regression-based models (e.g., Facebook's open-source Robyn tool) to evaluate marketing spend. These aren't perfect, but they put marketing on the same methodological footing as finance.
 
→ Finance has the fiduciary responsibility for marketing spend. If marketing can't produce rigorous models, FP&A should run their own. Some organisations even place analytics directly under the CFO for this reason.
 
🎙️ Catch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gFziK2u8
 
FP&A Unlocked is sponsored by Campfire.

Campfire is the AI-first ERP that powers next-gen finance and accounting teams. With integrated solutions for the general ledger, revenue automation, close management, and more, all in one unified platform.
 
Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dKxnyDNV

In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by Jeff Greenfield , an entrepreneur, advisor, and founder of Provalytics, a leading a

Open article: The Marketing Attribution Strategy for FP&A Teams to Take Control of Marketing ROI with Jeff Greenfield
 by Paul Barnhurst • 2 min read

The Marketing Attribution Strategy for FP&A Teams to Take Control of Marketing ROI with Jeff Greenfield

AI is a magnifier

Before you run off and master AI make sure you know the fundamentals well so AI magnifies you in the right way. 

If you want an FP&A Certification to help with mastering th fundamentals. Check out my website I have reviews and discount codes for all the major programs.

Open article: Compare Top FP&A Certifications: AFP, CFI, Wharton & More — The FP&A Guy by thefpandaguy.com

Compare Top FP&A Certifications: AFP, CFI, Wharton & More — The FP&A Guy

Are you doing exciting things with AI?

If so, DM me and let us chat. I am looking for guests who can walk through how they are using AI on the job.  I am not looking for software vendors who have a solution or people testing something in pilot mode.  I am looking for practitioners who have used AI in their day-to-day job to help automate workflows or who have built agents. 

If that is use please reach out and let us chat.

Move byeond reporting by using the 1:3:1 rule

Businesses want FP&A professionals who can tell the business what to do with data, not just deliver analysis and reports.  

I recently interviewed a recruiting professional who mentioned that one of the most common requests is to find candidates who can tell the business what to do with the data, rather than just throwing it at them and letting them figure it out. 

This is where the 1:3:1 rule comes into play.  When conducting an analysis and delivering your results, use this rule to help guide

1 - Focus on one problem/or one question you are trying to answer
3 - Come up with 3 potential solutions to the problem
1 - Provide your recommended path forward

If you want to move from reporting to delivering information that gets used, make sure you include Calls To Action and recommendations in your deliverables.  Leadership is looking for your opinion, not just a summary of the data. 

Join me next Thursday for a webinar where I will talke more about the 1:3:1 rule and data in general:

Turning Data into Decisions: FP&A's  Guide to High-Impact Analysis  

We will cover:

✅ How to turn analysis into insights with actual calls to action 
✅ How to structure your work around what leadership is really asking 
✅ What separates a real analysis from just another report

Sponsored by insightsoftware

🗓️ Date: March 26th, 2026
🕰️ Time: 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
👉 Link to Register: https://lnkd.in/gVKBj2fE

Fama-French anyone?
 
 
Can't say I expected a deep discussion on Fama-French, felt like I was back in my finance class in grad school.
 
But that's what happens when your guest has been doing this for 20 years, and the random number generator picks question 17 ﻿
﻿
 
John Thomas Foxworthy M.S. Data Science joined us on Future Finance this week, and I learned a lot from him.
 
He has spent the last two decades watching people overcomplicate AI. His solution!? Ask better questions.
 
Key Takeaways:
 
→ The #1 reason AI projects fail isn't the technology; it's because no one asked the right questions before deploying it.
 
→ Before any AI initiative: run a feasibility study. Assess your data maturity. Know your org's readiness. Let the problem define the solution, not the other way around.
 
→ There are really only three things AI does: describes what happened, predicts what will happen, and recommends what should happen. Everything else is marketing.
 
→ "All models are wrong, but some are useful." If you can't sit with uncertainty and probability, AI will frustrate you. The shift from deterministic to probabilistic thinking is the hardest and most important shift.
 
→ For planning specifically: AI can help you find the scenarios you haven't thought of yet. That's where the real planning value lives.
 
John also shared the Sephora story about how they spent two full years collecting data before deploying a single model, and then tripled revenue in three years.
 
Patience + Process = Results.
 
His book, The Augmented Intelligence Revolution, drops later this year.
 
🎧 Full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gRB7UDzr
 
🎓 Check out our sponsor QFlow.ai at https://lnkd.in/gWYnU9uz GTM Finance CoPilot

Happy to share that I'll be speaking at Turning Data Into Decisions: FP&A's Guide to High-Impact Analysis! Make sure to attend it on March 26.

FP&A teams have more data than ever. So why is leadership still asking "now what?"

The gap between data and decisions is a real business problem, and Paul Barnhurst is breaking it down live on March 26th.

He'll cover: 
✅ How to turn analysis into insights with actual calls to action 
✅ How to structure your work around what leadership is really asking 
✅ What separates a real analysis from just another report

👇 Register now and start the shift from reporting data to driving decisions.

#FPandA #FinancialPlanning #SAPData #insightsoftware #LinkedInLive

Turning Data Into Decisions: FP&A's Guide to High-Impact Analysis

I train Finance Teams at Soft Skills | Corporate Training Facilitator | Course Instructor | Keynote Speaker

You can have a technically excellent finance team... And still find yourself making every major strategic decision alone.(I know because I’ve seen this pattern in dozens of companies)Your team spends weeks perfecting the slides, the analysis and be as complete as possibleBut when you need strategic input for an ExCo meeting, their work doesn’t give you the perspective you need to lead confidentlyThe result is like this:→ Silence in meetings→ Decisions made without financial guidance→ You, the CFO or Finance Leader, doing the heavy lifting yourselfThe problem isn't their technical skill. It’s their system.Most teams are stuck in one of three stages:1. The Reporters: Mastered accuracy, but they are "historians" documenting the past2. The Explainers: Crystal clear on the "why", but provide no actionable guidance3. The Influencers: Highly strategic, but the capability only lives in 1 or 2 "star" performersI help Finance Leaders systematize the shift from Historian to Strategic AdvisorUsing my 4-step Financial Storytelling Framework, I help your entire team:- Step 1: Prepare the Message – Identify what actually matters for the business decision at hand- Step 2: Prepare the Story – Use structures that speak to a specific audience and leads to a decision- Step 3: Prepare the Visuals – Create slides that support a recommendation- Step 4: Prepare the Delivery – Present with the confidence to handle pushback from the CEO or BoardI’ve implemented this system for teams at Holcim, Deloitte, Bauer Media, and IndeedHow we can work together:• For Teams: The Finance Stage — Systematizing storytelling across your whole function.• For Professionals: Financial Storytelling Program — My flagship training for future leaders• For CFOs: 1:1 Coaching and high-impact to change your presentationsThe best financial insight means nothing if it doesn’t change the way we work in a companyReady to de-risk your team's output and get the strategic support you need? Send me a message and let’s diagnose where your team is stuck

Soufyan Hamid

January results

How unuseful is your budget already?

Systematizing Storytelling for Finance Teams | EMBA Lecturer | Keynote Speaker

90% of finance strategies fail for one simple reason

They look impressive

But they don’t change how decisions actually get made

That’s why I like the strategy house framework

It’s simple

And it’s the same structure used by firms like McKinsey & Company to turn strategy into execution

I’ve adapted it here for FP&A and finance leadership

Here’s how to read it.

1. Aspiration

This sits at the top of the house and answers one question

What financial future are we trying to build?

A clear direction for the finance function of the company

2. Vision & financial purpose

This is where strategy becomes concrete for finance

It translates ambition into a financial direction

What does success actually look like in numbers?
What trade-offs are we willing to make?
Where will we invest?

Without this layer, FP&A stays stuck explaining results instead of making them useful

3. Must-win financial battles

These are the few financial priorities that really move the business

Usually three or four and this is where finance becomes strategic

Because every priority means saying no to something else

If everything is a priority, nothing is

4. Strategic financial initiatives

This is where the real work happens:
- Rolling forecasts
- Pricing models
- Scenario planning
- Capex prioritization

Each initiative should clearly support a must-win battle

If it doesn’t connect to strategy, it has no business in your strategy

5. Enablers

These are the capabilities that make execution possible

Without this layer, your strategy stays in PowerPoint/Excel

Execution requires tools

6. Foundations

This is the base of the house

People, culture, governance, performance management...

It’s where finance earns its credibility

Because strategy only works when the organisation trusts the people behind them.

One final point that isn’t on the image:

Decisions

Strategy only matters if it changes decisions

That’s where FP&A creates real impact.


♻️ Repost if you think finance should help drive strategy
➕ Follow for more insights on how FP&A moves from reporting to influence

Financial storytelling isn’t dashboarding

These are two completely different skills

Too many finance teams still mix them up

I’ve trained 100s of pros across FP&A, controlling, and CFO offices

The pattern is always the same:
People think storytelling is about “slides”
Or “focused charts”
Or “nice formatting”

But storytelling starts long before you open PowerPoint

It starts with understanding the business
It grows through driver logic
And it becomes useful when you people remember your message after the meeting... and do something with it

Here are the 6 foundational components of financial storytelling (and why they matter):

1. Business Understanding
Knowing what’s really happening behind the numbers: the decisions, the drivers, the context
You can’t tell a story you don’t understand.

2. Driver Analysis
Breaking down what changed and why: volume, mix, price, timing, churn
This is where insight begins

3. Message Definition
Choosing the one thing people must remember
Everything else should serve that message

4. Visual Structure
Organising your flow so each slide builds on the last
Structure is what aligns with your story

5. Audience Framing
Shaping the message based on who’s in the room
- Some want direction
- Others want to analyse
- Most want impact

6. Connection
Making others feel the story through presence, tone, and attention
Trust is sensed before it’s proven

Most finance teams think storytelling is about charts

But great storytelling is about influence and impact

If you want your insights to land, your message to stick, and your role to grow

This is where it starts

 Financial Storytelling is...

Your words are killing your presence

12 ways to know if you’re doing it:

-----
You want to boost your FP&A team's presence and move them from 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 to 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴
Join our next masterclass "The Financial Storytelling Maturity Model"
👉 https://lnkd.in/efjM-SCd
📅 March 09, 2026 at 5PM CET / 11AM ET
-----

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲:

“Maybe we should…”
“I may be wrong, but…”
“Can I ask a dumb question?”
“Just thinking out loud here…”
“Hopefully this makes sense…”
“This might be overstepping…”
“Does that sound okay to you?”
“I’ll try my best to get that done…”
“I’m no expert in operations, but…”
“I just wanted to share this update…”
“I’m not sure if this adds value, but…”
“Would you mind if I add something?”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞:
“Here’s the key shift”
“The numbers suggest…”
“Here’s what the data is signalling”
“Here’s one scenario worth testing”
“Here’s how the pieces fit together”
“There’s a financial implication here”
“Does this align with your priorities?”
“Here’s an insight that could shift things”
“You’ll have the updated model by Friday”
“Let me build on that from a financial angle”
“Here’s how this flows through P&L and cash”
“Help me understand how this connects to targets”

In FP&A, your presence depends on what you know

but also on how confidently you deliver it

➟ Your analysis stays the same
➟ Your credibility doesn’t
➟ Strong language creates strong leadership

Which phrase are you eliminating first? 👇

12 Phrases Killing Your FP&A Presence

Most finance teams say they want to be strategic

But few define what that actually looks like

Offsites are great but that's not how you define culture

And that's normal: you recognise culture in your daily life, not with a large slogan hanging on a wall

High-performing finance teams build it through very specific, very ordinary choices

Below are 11 finance habits that weaken your team’s influence

And what strong finance teams do instead:

Avoid: “Here are the numbers for this month”
↳ Instead: Position finance as a decision partner
↳ Example: FP&A opens with, “Here’s the business decision this data supports”

Avoid: Vague feedback like “Good analysis”
↳ Instead: Give precise, actionable feedback
↳ Example: “Slide 4 is strong. The insight is clear. Let’s simplify the visual on slide 6”

Avoid: Long meetings with no conclusion
↳ Instead: End with decisions and clear owners
↳ Example: “We agreed on the forecast adjustment. John owns the model update”

Avoid: Celebrating late-night fire drills
↳ Instead: Reward proactive planning
↳ Example: The team is recognized for flagging risks before month-end close

Avoid: “That’s not our scope”
↳ Instead: Build cross-functional curiosity
↳ Example: Finance asks Sales, “Help us understand what’s driving pipeline changes”

Avoid: Models no one understands
↳ Instead: Transparent, explainable logic
↳ Example: Analysts walk through assumptions before showing outputs

Avoid: Data without narrative
↳ Instead: Teach storytelling with numbers
↳ Example: Decks follow: Context → Insight → Decision → Action

Avoid: Surprises at executive review
↳ Instead: Ongoing alignment
↳ Example: The CFO receives early signals on risks and opportunities

Avoid: Budgeting as an annual ritual
↳ Instead: Treat forecasts as living tools
↳ Example: Rolling forecasts drive real-time decisions

Avoid: Promotions based only on tenure
↳ Instead: Promote based on business impact
↳ Example: An analyst earns a senior role after leading a pricing strategy insight

Avoid: Finance acting as the “no” police
↳ Instead: Finance as strategic co-pilot
↳ Example: “Here’s how we can fund this growth responsibly”

Your team will be much more visible and recognisable with a strong team culture that will make them feel useful

Which of these do you see your teams struggle with most?

Exception française 🇫🇷 aujourd'hui (et il y a une bonne raison)

Sur LinkedIn, je parle toujours en anglais

Mais cet événement mérite qu'on sorte des habitudes

-----
Masterclass exclusive ce 11 mars à 09h
Inscription gratuite pour les membres de la communauté sur
👉 https://lnkd.in/edMMySUN
-----

Le 11 mars, je serai à Paris pour une Masterclass exclusive au sein de Finpal, run by Qonto, la communauté des pros de la finance animée par Qonto

Et sans surprise, le sujet sera mon sujet préféré

"De la donnée à l'influence décisionnelle: la narration financière à l'heure de l'IA"

Parce qu'on a tous des chiffres, des dashboards et des reportings bien construits

Mais la vraie question, c'est : est-ce qu'ils convainquent vraiment votre CODIR ?

Ce soir-là, on va travailler ensemble sur :
→ Comment transformer vos reportings en histoires financières mémorables
→ Comment l'IA peut devenir votre allié pour gagner en influence
→ Comment passer de "bon analyste" à décideur qui compte

📍 Comet, Place des Victoires — Paris
📅 Mercredi 11 mars
👥 30 places seulement en présentiel
🎁 Des surprises pour les plus motivés 😉

Finpal, c'est déjà + de 2 500 DAF et dirigeants qui échangent sans filtre sur leurs défis quotidiens

C'est gratuit, c'est du partage pur et c'est exactement le genre d'endroit où ce genre de conversation a sa place

👉 Rejoignez la communauté et inscrivez-vous via le lien en commentaire

https://lnkd.in/edMMySUN

PS: Vous connaissez des DAF ou responsables financiers qui veulent avoir plus d'impact en réunion ? 

Taguez-les ci-dessous 👇

Every serious FP&A issue starts small

And by the time the CFO fully sees it, it’s already costing credibility

Over the last four years working with FP&A leaders at The Finance Circle, an observation was repeated

Almost everyone has the technical ability, no question about that

What derails teams are small but key issues

The CFO expands the FP&A mandate:
– Own the forecast narrative
– Lead deeper analysis
– Interact directly with the business

On paper, that’s good news

But something structural often changes together with it

As FP&A steps up, it begins to carry the performance story day to day

- Questions from the business land there
- Context gets built there
- Explanations are shaped there

Gradually, FP&A becomes the operational center of gravity

The CFO remains accountable but no longer anchors the narrative daily

And if alignment isn’t intentionally maintained, distance is created

Here are 8 early warning signs that this shift is already hurting your team:

1️⃣ Multiple versions of truth
Different reports tell different stories 
And suddenly, no one knows which number to defend

2️⃣ Forecast fatigue
Forecasts keep changing, but no one can clearly explain why 
Ownership fades. Confidence follows

3️⃣ Ownership gaps
FP&A produces analysis, but it’s unclear who owns the metric or the decision 
So insights float. Nothing lands

4️⃣ Over-engineered models
Models become impressive artifacts instead of decision tools 
Few understand the and even fewer trust them

5️⃣ KPIs disconnected from value creation
Metrics look clean, but don’t reflect how the business actually creates value 
This is often when people start to ignore reports

6️⃣ Low stakeholder trust
Business partners challenge every insight or quietly bypass finance 
Why would they?

7️⃣ Backward-looking energy
Most energy goes into explaining the past 
Very little shapes what happens next

8️⃣ Surprises at executive level
ExCo debates issues Finance should have framed earlier.

But don't worry, it's not the end of the world

These signals are fixable when you spot them early 

But only if you’re willing to look beyond outputs… 
and address how FP&A actually works, decides, and communicates 

I’ve captured concrete ways to tackle each of these points 

If you’re leading an FP&A team today, take a look: I'm sure you’ll recognize more than one 

Which of these signs have you seen most often?

♻️ Share this with a CFO who wants to catch problems before they reach the top

8 Signs of a Dysfunctional FP&A Team

Over the past years, many CFOs I worked with were either in burnout or dangerously close to it

The pressure rarely explodes but it accumulates. Budgets, board meetings, forecasts, ExCo colleagues or your team

All of this inside a calendar with no real space to think

When a CFO is exhausted, decision quality drops

And when that happens, the business feels it in pricing, hiring, investment timing, and risk management

This is why I started looking at energy as decision capacity

Here are a few practices that (ideally) work

1️⃣ Protect the first 60 minutes of your morning

Strong CFOs do not start in email
They use that time to frame what truly matters today

2️⃣ Define 1 to 3 decisions for the day

Be explicit about the calls that require your judgment
Writing them down sharpens your thinking and your communication

3️⃣ Block deep finance time

Several CFOs I worked with reserve 90 minutes before key meetings to review assumptions and pressure test scenarios
They treat preparation as strategic work

4️⃣ Shorten meetings

End with one sentence: here is the decision and here is the owner
Over time, finance becomes associated with clarity

5️⃣ Challenge low-impact requests

If an analysis does not influence a decision, question it
Protecting your attention protects your team’s attention

6️⃣ Maintain one peer conversation

A trusted finance peer to calibrate thinking and reduce isolation can dramatically lower cognitive pressure
For that, CFO networks exist in every country

7️⃣ Protect recovery deliberately

Choose a clear stop time and disconnect properly
I know, easier said than done but a reset is necessary to protect your energy

One nuance though: this is an ideal map

No CFO is expected to implement all of it immediately

Pick one practice, test it for two weeks

Observe what changes in your days

Burnout in finance often comes more from constant switching and carrying unresolved decisions than from volume alone

Your company does not need you constantly available
It needs you sharp when it matters

Which one of these would create the biggest difference for you right now?

FP&A is rarely a straight jump into business partnering
Most people move through it step by step
𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 usually comes first

-----
And if you want to discover how to move your team from reporting to influencing
Join our next FREE masterclass for CFOs "The Financial Storytelling Maturity Model"
👉 https://lnkd.in/efjM-SCd
📅 March 09, 2026 at 5PM CET / 11AM ET
-----

That phase is often underestimated, yet it is where credibility starts

If the numbers are consistent, on time, and trusted, people begin to rely on the team behind them

From there, the role naturally evolves into 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀

Instead of only showing what happened, finance begins to explain why it happened

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 changes the conversation again.

Once you work on forward views, finance is no longer describing the past

You are helping the business think about what comes next, what could go wrong, and what might create opportunity

Only after these steps does 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 really appear

At that point, finance is invited into discussions where choices are still open

Leaders ask for perspective, challenge assumptions, and test options before committing

This progression is also how I approach finance training with non-finance leaders

Starting with strategy or advisory roles rarely works

People connect first with things they already use in their day-to-day work

For some, that entry point is KPIs

For others it is operational drivers or scenario thinking

The path does not need to be rushed

Understanding one layer well creates the foundation for the next

Over time, the role becomes something much more valuable than producing reports

Finance becomes useful exactly when decisions are on the table

When I think back of my time as FP&A Manager, I have a bitter sweet memory

I was always wondering this:

Why do some peopla have a strong impact (what I wanted)…
while others don't (what I did)?

The answer was in the fact that nobody teaches you to be a leader

Or more accurately said, they expect you to learn by yourself

So I observed around, went to finance events, asked a lot

And what I observed is that it was mostly behavioural

I noticed 8 traits that transform FP&A leaders from reporters into trusted strategic partners

And once you start paying attention to them, your leadership never stays the same

1️⃣ Self-Aware

Elite FP&A leaders recognize their own bias, pressure triggers, and blind spots
They regulate themselves before emotion distorts financial judgment

2️⃣ Humble

They treat forecast misses and feedback as information
They improve the system instead of protecting their status

3️⃣ Attuned to the Business

They sense risk, hesitation, and opportunity in the room long before it appears in the variance bridge
They understand operational reality beyond the spreadsheet

4️⃣ Approachable

Bad news travels fast
Issues surface early
Truth does not get filtered on its way to Finance

5️⃣ Empathetic

They understand that every number reflects human behavior, incentives, and trade-offs
That awareness strengthens business partnership and decision quality

6️⃣ Adaptable

They adjust forecasts, capital allocation, and priorities quickly while maintaining financial discipline
Stability and agility coexist

7️⃣ Composed

In moments of volatility, they bring steadiness
Their tone influences the room
Calm thinking drives better capital decisions

8️⃣ Respectful

They challenge assumptions rigorously while protecting trust and professional dignity
Strong debate strengthens alignment

For a technical guy like me, it was weird not to train my technical skills

But that's what changed entirely how I communicated, how I approached my business colleagues and how I finally got the impact I wanted

So, the good news is that it is learnable

We develop these 8 traits inside The Finance Circle when we move teams from reporting to influencing

Which trait do you believe creates the biggest shift in FP&A performance?

Let me know below

I've reviewed 100+ finance presentations

Most of them made the same mistake

They talked to everyone the same way

But your CFO and your department head don't want the same thing from you

Neither does your analyst

There are 3 levels of FP&A content
And each one speaks to a different audience

1. Strategic FP&A Content

High-level, directional
It's built for people who shape decisions and don't have the time
We talk about C-Suite, Board, and Investors
They don't want the logic behind your work but will rather focus on where the business is going

2. Tactical FP&A Content

Frameworks, trade-offs, prioritization
Here, VPs, Directors or Department Heads are the destination
They're trying to hit targets so they need content that helps them adjust

3. Operational FP&A Content

Templates, workflows, step-by-step
The ones like Managers, Analysts or Operational Teams
They need to run the business today

Each level matters

Operational content is not less important than strategic content
It just serves a different purpose.

The problems come when your teams only produce one level
...usually the one they're most comfortable with

That's why their audience tunes out

Make them match the level to the objective

Which level do you naturally ask them to default to?

Chasing AI use cases without a strategy will make your finance team less efficient than before AI
👉 Free webinar March 25 — join us: https://lnkd.in/eAKPvMFf

This week, I scrolled my feed and I saw that everywhere
- AI can automate your close
- AI will do the modelling for you
- AI will summarise your reports

The use cases are real and the tools work, that's not the problem

The problem is this:

If you just jump on every use case that comes your way, with no AI strategy, no governance, no thought for how tasks get redistributed or how any of this connects to actual business outcomes, you will end up more fragmented, more dependent, and less effective than before you started

Basically, the absence of intergration and thinking is the problem—

In 2026, we are at a crossroad:
- Either finance leaders will list their AI tools and small use cases
- Or they will be the ones asking:
→ Where does AI create value for the whole business?
→ How do we govern what AI decides but humans can't fully audit?
→ What happens to the tasks AI replaces (and who owns that transition)?
→ How do we connect finance efficiency to outcomes the CEO actually cares about?

These are strategic and leadership questions and most finance teams aren't asking them

That's exactly the conversation Lucanet is having on their webinar on March 25

Building Trust in Autonomous Finance: The AI Shift in 2026

I won't be another use case demo
It will be a real discussion on what it actually takes to let AI work

It's free, online and it only lasts 1 hour

If you want to efficiently use 1 hour in your week, 
👉 Register now on https://lnkd.in/eAKPvMFf

84% of CFOs are dissatisfied with the presentations their finance team delivers

Yet 83% of finance professionals present to executives regularly

-----
And if you're in that 84%, you probably want to discover how to move your team from reporting to influencing
Join our next FREE masterclass for CFOs"The Financial Storytelling Maturity Model"
👉 https://lnkd.in/efjM-SCd
📅 March 09, 2026 at 5PM CET / 11AM ET
-----

Your team is smart. They know every number, their models are bulletproof, and their data is 100% accurate

But before the ExCo meeting, you're there, fixing headlines, connecting dots, translating the math into a business story

Again

As long as you're doing that, you're the bottleneck of your own department

After 70+ interviews with CFOs and Finance Directors, I found that most teams get stuck at one of two levels

Either they're 

🔴 Reporting (Level 1)
Your team states facts. You ask "so what?" every single time.

🟡 Explaining (Level 2)
Your team finds root causes. But problems are dropped with no accountability.

They've diagnosed the illness, but they drop it on your desk without prescribing the medication, leaving you to make the actual decision

In the ideal world, you'd want them to reach 

🟢 Influencing (Level 3)
Your team connects the dots AND prescribes the next move, helping decisions happen

In the latest group: 43% of teams are at Level 1. Only 21% reach Level 3

The gap isn't talent. It's the absence of a repeatable business methodology, and that can be installed.

On March 9th, I'm running a free live masterclass for CFOs and Finance Leaders to show you exactly how to move your team up the maturity model

✅ The Financial Storytelling Maturity Model
✅ The 3 What method to turn data into decisions
✅ The 4-Step Approach to install this in your team

🗓 Monday March 9 — CET 5PM | GMT 4PM | EST 11AM

Registration here 👇
https://lnkd.in/efjM-SCd

(If this describes your reality, repost ♻️, another CFO in your network probably needs to read this)

taplio

The Battle

Paul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy

Soufyan Hamid

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScorePaul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSoufyan Hamid's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Paul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy

Soufyan Hamid

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Paul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSoufyan Hamid's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScorePaul Barnhurst, The FPandA Guy's LinkedIn Performance