Bedford Consulting

I work together with our customers across EMEA to help them maximise the value they get out of using Anaplan. 

 - I identify possibilities where Anaplan can help address existing challenges and identify new opportunities to deliver value to organisations.
  - I help organisations unlock the value potential that comes with embracing Connected Planning across the entire business.
 - I help companies develop planning processes by utilising technology effectively.
 - I work with planning teams to help position themselves key business partners and strategic enablers.

Commercial Lead | FP&A and Connected  Planning Expert

Bedford Consulting is the largest and longest-running sole Anaplan reseller and 2021 Anaplan Partner of the year for EMEA, for the sixth year running, specialising in project implementation, software sales and connected planning.

As a member of the Bedford Customer Services Team, I have designed and implemented modelling solutions across all areas of business using the Anaplan platform to help improve performance of our customers the operate across a range of industries and locations.

Consultant - Customer Success - Anaplan Model Builder

Hawaii Poké

Hawaii Poké is a chain of restaurants currently exiting start-up phase into a new phase of expansion.

Responsibilities included:
 - Development and execution of Hawaii Poké's corporate strategy to help drive the continued growth and expansion of the company.
 - Design, development and implementation of BI solution (Power BI) within the company. Development of data model from scratch to integrate multiple data sources and visualise in one place to drive stronger decision making and provide stronger transparency over data.
 - Development of FP&A / Business Control function within the business.
 - Member of Management Team.
 - Business Partner to HR and Operations Managers.

Head of Strategy and Planning

NORD DDB Stockholm

NORD DDB is the largest Nordic subsidiary of NYSE Listed Omnicom Group.

Key Responsibilities have included:
 - Membership of Management Team
 - Management of Finance Function
 - Responsibility for Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)/Business Control
 - Management of Team of Business/Financial/Project Controllers
 - Finance Business Partner to Department Leads, Client Service Team and Group Management
 - Key Point of Contact to European and Global Headquarters

Finance Director

Responsibilities included:
 - Financial Planning and Analysis
 - Business Control
 - Project and Financial Control
 - Improvement and Streamlining of Business Processes
 - Ownership of Group Financial Reporting
 - Direct Support to Nordic Management Team
 - Business Partners to many stakeholders across the business

Controller - Projects and Financial Operations

BBDO Worldwide

BBDO is a worldwide advertising network with more than 15,000 employees in 289 offices across 80 countries. It is part of the Omnicom Group, which is listed in the NYSE and S&P 500.

 - Responsibility for the review and analysis of financial information including budgets, forecasts and actuals for a number of markets within the EMEA region.

 - Business partner for, and between local agency CFOs, CEOs and BBDO senior management on various matters such as acquisitions, disposals, restructuring, working capital, tax, treasury, HR, bonuses, severances, capex proposals and property transactions.

 - Reporting to the CFO of the EMEA region, with indirect reports from the CFOs of the markets managed.

Country Finance Manager

BDO UK LLP

- Audit Manager within the Technology and Media Team, with a focus on media and advertising agencies, as well early stage technology companies.

 - Experience of reporting under UK GAAP and IFRS, working with both privately owned, private equity backed businesses, as well as companies listed on AIM.

 - Experience of working with BDO offices in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and Australiasia

Manager - Business Assurance

BDO Canada

- Seconded to Vancouver office, where my focus was the audit of companies listed on the TSX and TSX-V exchanges.

 - Extensive experience of reporting under IFRS.

Senior Accountant - Business Assurance

Helping FP&A and Wider Business Teams Unlock Value By Strengthening Their Planning Capabilities

FP&A and Wider Business Planning teams have a huge opportunity to make a real impact. And the time to do that is now. Access to knowledge and technology has never been higher than it is now, and this trend shows no signs of slowing just yet.

I help teams:
✔️ Unlock the value potential that comes with embracing Connected Planning across the entire business in ways that generates real ROI.
✔️ Develop planning processes by utilising technology effectively.
✔️ Position themselves as key business partners that drive effective data-driven decision making across the business.

🤷‍♂️ Want to have more impact with your analysis in FP&A?
 
It might sound obvious to say...
 
...but when presenting your analysis...
 
...make sure your analysis fits the specific situation!
 
Abdul Khaliq has produced this great overview of a few different types of analysis, highlighting when and how to use them.
 
And when it comes to producing analysis, it can be easy to miss the mark.
 
Expectations might be unclear. Previous versions of the analysis maybe were not the best fit. You might not have the right tools to run the analysis in the way you would like.
 
A whole mix of reasons.
 
👉 But to give yourself the best chance to succeed:
 
1️⃣ Get clear about the question you are trying to answer!
2️⃣ Think about the best approach to help answer the question!
3️⃣ Think about the needs of those who will be using the analysis!
 
When you approach analysis in the right way, there is a much better chance that those end-users of the analysis will make use of it.
 
And then you can have more influence in driving effective decision-making.
 
💁‍♂️ And isn't that what FP&A is all about?!
 
🙌 Credit to Abdul for this great visual. Great work as always!
Link to original post: https://lnkd.in/dajFRUqW
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo

Iain Main

🤷‍♂️ One BIG way that can FP&A teams become a 'value-add' function?
 
...
 
🤓 Start influencing 'value-add' decision-making!
 
I can understand that this might sound vague, but Anders Liu-Lindberg has produced this great overview that brings this to life.
 
He has visualised how you can play a role in creating a line of sight between performance and the underlying drivers.
 
And getting started might be easier than you think...
 
Just take the first section in this visual. You have tools at your disposal to start on this path here and now...your financial forecasts!
 
Specifically, adopting a driver-based planning approach in your forecasting can give you that line of sight between business performance and the underlying drivers.
 
⚡️ Done well, it can supercharge 'value-add' decision-making.
 
💥 And if you can be at the heart of driving this, you can start to have real impact across the business!
 
🤩 And as I said, it might be easier to get on this path than you think!
 
🙌 Credit to Anders for this great content!
Link to original post:
https://lnkd.in/dNka6MAf
 
🥳 Happy Friday!
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo #strategy

🙋‍♂️ A great place for FP&A teams to get started with Driver-Based Planning: THE HEADCOUNT PLAN!
 
An effectively designed headcount plan can be such a powerful tool.
 
Everybody understands it. Everybody cares about it. That makes it powerful.
 
And this one simple overview can connect different planning requirements across a business!
 
❓ How to get started with a headcount plan?
 
Josh Aharonoff, CPA and Nicolas Boucher produced this really insightful and easy to understand overview of headcount planning. This is a great starting point for building your headcount plan!
 
❓ How can a headcount plan be used across a business?
 
1️⃣ FINANCIAL PLANNING
 
Headcount plans can be converted to financial data to build salary and related costs. You can also build out other headcount driven cost lines like travel, IT, and telephone costs. It can essentially be used to build a large part of your P&L.
 
2️⃣ OPERATIONAL CAPACITY PLANNING
 
You can extract headcount data on operational teams to assess whether you can meet the required demand to deliver your products.
 
3️⃣ SALES CAPACITY PLANNING
 
You can extract headcount data on sales teams to understand the capacity of your team to deliver sales targets.
 
👉 When you use a central headcount plan effectively, you can lay foundations for connected planning across the whole business.
 
💪 Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me!
 
🙌 Thanks Josh and Nicolas for continuing to contribute fantastic content to the community!
Link to original post here: https://lnkd.in/dbnvPNjA
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo #connectedplanning

Forecasting Headcount by Josh Aharonoff & Nicolas Boucher

🚀 5 concepts that will level up your forecasts!
 
Asif Masani has produced this fantastic summary of key forecasting concepts.
 
Invest time in getting these right in your forecasts and you can increase the impact that you have!
 
👉 One that I think sometimes gets overlooked: One-Timers!
 
Don't ignore 'one-off' events.
 
Design your models to help you keep track of them easily.
 
🤷‍♂️ Why?
 
'One off' events can have a big impact on the numbers.
 
And helping decision-makers understand how the numbers are impacted by these types of events can really help them make better decisions.
 
So done well, you can really grow the influence you have with these key stakeholders!
 
So if you can keep track of them easily, it can make a big difference!
 
😃 Getting the basics right in your forecast is important.
 
🥳 Doing these 5 things well will help take your forecasts to the next level!
 
🙌 Credit to Asif for this great overview!
Link to original post: https://lnkd.in/d94E34yU 
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo

🚀 Driver-Based Planning can be rocket fuel for decision-making!
 
You can create a connectivity between underlying business activities and financial KPI's.
 
👉 And this kind of connectivity can have so many BIG wins:
 
▶️ Forecasts become grounded in operational reality.
▶️ It helps forecasts become more relatable and less abstract.
▶️ You build a picture of what really matters and what you can influence!
 
All these things can supercharge the decision-making capabilities of a business!
 
Carl Seidman, CSP, CPA has produced this fantastic visual that visualises this concept in what he terms 'Strategic Financial Mapping'.
 
Even better? In the link below, he has produced an extremely informative video on the topic to bring it to life!
 
👌 This is a top of mind topic with many financial leaders I speak with.
 
⚡️ And when you get it right, it can transform the way you make decisions in the business!
 
😃 And FP&A has a huge role to play!
 
🙌 Credit to Carl for this fantastic content!
Link to original post: https://lnkd.in/den2ApZG
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo #strategy

😯 There is a fundamental shift happening in how FP&A teams operate.
 
It is no longer just about gathering the numbers and producing the reports.
 
I am fortunate to see first-hand how more and more businesses are embracing FP&A as a strategic function.
 
👉 Here are 3 themes that continue to pick up speed:
 
1️⃣ Building a bridge between long-term goals and near-term realities
 
2️⃣ Enablement of cross-departmental planning
 
3️⃣ Supercharging decision-making with scenario planning
 
And yes, every business is different, running its own race.
 
But more and more are either doing, or planning to do, these types of operational shifts.
 
⚡️ And done well, these types of shifts can really have an impact on business performance!
 
🚀 And the exciting part, if you work in FP&A, is that you can play a huge role in making it happen!
 
#finance #cfo #fpanda #strategy 

The Emergence of FP&A as a Strategic Function

❓ How well do your forecasts capture the impact of external 'macro' factors?
 
Sometimes, when we build forecasts, it can be more comfortable to focus inward.

But we also need to think about what is going on out there in the big wide world!
 
👉 Take 3 examples of macro factors:
 
1️⃣ Inflation
2️⃣ Interest Rates
3️⃣ Supply Chain Disruption 
 
These all impact on businesses in different ways.
 
Some bring opportunities. Some bring threats!
 
But what is for sure - there are uncertainties involved.
 
And 2 key modelling capabilities can help you navigate the uncertainty:
 
▶️ Scenario Planning
▶️ Sensitivity Analysis
 
🚀 These modelling approaches can be rocket fuel for decision making!
 
🙌 And in FP&A, you can play a key role in making it happen!
 
#fpanda #finance #cfo #strategy

Understanding The Impact Of 'Macro' Factors

🦸 One of the superpowers I see in high performing FP&A teams?
 
They can enable more impactful decision-making across the business.
 
🛠️ And one tool most of them have to do this well?
 
Scenario Planning!
 
💁‍♂️ And what is the best way best way to do it?
 
Well...it depends...every company is different after all.
 
But getting it right with design and governance of the scenario planning process is one sure way to increase the level of impact you have.
 
In fact, Anders Liu-Lindberg published this great overview that highlights some key considerations when developing scenario planning.
 
And as you can see, it goes way beyond financial modelling mechanics.
 
You need to think about the full picture. Identifying objectives and goals. Continuous communication with stakeholders. Both are critically important.
 
⚡️ Done well, scenario planning can supercharge decision making!
 
🚀 It is rocket fuel for enabling FP&A to become a strategic function!
 
🙌 Credit to Anders and Business Partnering Institute for this image. Great work as always!
Link to original post: https://lnkd.in/dVfJvQPa
 
#finance #fpanda #cfo #strategy

💥 In FP&A, you get a whole mix of opportunities to have a real impact!
 
...one of the biggest...
 
💁‍♂️ Presenting the numbers to the wider business!
 
It's an opportunity to do so many things. Provide insights. share learnings. encourage interaction. These are just a few of many ways in which you can have real impact.
 
And of course...there are many components of a good presentation.
 
But one key piece of this puzzle...is how you visualise the numbers.
 
It might sound easy. But truly getting it right with your visuals can be tricky.
 
Lucky for us then, that Soufyan Hamid has produced this great overview!
 
He gives clear guidance on different types of visuals, and when to use them!
 
😖 I can definitely reflect on a number of times when I didn't get it right with my visuals in presentations.
 
😫 And you can see it in the audience's eyes as you start presenting...
 
💪 But you live and you learn, right! 
 
🙌 Credit to Soufyan for this fantastic overview. PACKED full of value!
Link to his original post: https://lnkd.in/dQSnJHFA
 
#fpanda #cfo #finance

📈 FP&A software is continuing to be adopted by more and more companies. It's a high growth area.
 
And in recent months, the discussion about how to demonstrate ROI from these technology investments is picking up speed.
 
Automation. Collaborative Planning. Scenario Planning at speed. These are just a few superpowers that this technology can unlock.
 
❓ But how are companies actually achieving ROI from these technology investments? How can they be used to drive bottom-line impact?
 
Every business is different. And with that comes a different mix of challenges and opportunities.
 
But with a foundation of these new superpowers, you can supercharge the way you work with strategic challenges within a business.
 
In this article, I have dived deeper on the Professional Services industry. I highlight 3 topics that take up headspace of decision-makers:
 
1️⃣ Improving pricing.
2️⃣ Improving customer profitability.
3️⃣ Improving staff utilisation rates.
 
These are big ticket discussion points in many businesses in this industry.
 
And using technology in the right way can help decision-makers navigate headwinds that hinder performance in these areas!
 
🦸 So yes, there are huge immediate superpowers that come with this technology.
 
🚀 But it's how you put these superpowers into action in the context of your own business where you start to deliver real ROI!

Link to article: https://lnkd.in/g75kMw_2

#fpanda #cfo #finance #strategy

Iain Main on LinkedIn • 5 min read

3 Powerful Ways that Professional Services Businesses Can Generate Value With The Help of FP&A Software

💥 Modern business planning platforms can be transformative when used in the right way.
 
And it goes way beyond managing complex modelling and automation (which themselves are really valuable!).
 
For me, one of the real superpowers that comes with this technology is when different parts of the organisation work collaboratively within the platform on key 'value-add' tasks.
 
Finance, Sales, Operations, HR. All working together collaboratively within the platform.
 
📈 And when done well, this can lead directly to long term improvement in both performance and profitability. 
 
In this article, I take the example of a professional services business, and show 3 powerful ways that you can use this technology to drive business performance improvement:
 
1️⃣ Improving long-term utilisation rates.
2️⃣ Effectively managing recruitment pipelines.
3️⃣ Designing more focused staff training plans.
 
💰 More than ever, there is a huge focus on demonstrating ROI when it comes to technology investment.
 
🚀 And for services businesses, finding improvements in these areas can really help you in getting there...and way beyond!!
 
Link to article: https://lnkd.in/dNxEM6f6
 
#connectedplanning #finance #cfo #strategy 

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