One of the most extreme comparisons of FP&A roles is whether it exists in a established versus a greenfield environment.
Interestingly, once organizations have an established function it really doesn’t change much. The people may change, the positions might shift slightly but it is a company function that once ingrained is very difficult to shift. About the only catalyst that can drive changes in FP&A processes and analytics is a new system implementation or a major acquisition. On occasion better systems yield more information which might call for a new analytical process but it is not likely. Moving the needle on analysis that comes after the books are closed or shifting the type and cadence for forecasting/planning is difficult to do in large organizations and particularly those which are publicly traded. In fact, those company’s FP&A functions tend to be tied by not only their own internal process but those internal process are driven by a higher power – Wall Street. Expected performance appearing in the form of earnings expectations really sets the tone for what a forecast will look like. The opportunity to drive major change is extremely limited.
Greenfield opportunities on the other hand offer the seasoned FP&A professional a blank canvas for setting up the function, analytical tools, cadence, process and deliverables for senior management. The sheer vastness of decisions stems from literally not knowing what a business needs because it is growing quickly. The situation often calls for running parallel processes down multiple decision trees – systems implementations, building out excel tools to use in the meantime, hiring the right staff, creating board communications when there is little information, partnering with business area experts to understand the right levers to measure and then use as a basis for forecasting. All of these things have to happen at the same time. The environment often gets more challenging before it gets better. This is typically a 2-3 year process and then before you know it, you have an established FP&A function that is hard to change.