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Why Process Discipline Is So Important In FP&A

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

If you follow my writing about FP&A best practices, you will recall that I have often commented on how I see the FP&A world in terms of systems, talent, process, and institutionalized discipline. You might also be familiar with my FP&A presentations that show this illustration:

The seamless and elegant interaction of each of these FP&A components is what creates a center of excellence inside an organization. It becomes a “go to” department for C level and VP GM level decision making. Moreover, each component expands into a clear understanding of the requisite personnel, key deliverables, performance measurement for effectiveness and leadership nuances that drive success in that particular component.

But there is one thing that runs through each component and is the absolute determining factor in organizational success. That component is PROCESS.

What is Process?

I asked Perplexity AI and here is what it told me:

In a corporate FP&A (financial planning and analysis) context, a process is the repeatable, structured set of activities, inputs, and outputs that a finance team follows to produce a specific management outcome—such as a budget, forecast, variance analysis, or management report.

More concretely, in FP&A, a process typically:

Has a clear purpose and deliverable (for example, “build and approve the annual operating plan” or “produce monthly forecast and variance commentary”).

Follows defined steps with owners and timelines, such as data collection, validation, analysis, review, and sign‑off.

Uses standardized inputs (actuals from ERP, drivers from business units, assumptions about market conditions) and produces standardized outputs (P&L, cash flow, headcount plans, dashboards).

Repeats on a regular cadence—monthly, quarterly, or annually—and is governed by documented policies and calendars.

Is designed to support decision‑making by turning raw financial and operational data into insight and recommendations for management.

It’s not a bad definition. The focus here on inputs and outputs along with references to ownership, accountability and cadence is accurate.

The next logical question is why is process important? This of course means “other than because finance people tend to be organized, type A personality types who need everything lined up properly”. Process is important because it is the lynchpin in getting the most out of your FP&A organization. Said differently, process is what allows you to get your money’s worth out of FP&A. These are the pieces that need to be healthy:

Data Collection and Assembly

Calendar management

Systems Installation/Maintenance

Deliverable Execution

To get what you are really paying for when it comes to FP&A you must have:

Analysis that Supports Decision Making

The only way for organizations to get what they pay for (Item number 5) is to do items 1-4 very well. Institutionalized discipline and process separate good FP&A teams from mediocre FP&A teams and paving the way for the analytical thinking that FP&A leaders provide.

When pushed through the lens of the distribution of resources here is what it looks like:

When data collection and deliverable execution command 80% of the team’s time, it is difficult to get at the heart of what FP&A people are hired to do. Identifying how much of the FP&A team’s time is spent on analysis that supports decision making is a first step toward making positive improvements.

How are your FP&A processes? If you need some organizational diagnostics, FP&A Expertise is here to help.

Contact Me, Forecasting, Strategic Planning

2026 Annual Operating Plan

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

Avoid These Common Pitfalls For A Successful Annual Operating Plan

It is that time of year again. Summer is over and most FP&A departments are in full swing getting ready to close out the quarter and simultaneously prepare for the build out of the Annual Operating Plan.

In this post I offer some common pitfalls to avoid going into planning season.

Bottoms Up of Tops Down – Solve the Chicken/Egg Problem First

Some of the most important participants in the Annual Operating Plan process, besides the CFO, are the leaders of a company’s business units. These are SVPs or VPs of a business unit, line of business or the leader of a group of business segments. The one complaint nearly all business unit leaders have is this:

WHY SHOULD I GO THROUGH THE PROCESS (AND USE UP VITAL DEPARTMENT RESOURCES) TO GO THROUGH A BOTTOMS UP BUILD OF A FINANCIAL PLAN IF IN THE END YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE ME A NUMBER AND TELL WHAT I NEED TO DELIVER IN TERMS OF TOP LINE, MARGIN AND OI FLOWTHROUGH?

My fellow FP&A professionals are chuckling right now because those of us who are seasoned have navigated this question on more than one occasion. Most often the response is crafted around the desire for the C-Suite to make sure they understand the details and can feed scenario models for more effective decision making. The truth is often that the leadership team wants to see, if left unchecked, what could the businesses deliver and what that looks like on a consolidated basis. The result is never extraordinary top line growth and lower expenses.

Each organization operates within a set of boundaries such as lead analyst expectations (for publicly traded companies), 3 statement models developed by investors or a set of financial objectives laid out by the C-Suite. Regardless of the bumpers a company has, the important part is the communication around these topics.

Therefore, establishing “the why” during any planning season kick off is important for the whole leadership team and paves a much smoother path for any FP&A team.

2. Alignment on Initiatives/Investments

Before any work is done in terms of schedules, meetings, expense reviews and model builds, all organizations ideally have a set of strategic initiatives that are either serving or accomplishing in the coming 12 months. When these are clearly understood by the C-Suite and business unit leaders, annual operating plan development automatically has a set of boundaries. Having those boundaries sets an effective framework for the way forward.

Lack of clarity on strategic initiatives leaves the leadership teams and those developing plans with a blank sheet of paper. Like an architectural build without any general scaffolding, planning efforts quickly fall into disarray without internal alignment on objectives. As plans roll up department by department they should each sit in the context of key objectives and investments for the coming year. This allows everyone to sing from the same song sheet and avoids large exercises in plan development that are ultimately discarded.

3. Make a plan for the plan

Making a plan for the plan is the easiest part of any planning process but is the most often overlooked. Beginning with the end in mind, teams target a board meeting where the annual operating plan is approved. FP&A leaders must work backward from a “pencils down” date in order to get the organization to work in harmony for the deliverable.

What on its face appears to be a simple calendaring exercise is often quite challenging. Aside from all of the system level preparatory work that FP&A teams need to do, there is highly customized prep work that has to be done in order for FP&A to talk to departments across the organization. This is a combination of pulling and presenting historical information along with a general understanding of the strategic objectives of the business unit.

When engaging with leadership what ultimately tends to be the wrench in the process is travel, conferences, PTO and customer meetings. Capturing the attention of key stakeholders across the organization by getting on their calendar and having them understand the overall objective is a crucial aspect of the process.

A common mistake is not getting ahead of this calendaring and not building in enough time for missed deadlines, schedule changes, new information and system problems. There is an amount of cushion that each organization must have in its planning process in order to land the plan om time.

4. Dependencies

Making a plan for the plan also includes understanding the internal dependencies and including the inclusion of those into the schedule.

The prime example of this is commission planning. Any revenue model requires an understanding of how sales are going to be achieved – everything flows from this point. This is why the FP&A partnership with sales leadership is so crucial. Sales targets and commission plans require a great deal of time to develop especially in large organizations. Nailing down this dependency too early (not enough information) or too late (after the vision for the top line is decided) can derail the whole annual operating plan process.

5. Understanding Headcount

Headcount is central to all operating plans.

Where organizations face challenges is keeping track of headcount. On its face, headcount should be an easy exercise. In all most all companies, headcount is actually quite challenging. The reason is because the systems around headcount management are lacking in the presence of fixed position numbers and titles. Without them and inside a fast-moving organization, people and open positions move around quickly and from department to department – think of three-way trades in the NHL (a three-way trade in the NHL involves three teams exchanging players, draft picks, or other assets in a single coordinated transaction, often designed to address salary cap, roster needs, or contract limitations).

If you are moving names around an organization or the term “open position” around an organization, whenever there are changes to the name or the location of the open position(s) you quickly lose sight of what your planned expense basis was going to be for the annual operating plan. Position numbers with fixed titles help to keep sight of what the planned investment was even when there is turnover or a departmental transfer.

6. What Did You Say Before?

Long range business plans typically cover a 3-5 year time span. When done well, year two of that plan should become the starting point for the next years’ annual operating plan.

The only constant of course is change, and that starting point will be affected by the actual results in year one. Boards of Directors understand this reality. What is key for leadership teams presenting a new operating plan to the board is to address changes from the last time the story of the business was shared. This usually involves an understanding of the drivers of missing an EBITDA or Net Income target through an analysis of variances to top line and operating expenses along with any unusual events.

Not having a bridging exercise completed prior to any conversation with the board can impact the C-Suites credibility.

Are you looking for leadership in your FP&A organization or an extra set of hands to achieve your plan on time and strongly built out? Feel free to contact me

#AOP #Budgeting #AnuualOperatingPlan #Strategy #2026

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What Is Your FP&A Playbook?

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

What Is Your FP&A Playbook?

On a recent job application, I was asked “What is your FP&A Playbook?” As I stared at the small, limited character box, I immediately thought like an economist “All else being equal”, this is how it is done. In fact, the answer is, it depends.

The reason it depends is because each FP&A organization is different.

There are a number of factors which much be examined in order to know which playbook to use. The current state of affairs in your FP&A organization determines the strategic and tactical steps for building and leading an FP&A department. It is only in understanding the gaps in the FP&A Team and how it is serving the company’s leadership that an effective playbook can be executed.

The Quality of Your Data and Effectiveness of Systems

Companies operate FP&A organizations in the context of systems and data. There is typically a high correlation between the maturity of the organization and the quality of its data and systems. Earlier stage organizations struggle in this area whereas larger organizations tend to have made the requisite investments in systems that deliver a single source of the truth and minimize manual work and data manipulation. One way to think about this is how the team is spending their time. Less mature organizations will spend 80% of their time gathering and assembling data while more mature organizations will spend 80% of their time analyzing the data. In fact, this is the goal of any FP&A team and is truly why FP&A professionals are compensated. Providing recommendations for senior leadership to drive profitability in the business only comes from thorough analysis. In a world of perpetual time constrains, data quality makes all the difference and any gaps in this regard are usually the first order of business.

Process Discipline

FP&A processes are driven by its customer base. The wingspan of an FP&A team often covers of multiple needs from internal reporting to external reporting, investor relations, board of director communications as well as business unit leader support. This is a demanding customer base which yields numerous deliverables in a short period of time. If internal processes such as an effective accounting close, regular forecasting and agile three statement modeling are not “humming along” it becomes challenging to meet and exceed expectations. In the most evolved FP&A functions each of these processes feeds the other (close > financial model update > rolling forecast > quarterly business review> annual operating plan > long range plans>board communications > investor relations) so that there is not an “ala carte” lift every time something is due. Process gaps make for tremendous inefficiencies in FP&A teams.

FP&A Team Talent

Every FP&A team is different in terms of its skillset. The talent on the team needs to be able to cover off a number of vital functions. These include a solid understanding of accounting, skilled financial modeling, creative analysis design and execution, data science skills, systems skill, relationship building skills for partnering across the organizations and excellent communication skills for telling the story of the business. In my experience, it is rare to find all of these characteristics in every single individual on an FP&A team. More of ten than not, these teams are comprised of specialists who drive the success of the team through their natural talents. For example, the same person who is a natural data scientist perhaps earlier in their career may not yet have the relationship and communication skills needed to tell the story of the business. With time an experience, FP&A leaders will have all of these items in their toolkit.

Cross Functional Relationships

The core of FP&A analysis is in its understanding of the business, its products, the challenges business unit leaders are facing in the marketplace and familiarity with the company’s long-term strategy. Like all departments in the company, the FP&A team has a reputation and state of affairs in terms of cross functional relationships. If there is a gap here in terms of where the team is versus where it should be with those relationships, then there is a whole additional effort that has to be made.

Long Term Vision For The FP&A Team

Having a vision for the FP&A team is a significant factor in understanding the playbook. Recall that FP&A is a service organization and therefore, the leadership of the company likely has a vision of what they want the team to be. In the most evolved organizations, FP&A is a center of excellence that the C Suite and business unit leaders look to for the highest quality decision making that drives growth. Some organizations are content with repeatable processes that check the boxes of deliverables in terms of reporting without having a desire to take the team to the next level. This is a trade-off that organizations often make when making time and investment choices.

In the end, any FP&A Playbook has to be designed through the lens of these 5 factors:

The Quality of Your Data and Effectiveness of Systems
Process Discipline
FP&A Team Talent
Cross Functional Relationships
Long Term Vision For The FP&A Team

If you need help with your FP&A Playbook feel free to contact me.

Contact Me, Forecasting, General

Are you ready for 2026?

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

Mid-Year Planning and Other Forecasts

Laryssa Reifel

Jun 11, 2025

It is now June. Organizations on a calendar year are nearly done with the second quarter. At the half-way point in the year there should be a fair amount of clarity about two things:

Year-to-date performance against the annual operating plan
Quarter-to-date performance against the latest forecast

Though over simplified, there is a cascading effect of information associated with each of the bullet points mentioned above. Examples include achievement of strategic objectives and specific initiatives planned for the year as well as performance against top line growth, margin achievement and spending objectives. There are some companies that are large enough and have enough FP&A resources to do mid-year, long range plans – essentially a second annual operating plan leveraging mid-year information. In the world of FP&A processes this tends to be a luxury item and can sit inside of many other FP&A forecasting cycles making mid-year planning redundant.

However, given the state of the world both politically and economically in terms of volatility and uncertainty, redundancy in forecasting is crucial. There are two features of forecasting that need to be enhanced given the external state of affairs:

More frequent forecasts are necessary
More robust forecasts in terms of scenarios that capture various economic possibilities and detailed trigger points for decision making

Enhancing and institutionalizing this increased frequency in response to the political and economic environment we are all operating in can make a tremendous difference in the profitability of a business. Thats where I can help.

Feel free to contact me.

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Q1 is nearly complete. What does this mean for your forecast(s)?

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

With Q1 nearly complete many organizations will have an opportunity to assess their progress against their goals. This typically takes the form of monthly assessments against the annual operating plan. Variance analysis is likely to drive conclusions about the 1^st quarter performance but what about he implications for the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and the longer term outlook such as a 3 or 5 year plan? This post explores what organizations typically do and what they can do for a more robust understanding of their financial performance and future outlook.

Comparisons to the Current Forecast

For companies on a calendar year, Q1 comparisons to the current forecast should be the equivalent of comparing to the AOP. The reason is mostly timing. Organizations should not be reforecasting Q1 when they just completed an AOP a few months ago. Variance analytics across all three statements should result in minimal departures from what was in the AOP. If there are significant variances so early in the year, then it suggests significant changes are likely in the balance of the year. From a mathematical and statistical perspective, the balance of year or 18 month rolling outlook should be significantly changed. What happens in practice is that most leaders are loathe to make significant revisions to the outlook so soon after presenting the AOP information to the board. What FP&A teams can do however is make note of the significant variances in order to prepare a different outlook. A scenario that incorporates a new perspective based on Q1 should be in the back pocket of any FP&A team. At some point in the process of their communications, if significant variances continue, they are likely to need this scenario for communications either internally or externally.

Comparisons to the Longer-Range Outlook

What often falls by the wayside is consideration of the long-range plan – the 3 or 5 year outlook. Performance in Q1 may highlight some reconsideration of the long-range outlook. This is particularly consequential in recurring revenue business models such a SaaS business. In those businesses, Q1 misses can be particularly consequential as a revenue miss pushes in Q1 pushes the waterfall of revenue recognition not only into subsequent quarters but into the next fiscal year. For example, if a company has a sales miss in January and February in a recurring revenue business, there is not just a period-based impact but one which impacts all future months especially beyond the current fiscal year as seen below:

Two months of missed sales makes getting caught up on this revenue more and more challenging as time goes on. While progressing through the fiscal year the window for revenue recognition closes – time is the enemy. Companies are then not only making up for a sales miss, they have to make up for the miss and the run against the clock. For reasons such as this example, a Q1 miss on the top line, though early in a companies AOP timeline, is consequential not only for the current AOP but for the longer-range plans as well. FP&A teams provide value in companies by understanding the implication of Q1 performance and looking out further in time to understand the impact.

If you have a SaaS business facing these types of analytical challenges, that’s where FP&A Expertise can assist.

#financialplanningandanalysis #modeling #fpa #finance #companystages #budeting #planning #strategy #process #systems #leadership #management #annualplanning #financialconsulting #executive #recurringrevenue #forecasting

Contact Me, General, Organization, Process, Strategic Planning

LESSONS FROM A UKRAINIAN NON-PROFIT #7

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

WE ARE ALL MORE THAN OUR RESUMES

At a recent conference a speaker suggested that resumes typically describe work experience but fall far short of capturing a complete picture of our skills. Executives are often engaged in much more than their paid jobs.

This has been the case for me too. For the last several years, in addition to launching a consulting business and holding a full-time corporate position, I have been the President of the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles (UCCLA). I am the first female President of this 80 year old organization and have seen the organization through 2 crises now – COVID-19 and the russian invasion of Ukraine.

Along the way I have learned a great deal. Today’s post is the FINAL post of a multi-part series of posts in which I will share the key lessons I have learned, the mistakes I made and where my financial planning and analysis skillset served me in responding to russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. In the spirit of “making my mess my message” I hope these you find these insights useful.

LESSON 7: Crisis management has an expiration date for everyone

Each crisis has a phase much like the different company stages 1-5 (See The Five Stages of Small-Business Growth (hbr.org)). From the initial onset through the arc to a war of attrition to nearing the end, the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles will transit many phases of a unique situation. After four years of crisis management at the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles, I am seeing that the initial phase of the war is passing. The onset and windstorm of the russian invasion is transitioning into the management the Center in an ongoing war. Much is out of the hands of the Center yet there is still a role to play.

As an FP&A leader I have had the privilege to be part of almost all phases of a company’s growth. That experience gave me the confidence to launch my own FP&A Consulting Firm – FP&A Expertise – Financial Planning and Analysis (fpa-expertise.com). From a strictly FP&A perspective (in contrast to accounting and general financial leadership), most companies are not ready for FP&A at Stage 1. It tends to matter how the organization is capitalized. If there are high investor demands, then the case can be made for an FP&A team as the reporting requirements can be demanding. But typically, an early-stage company is not ready for FP&A as the organization is usually still trying to figure out how to close the books. Once there is a cadence of accounting close processes with a high degree of integrity in the data, then and only then is an organization truly ready for FP&A. Fast moving start ups sometimes do this in parallel – implementing systems and FP&A processes while the close process is still being ironed out. I have found that the volume of change that is still likely in the chart of accounts and posting processes, makes for a bumpy road in setting up reporting systems and internal FP&A processes. The re-work that often ensues may not be worth it depending on the situation. Stage 2 and stage 3 companies are usually the prime entrance point for an FP&A team and this is where I have built many greenfield FP&A teams. From talent selection to system implementation and cross organizational process development, I have had the joy of going from nothing to an effective team for offering the leadership team key insights into the progress of the business and where efficiencies can be tapped. Building the bridge between strategic planning, executive decision making and organizational execution is the true sweet spot of FP&A.

Of the five stages, I had the least amount of experience at Stage 1. Not anymore. Leading the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles through crisis has taught me a tremendous amount about what it is like to be at Stage 1. The volume of blocking and tackling demanded by both the COVID situation and the russian invasion made each day different, stressful and functioned as a muse for creative thinking and problem solving. As I reflect on this experience, one of my initial regrets was that we did not first have a strategy – a lens through which all decisions would be made.

What I learned is that Stage 1 situations are not the place for strategic plans. There is no bandwidth. There are too many moving pieces and any formal strategic plan would be in the trash within minutes of having designed something.

As we approach 1000 days of russian aggression in Ukraine, I can say that the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles is well past Stage 1. Though not yet a well-oiled machine in the context of the war, we have garnered internal expertise in terms of political advocacy, media management, and operational execution for humanitarian relief and financial processes. Much like building out an FP&A organization, you see pockets of expertise aligned with natural abilities bubble up to the top. Then the organization naturally aligns around those experts as problems arise.

Not matter what stage you are in, if you think you need FP&A in your organization or just want to talk about it, this is where I can help.

#financialplanningandanalysis #fpa #finance #companystages #budeting #planning #strategy #process #systems #leadership #management #annualplanning #financialconsulting #executive

Contact Me, Strategic Planning

LESSONS FROM A UKRAINIAN NON-PROFIT #6

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

WE ARE ALL MORE THAN OUR RESUMES

Along the way I have learned a great deal. Today’s post is the sixth of a multi-part series of posts in which I will share the key lessons I have learned, the mistakes I made and where my financial planning and analysis skillset served me in responding to russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. In the spirit of “making my mess my message” I hope these you find these insights useful.

LESSON 6: CRISIS LEADS TO GROWTH

Generally speaking, leaders know that crisis leads to growth. However, in this context the growth I am talking about is an explosion of Ukrainian non-profit organizations. Once the war broke out there was an explosion in the number of Ukrainian non-profit organizations. Each organization specialized in something such as medical supplies, war front connections, advocacy, political engagement, or logistics and shipments of desperately needed aid. Ukrainians like to say “like mushrooms after the rain” Ukraine focused non-profits sprung up all across the world and especially in the United States. As an economist, organizer and financial efficiency expert, this made me a little frustrated.

What I learned was not to fight the tide on this megatrend but to expand with it. In an effort to start to create economies of scale in terms of expertise and manpower, I founded a new organization called the American Coalition of Ukrainian Organizations. Under that umbrella I brought together now more than 30 Ukrainian non-profits to bridge, connect and unite with one another to help each other help Ukraine. It is an informal and open forum organization where we meet to discuss each organizations’ expertise and progress. We literally end every call in the same way – “who needs help and how can this team help you”.

The effort to unit Ukrainian organizations is similar to the partnership that FP&A teams need to build in order to effectively serve an organization. Strong FP&A teams partner across all elements of an organization to build out strategic plans and budgets. It is in the strength of those partnerships that FP&A is able to deliver:

Important considerations for company leaders in an uncertain election year and global crisis
Organizational alignment and buy-in regarding the company’s key initiatives
Willingness across the company to be held accountable against key objectives
Creative thinking as high levels of communication that go wide and deep into the company structure
Operational execution while results are constantly measured against objectives allowing a company to either to continue forward in a certain direction or adjust
A deep understanding of key trigger points for executive decision making to drive growth as the environment becomes more and more uncertain in these times

As budgeting season approaches for those operating on a calendar year the role of FP&A in driving company growth cannot be understated. This is where I can help.

#financialplanningandanalysis #communication #leadership #FPAExpertise

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LESSONS FROM A UKRAINIAN NON-PROFIT #4

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

WE ARE ALL MORE THAN OUR RESUMES

Along the way I have learned a great deal. Today’s post is the fourth of a multi-part series of posts in which I will share the key lessons I have learned, the mistakes I made and where my financial planning and analysis skillset served me in responding to russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. In the spirit of “making my mess my message” I hope these you find these insights useful.

LESSON 4: GATEKEEPERS AND EXPERTS ARE EVERYTHING

In order to fully take advantage of Lesson 3, ”Never Say No to Anyone (Almost)”, I found that having solid gatekeepers and experts has been indispensable.

One of the key features of a crisis is the volume of issues presented to you. The volume is not just characterized by quantity but also by variety. Fielding the volume of issues coming at you is one thing but when the issues span a broad spectrum you quickly find yourself treading water in areas where you may not personally have experience. Here is a sample list of the range of issues that came before us:

Official meeting requests from political representatives both local, national and international
Speaking engagement requests from various organizations
Interview requests from television, print and radio media outlets
Emergency projects for the build out of medical kits
Management of a mass influx of donations
Operational needs in terms of international shipping and chartering of airplanes
Requests for assistance joining Ukraine’s foreign legion
Offers of significant donations for support of the war
Requests for refugee assistance and offers of significant funds for refugee housing
Information requests and needs for policy expertise around new government programs assisting Ukrainian refugees
Needs for purchasing expertise – drones, generators, medical supplies such as tourniquets
Border and front line expertise for deliveries in Ukraine
Legal expertise in terms of the limitations of what a 501c3/4 can do
Changes to how security is handled at the Ukrainian Culture Center

As executives we are taught early about the importance of teamwork and the humility needed to surround yourself with people who know more than you, are better than you in certain areas and who can guide you much more successfully than you can yourself. For profit organizational leaders have the luxury of selecting experts. When you have an organization that is staffed entirely with volunteers, the situation is a little bit different.

At the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles we turned out to be very lucky. The talent of our board spanned the majority of the issues listed above. One of the greatest gifts I was given to navigate the role at UCCLA after the invasion was a set of individuals who each brought a certain expertise to the table. From legal counsel to financial expertise to media talent to operational execution, I had in the team my own army for surviving this crisis. In particular, they excelled at the blocking and tackling that I needed in order to stay focused on the top priorities. What these individuals also had was an amazing Ukrainian network. The ability to leverage that network all around the world created opportunities for us to execute on projects that may not have been as successful otherwise. One example of that was the ability to fund and locate much needed 4WD trucks for the defense of Bakhmut. Through our board members and the associated local and international Ukrainian network, we were able to efficiently handle such a delivery.

Successful for-profit leadership teams who have a high level of trust in one another are truly unstoppable. To experience this in a non-profit setting was especially gratifying. The trust itself becomes a self-motivating factor in propelling everyone forward. Most people talk about executive staff needing to row in the same direction but what is not discussed as often is how the machine becomes self-rowing when every colleague believes in and trusts the other while simultaneously being aligned with the mission.

In Financial Planning and Analysis, this is the type of trust that is built with the executive team and its business leaders/general managers. Building effective partnerships for developing your strategy and managing your financial models is where I can help. Please feel free to contact me.

Contact Me, General, Process

Lessons from a Ukrainian Non-Profit #3

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise1 Comment

WE ARE ALL MORE THAN OUR RESUMES

Along the way I have learned a great deal. Today’s post is the third of a multi-part series of posts in which I will share the key lessons I have learned, the mistakes I made and where my financial planning and analysis skillset served me in responding to russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. In the spirit of “making my mess my message” I hope these you find these insights useful.

LESSON 3: NEVER SAY NO TO ANYONE (ALMOST)

While leveraging Lesson 2, Listening for Intent, I tried to answer every call, answer every email and take every meeting. In the first weeks after the outbreak there were more phone calls than our volunteer team could handle. When you add to that the volume of messages coming in over email and our social media accounts, the situation quickly became overwhelming.

The solution of course was to design a process for handling all of the messaging. The process required soliciting more volunteers and breaking down each phone call, email or social media message into categories. Some sample categories included:

Requests for assistance filling out paperwork to volunteer for the foreign legion
Requests for refugee assistance
Offers to make financial contributions to the center
Offers of medical supplies, medications and military equipment such as drones
Interview requests from print, radio and television

Once categorized, we were able to rack and stack who to respond to and in what order. Every response had to be curated in such a way that we could understand what additional work we would be taking on once the connection was made. Carefully understanding what we could and more importantly what we could not do, saved a lot of disappointment on both sides of the opportunity. To be sure, we had to walk away from certain things. Ultimately, we pushed all items through a single lens – how does responding to this opportunity align with helping Ukraine win the war?

Unfortunately, anything that did not pass through that filter had to be left behind. This led to some very difficult conversations especially when it came to refugee assistance. The mission of the Ukrainian Culture Center had never been about war and we knew were not a relief agency. As such, we thought we could pivot to a war footing but we knew we were not able to focus on refugees. Moreover, we had to take the perspective that people that made it here were safe. Certainly, they were not in an ideal situation, but forced to choose between our new mission and helping refugees in need, we chose the former. But there was ultimately a silver lining….

In the spirit of not saying no to anyone (almost), I accepted an invitation to give a speech about the invasion by the mayor of a small town. I did not really see the point given the small size of the audience and its likely limited reach. As a result of that speech, I met a Congressman who was in attendance. The speech was also televised and seen by some wealthy individuals in southern California who wanted to help. The Congressman called me and introduced me to individuals who wanted to assist refugees specifically and had significant financial backing. So, in a sense, by focusing on our new mission, I was able to solve for other problems that we thought we had to walk away from. Had I not gone and given that speech, I would have not only lost the opportunity to share information outside the Ukrainian community about the russian invasion but I would have also lost the chance to help some families get settled.

Opportunities can come from just about anywhere. Almost never saying no while staying aligned with our mission to help Ukraine win the war was a philosophy that served me well time and time again and continues to open doors to this day.

When it comes to FP&A, being attuned to a company’s mission and aligning financial strategies to achieve corporate objectives is the bread and butter of financial planning and analysis. I have seen this put into practice with positive results in multiple organizations be they large or small, public or private. If the implementation of this type of alignment is what you need That’s where I can help.

#fpaexpertise #financialplanningandanalysis #process #opportunties #mission #financialoutcomes

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Lessons From A Ukrainian Non-Profit

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

WE ARE ALL MORE THAN OUR RESUMES

Along the way I have learned a great deal. Today’s post is the first of a multi-part series of posts in which I will share the key lessons I have learned, the mistakes I made and where my financial planning and analysis skillset served me in responding to russia’s invasion of a sovereign country. In the spirit of “making my mess my message” I hope these you find these insights useful.

LESSON 1: SCENARIO ANALYSIS WITH TRIGGER POINTS MATTERS.

For three weeks I watched the russian army build up its forces and drive toward the Ukrainian border. It was all over the news. The Sunday morning journalists talked about it in depth. The Ukrainian diaspora was also talking about it – amongst ourselves and with family and friends in Ukraine. The prevailing thought was “Putin wouldn’t dare”. Well, he did and I lost an opportunity to prepare for it.

For UCCLA, there should have been multiple scenarios run including but not limited to:

How will the role of UCCLA change in the event of a full scale invasion?

How will the role of UCCLA change in the event of a partial invasion?

How will the role of UCCLA change in the event of a persistent border threat from russia?

And even now, how will the role of UCCLA change in the event of a stalemate?

In each scenario, there are a several of items to consider:

1. Does the scenario in any way imply a fundamental shift in core values or mission?

2. What skillsets will we need to adapt?

3. How will the needs of our customer base change?

4. What new stakeholders will be created as a result of the scenario? Which ones will fall away?

5. How does the financial structure change in each situation? Has each scenario been modeled across your financial statements?

The trigger points were there – one only need reference the invasion of 2014, President Zelenskyy’s election, putin’s failure to contain Ukrainian democracy, tanks rolling up to the border, etc. Any of these should have led to analysis across the scenarios listed above.

As we look out into the near future there are a number of macro trigger points that will likely impact your business. Among them are the continued evolution of the use of AI, macroeconomic conditions such as interest rates, the growth of foreign conflict and the upcoming Presidential election.

Not going through scenario analysis for your organization results in a significant loss of opportunity to be prepared. That’s where I can help.

#fp&a #financialplanningandanalysis #scenarioanalysis #fp&aexpertise #ukraine #russianinvasion #financialmodeling

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“I need an FP&A Person!”

June 5, 2018February 18, 2021by Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

On more than one occasion I have heard leaders express in an exasperated tone the fact that they suddenly (as opposed to strategically) in need of an FP&A person (which then evolves into a team and then systems, etc. see blog post on systems here).

The timing of this typically happens at the following business junctures: the business is still figuring out how to close the books, the business knows how to close the books and is ready to mature into formal process, you are getting the numbers but still cannot tell how you are doing or the business takes a dive. In all cases, having FP&A as a function in your organization is crucial for effective decision making but it does not necessarily mean you need a whole department and the inevitable systems.

Most often the assessment of whether you need FP&A is a function of multiple things:

your growth strategy
your exit strategy
your existing talent
your existing processes

Notice that systems are not on the list. Given that most FP&A worth its salt lives in Excel, a systems evaluation and investment would be last on the list. If you have strong people and process, you can make do without systems (for a while anyway).

Often, it is worthwhile to look at those elements first before proclaiming that you need an FP&A person/team. Sometimes, it is worth the money to have an initial assessment completed first and then based on those findings proceed forward.

For small to medium sized businesses such an assessment can take from a few weeks to a quarter. For large, highly complex organizations, it is likely a much longer research project.

Nevertheless, it is something to consider. If you are interested in exploring this type of assessment I can be reached via my blog contact information.