budgeting – FP&A Expertise

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Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

Mid-Year Planning and Other Forecasts

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.

Process

Weekly Cash Forecasting versus Cash Flow Modeling: What’s the Difference

Featuredby Laryssa Reifel: FP&A Expertise

I have had a number of clients request cash flow forecasting models. This invariably leads to a deeper conversation around what is truly needed to manage the business. Here are FIVE key questions I typically ask and client coming to me for cash forecasting needs:

Do you have an effective, repeatable and tightly controlled close process? This question may seem obvious but no forecast can be done for a three statement model without a solid understanding of historical actuals. Similarly, a weekly cash outlook without an understanding of historic inflows and outflows makes the projection on cash position difficult to nail down.
Why is the cash forecasting needed? It can be the case that cash is tight and has to be closely controlled as on a weekly basis. Or, the answer might be that management wants a high-level understanding of the company’s expected cash position on a quarter by quarter basis. Is the information needed for day to day operational decision making or is it for a longer term outlook reflecting the health of the balance sheet?
Who is the target audience? Is the target customer for this information the C-Suite (CFO’s office in particular) or is the data being developed as a part of formal three statement modeling for investor or board of director consideration?
What Stage is your company in? One of the dependencies of three statement modeling is having a business that has enough maturity to have predictability in accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and accounts payable. To have that you need an accounting organization that closes the books regularly and has consistency of process in booking entries. Said differently, if your top line has no predictability and your expenses are erratic, it is pretty hard to build three statement models with a cash flow output that is accurate. Early-stage companies struggle in this area because of a lack of understanding in key cash flow model assumptions such as DSO and DPO. Such organizations are likely better off with a more simplistic weekly cash flow modeling comprised of projected invoicing, estimated collections and expenses.
How is your company capitalized? If your organization is capitalized by a very large parent company at an advanced stage, it is likely that you need to have three statement model that is updated on a rolling forecast basis. More formally, if you are publicly traded then it is expected by shareholders and investors that you have a good handle on all three financial statements. If you are small and newly growing however, weekly cash forecasting may be more appropriate for your needs until you have some stability in A/R and A/P (the primary drivers for your understanding of working capital and cash flow from operations).

Using the questions above as a filter allows me to judge what the true needs of the business may be. In the end, some CFOs (if they have the requisite resources) might want both a weekly cash forecast model and more formal three statement modeling. Even if the company is early stage, more formal cash flow modeling is achievable with a list of key assumptions, but the results in terms of accuracy can be limited.

If your business is in need of a review of your cash forecast that’s where FP&A Expertise can assist.

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

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LESSONS FROM A UKRAINIAN NON-PROFIT #6

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 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