FP&A 505 · LIVE PROJECT

How does an FP&A implementation unfold?

A successful FP&A project does not end with a planning model or dashboard. It produces a repeatable operating rhythm in which governed evidence, accountable assumptions, controlled versions, management challenge, and actions work together.

1. 01

   Discover decisions and pain

   Interview executives, FP&A, Accounting, Controlling, Treasury, Tax, Commercial, Operations, HR, project owners, IT, and data stewards. Observe actual planning and review cycles, not only stated requirements.

   Exit evidence: Decision catalogue, process baseline, stakeholder map, data landscape, pain evidence, success measures, and explicit scope.

2. 02

   Define the operating model

   Agree central versus local responsibilities, calendar, versions, KPI ownership, assumption ownership, challenge rights, approvals, materiality, action tracking, and escalation.

   Exit evidence: Approved RACI, calendar, KPI dictionary, version policy, governance rules, and decision forums.

3. 03

   Design data and integration

   Map actuals, master data, drivers, hierarchies, currencies, operational plans, write-back requirements, refreshes, errors, reconciliations, and security boundaries.

   Exit evidence: Source-to-target design, grain and mapping rules, interface controls, access model, and reconciled prototype data.

4. 04

   Build a thin vertical slice

   Implement one decision flow from actual load through driver input, forecast calculation, scenario, approval, management story, and action record.

   Exit evidence: Working slice, calculation catalogue, model documentation, test evidence, reconciled outputs, and accepted user experience.

5. 05

   Extend and integrate

   Add only the approved entities, accounts, products, customers, workforce, projects, capital, cash, scenarios, and automation supported by demonstrated decisions.

   Exit evidence: Prioritized releases, integrated models, performance evidence, security tests, monitored interfaces, and controlled deployment.

6. 06

   Rehearse the real cycle

   Run realistic planning, forecast, and management-review rehearsals with late submissions, source corrections, locked data, rejected assumptions, reruns, and role substitutions.

   Exit evidence: Completed rehearsal, issue log, timings, reconciliations, recovery evidence, trained users, and go-live decision.

7. 07

   Cut over and run first cycle

   Load approved opening versions, freeze legacy inputs, activate jobs and access, support submissions and reviews, reconcile publication, and retain decision evidence.

   Exit evidence: Cutover sign-off, first published forecast or plan, reconciled reports, resolved priority issues, and operating ownership.

8. 08

   Stabilize and improve

   Measure cycle time, data failures, forecast accuracy and bias, manual adjustments, adoption, action closure, decision usefulness, and model maintenance.

   Exit evidence: Service measures, improvement backlog, retired workarounds, support handover, model-owner cadence, and benefits review.