• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Revelwood Logo

Revelwood

Your SUPER-powered WP Engine Site

  • Who We Are
    • About Us
      • Our Company
      • Our Team
      • Partners
    • Careers
      • Join Our Team
  • What We Do
    • Solutions
      • Workday Adaptive Planning
      • IBM Planning Analytics
      • BlackLine
    • Services
      • Implementation Services
      • Customer Care
        • Help Desk
        • System Administration as a Service
      • Training
        • Adaptive Planning Training
        • IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 Training
    • Products
      • DataMaestro
      • LightSpeed
      • IBM Planning Analytics Utilities
  • How We Help
    • Workday Adaptive Planning Use Cases
    • IBM Planning Analytics Use Cases
    • BlackLine Use Cases
    • Client Success Stories
  • How We Think
    • Knowledge Center
    • Events
    • News
  • Contact Us

FP&A Done Right

FP&A Done Right: “That’s the Way We’ve Always Done It!” – Challenge the Status Quo

 

FP&A Done Right

April 5, 2019

By Brian Combs

“That’s the way we’ve always done it.” “I don’t know, we just send it to them every month.” AHHHHHH! Stop it! When I get that response; it is like fingernails on a chalk board to me. It sends shivers up and down my spine. FP&A needs to add value at every step of the process. Focus on the up- and down-stream impacts of everything you do and make sure you understand the intent behind what you are doing. Without that knowledge, you blindly repeat tasks month to month. Don’t simply be a “doer.” Doers are easily replaced. Make your voice known and focus on those tasks which connect data to strategy and action.

Challenge the status quo. At a minimum, question it. Take the initiative to speak with your CFO or manager about something that doesn’t make sense to you. Ask them how they use the data you provide to drive the company. Worst case? They blow you off, but now they know you are interested in learning more to try and help them. Best case? You get an advocate who can help you drive change. Give it shot. Don’t just do. Think and understand.

FP&A Done Right: Challenge the Status Quo

One day, I was at my wits’ end. It was going to be yet another long night pulling data together and validating/manipulating numbers to create reports. Out of desperation, I went up to the C suite and asked if the CFO was available. I told her that the team worked late (again) and we had not yet created this one particular report that we provided her monthly. “Would it be ok if we didn’t send this until tomorrow?” I asked. This was one of those reports that was a bear. It took a couple of us many hours to pull together data from several other reports (some of which had not yet been created), massage and tweak it, add commentary and validate. Her matter of fact response, “I don’t even open that report any more.” Then she walked in to the conference room and left me there standing in the hallway wondering what to do with all these newfound hours in my week! I actually started to laugh right there in the hallway.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. Ask questions. Challenge the status quo.

Read more blog posts in our FP&A Done Right series:

FP&A Done Right: Even Google Maps Requires a Starting Point

FP&A Done Right: The Importance of Naming Conventions – Names Really Can Hurt

FP&A Done Right: The Flexibility of Today’s FP&A Systems is Both a Blessing and a Curse

Author

  • Brian Combs
    Brian Combs

    View all posts

    • Categories

      • Awards & Recognition
      • Financial Close & Consolidation
      • FP&A Done Right
      • IBM Planning Analytics Tips & Tricks
      • News & Events
      • Success Stories
      • Tech Bulletins
      • Workday Adaptive Planning Insights
      • Workday Adaptive Planning Tips & Tricks

    Popular Posts

    Authors

    Adam Riskin
    Adam Riskin
    Ailenette Cruz
    Ailenette Cruz
    Alex Goldman
    Alex Goldman
    Ben Alcock
    Ben Alcock
    Brian Combs
    Brian Combs
    Dave Miersch
    Dave Miersch
    Dillon Rossman
    Dillon Rossman
    Gary Leiffer
    Gary Leiffer
    John Pra Sisto
    John Pra Sisto
    Ken Wolf
    Ken Wolf
    Koury Reid
    Koury Reid
    Lee Lazarow
    Lee Lazarow
    Lisa Minneci
    Lisa Minneci
    Marc Assenza
    Marc Assenza
    Mary Luchs
    Mary Luchs
    Michelle Song
    Michelle Song
    Nina Inverso
    Nina Inverso
    Revelwood
    Revelwood
    Robert Nordhagen
    Robert Nordhagen
    Tara Byrnes
    Tara Byrnes
    Wesley DeMarco
    Wesley DeMarco

    Sign up for our newsletter

    Connect

Footer

Revelwood Overview

Revelwood helps finance organizations close, consolidate, plan, monitor and analyze business performance. As experts in solutions for the Office of Finance, we partner with best-in-breed software companies by applying best practices guidance and our pre-configured applications to help businesses achieve their full potential.

EXPERTISE

  • Workday Adaptive Planning
  • IBM Planning Analytics
  • BlackLine

ABOUT

  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • How We Help
  • How We Think
  • Privacy

CONNECT

Contact:

25B Vreeland Road, Suite 111 Florham Park, NJ 07932
201.984.3030
info@revelwood.com

Copyright © 2023 · Revelwood Inc. All rights reserved. Revelwood® and the Revelwood logo are registered marks of Revelwood Inc.