A day in the life of a FP&A manager

The role of an FP&A manager

The FP&A manager, also known as the financial planning & analysis manager, plays a crucial role in business forecasting. They scrutinize the company’s finances with a critical eye, spotting data anomalies, trends, or deviations, and then introduce strategies for improvement. This is a key part of the FP&A role and is central to the FP&A manager job description.

In a small company, the FP&A responsibilities are often handled by the business owner. However, as a company grows, investing in a full-time FP&A manager or FP&A director can be a valuable decision. This is particularly true if this person is also tasked with annual budgeting, although the controller sometimes owns this domain.

When comparing FP&A vs controller, if a company has both an FP&A person and a controller, the former typically handles management accounting, while the latter oversees financial accounting. This division of labor is a common feature in the manager FP&A job description.

The FP&A manager’s responsibilities generally include:

• Creating systems and processes
• Short-term cash flow analysis and forecasting
• Analysis of internal controls
• Anticipating questions about the company’s cash flow and financial projections, and providing pre-emptive answers to company higher-ups

So, what does the FP&A career look like on any given day?

The FP&A manager, like any manager, spends a lot of time answering emails, attending phone calls, and participating in team meetings. Days can be long and varied, and 60-hour weeks are not uncommon in the FP&A career path.

For successful directors of financial planning and analysis, the future can be very bright. Typically, the most successful individuals spend three to four years in the role before progressing.

“The natural career path for a director of FP&A would be to manage a larger P&L or become a finance director or commercial finance director before ultimately becoming a COO,” says Chris Stringer, manager of the banking & FS division at Robert Walters New York.

FP&A control managers are in charge of the profit & loss statement (the P&L) and they are also responsible for forecasting net income - the company’s bottom line. They are usually financial analysts who are adept at programs like Excel, Cognos, Hyperion, and SAP. They are technically skilled and mathematically inclined, which is a key part of the FP&A role.

But make no mistake: while it’s a numbers-oriented job, FP&A requires a surprising amount of communication skills. The FP&A manager must be able to clearly explain financial details and concepts in lay terms to busy executives. They must be able to supply every operational department with revenue and expense targets and inspire them to stay on task. And he or she must be able to supply the CFO with a clear projection of what is going to happen, financially, in the next quarter, year, and five years - accounting for things like one-time expenses and possible fluctuations in net sales.

FP&A requires a lot of data consolidation and variance analysis - the ability to think into the future and weigh the various possible scenarios, then bring all that theoretical information down to earth with tangible reports on key metrics. The ability to simplify esoteric financial information to benefit the company leadership and decision-making is the daily domain of the FP&A manager.

In conclusion, the FP&A career is a rewarding and challenging path. With a mix of technical skills and communication abilities, the FP&A manager plays a vital role in steering the financial future of a company.

So, is FP&A a good career? For those with a passion for finance and a desire to influence business strategy, the answer is a resounding yes. Take a look at our latest finance roles here.