Rise Above The Numbers – Details, episodes & analysis

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Who here likes to fail?

No, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke.

Failing leads to serious learning.

It can also lead to serious reputation hits.

And not just for you, but your team too.

Fail responsibly, by failing small and setting you and your team up for controlled failure.

Show Notes

* 00:26 – doing bicep curls while recording a podcast is one way to stay in shape

* 01:01 – controlled failure = allowing your team to take risks and fail while minimizing the consequences

* 02:20 – new hires will fail a lot—help them do that while helping them grow a positive reputation

* 03:45 – create a space that feels like the big game—there’s no experience like game day experience

* 04:50 – don’t expect people to hit the ground running—make it your mission to improve their chances of success

* 05:45 – bridge new analysis with old analysis to help you and your boss understand what changed and why it changed to get buy-in

* 07:50 – confidence compounds over time—make it your mission to instill confidence in your team early and often

* 09:15 – great football players (even Tom Brady) need teams to succeed—you as an FP&A leader are no different

* 09:55 – invest in leveling up your team and retaining top talent

* 10:30 – great ideas are out there to do things better—pay attention and ferociously learn about them

* 11:15 – challenge yourself to learn one new thing each day—that learning will compound over time

* 11:55 – wrapping things up—practice controlled failure to build skills, build confidence, build high-performing teams that consistently improve

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

Disclaimer: This content is not investment advice or financial advice. The views expressed and stories told are our own. We may be investors in the companies discussed. Do your due diligence when considering applying what you learn.

👋Hey there,

Thousands of people read this newsletter and listen to this podcast.

Some work in FP&A for the biggest companies in the world.

And some are the only Finance, Accounting, HR, and Legal person at their small company (so many hats to wear) 🎩

So what’s better, working for big or small companies?

Our insanely vague answer is…it depends.

Each job presents unique learning and networking opportunities.

And the order in which you take them in your career doesn’t matter either.

This episode is about our experience working at the biggest companies in the world.

AND some of the smallest companies in the world.

Listen on

* Apple

* Spotify

* Substack

Experience Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

Big, small, public, private, well-known, and completely under the radar.

These words best describe all the companies we’ve worked for and with.

There was no perfect size or type of experience.

Each company offered unique learnings that set us up for the next thing.

Here’s the order we went in and what we learned along the way.

Show Notes

* 00:30 – all it takes is a blow-up swimming pool to make kids (and adults) happy

* 00:55 – FP&A can be a very different animal in large vs small companies

* 02:00 – starting at large companies, like GE or P&G, gives you role rotation options

🔥TIP: read this to learn why role rotation can be a career accelerator

* 02:40 – journal entries help you understand business drivers, which help you drive results

* 04:15 – large and mid-size companies offer business partner roles (think Sales, Marketing, R&D, Operations)

* 04:55 – FP&A is planning for the future while understanding today and using the past as a history lesson

* 05:50 – the smaller the company, the bigger the scope of work

* 07:01 – small company CFOs have to make decisions that can make or break their company every day

* 09:30 – small businesses require focus – and cash is most important because it pays the bills

* 09:55 – doing an IPO and working in larger companies can grow your network exponentially

* 10:55 – like we always say, jump on sales calls to learn about your business

* 12:20 – advice we received early in our career—walk the production floor

* 13:20 – the big finish—no one career path is the same, so keep learning and do what fits your life situation

We Started at Very Big Companies

GE (General Electric) and P&G (Procter and Gamble) are giant companies.

The odds are that you use many of their products daily.

Big companies did something for both of us early in our careers that accelerated our learning and promotional track.

Role rotation.

Role rotation required us to take a job for a year and then take a different job the next.

Each job had a very specific scope.

For example:

* Start as a Plant Accounting Co-op/Intern

* Transition to systems implementation project team

* Then become the Regional Profit Forecaster of a brand

* And finally, become a Global Profit Forecaster, forecasting a collection of brands

All of the above in 6 years.

We’re exhausted just thinking back to those years.

We worked long hours and connected with a lot of people.

Which eventually helped us leave our big company jobs and test out the mid-size company waters.

Then Dove into Mid-Size Companies

Mid-size companies offer a bit more variety when it comes to scope.

Our experience was with fast-growing companies that were hiring rapidly.

What’s the most important thing we offered when we splashed down at our cube for the first time?

Connecting financial results to everyday business activities.

Without that connection, financial performance becomes disconnected from the goals of the company.

And all that hiring and spending can start to drift away from achieving the actual goals of the company.

This is where business partnering roles come into play.

Consider them mini-CFOs who own:

* Collecting info

* Understanding what it means

* And providing recommendations

All to ensure the goals of the company are achieved.

The skill set to be a business partner is clear communication with the ability to get relevant information very quickly.

This skill set served us well when transitioning to the next jobs we took on, which would be considered small companies.

Small Companies Are a Humbling Experience

The scope of roles in small companies is humungous.

Which can make it hard to describe what you’re actually doing on a daily basis in one sentence.

Preparing for an IPO is a good example.

* You need to tell the performance story

* You need to understand how that performance was achieved

* You need to be part of the goal setting

* You need to communicate those goals clearly to everyone in the company

Don’t understand how your business works or how your coworkers tick?

Your chance of success (aka business performance meets or exceeds expectations) will be low.

And because you are likely one of a few (if not the only) FP&A team members, all of this responsibility can fall on you.

The same goes for being CFO of a small privately held company.

Cash flow, customer orders, inventory levels…you must have a handle on all these metrics every week to ensure the business can keep operating.

Conclusion: What We Learned by Going from Big to Mid to Small

At every company size, you will learn as much as you are motivated to.

Go into each opportunity like a sponge.

You’ll meet some amazing people.

Help them do their jobs.

And they will help you.

That network of people may lead to your next job opportunity (it did for us countless times).

And above all else, make sure you enjoy what you do.

Being interested in what you're doing, who you work for, and what customers you serve matters most 👊

What size company do you work for today? And how has your experience been like?

Share your experiences with us by replying to this. We read and reply to every email.

Now go have fun making an impact on your business and your career!

See you next time 👊

Cheers,Drew & Yarty👉Follow us on LinkedIn

Level up your FP&A game today 👊

Disclaimer: This content is not investment advice or financial advice. The views expressed and stories told are our own. We may be investors in the companies discussed. Do your due diligence when considering applying what you learn.

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Do you dread forecasting because you’re never 100% right?

We’ve done hundreds of revenue and profit forecasts.

And guess what?

Every single one of them was wrong—and that’s ok when handled properly.

Although it is a huge mental hurdle to get over.

We’ll talk about one of our biggest forecasting fails.

Double-counting a revenue figure in a public company’s internal profit forecast.

Tune in to find out how we made the mistake, how we communicated the mistake to leadership, and how we handled it which drove revenue results higher (seriously).

Show Notes

* 00:18 - We aint perfect in FP&A—let’s talk about epic forecast fails

* 00:42 - Forecasting fails are a right of passage in FP&A

* 01:28 - Holy smokes, Drew messed up a public company’s forecast 🙈

* 02:59 - Great monthly forecasting processes help catch and mitigate mistakes

* 03:45 - Making mistakes is stressful—respond by taking action

* 04:50 - You learn who people are when their backs are against the wall

* 06:30 - The reality is, numbers will be a measure of your FP&A job success

* 07:53 - Forecasting is about the realm of possibility—not perfection

* 08:44 - Drive operational finance—help your business partners make decisions

* 10:15 - FP&A is about driving decisions to help your company achieve its goals

Know Why the Mistake Happened

Making mistakes is ok.

Try not to make the same mistake twice.

Our revenue forecast mistake happened because two people counted the same product in their own stand-alone forecast.

The fix?

Each month audit what products each forecaster owns, ensure ZERO double counts.

🔥TIP: Speaking of products, use that product data to do whitespace analysis.

Hustle to Communicate and Create a Plan

Knowing why a mistake happened and ensuring it doesn’t happen again is a good start.

But what can you do about it now to help the company still achieve its goals?

Go on defense by managing expenses to help profit and cash flow hit desired levels.

Or go on offense and see what untapped revenue opportunities exist (like we did).

Either way, try to have a contingency plan in place when you communicate your forecast mistake.

Manage Future Mistakes the Same Way

We aren’t perfect.

Things you can’t predict will come up.

And mistakes will inevitably be made.

Focus on having a:

✔️ Framework

✔️ Team

✔️ Process

To help keep financial and nonfinancial KPIs (and metrics) organized throughout your forecasting journey.

That will help you maintain focus not on accuracy, but the realm of what’s possible.

And give your leadership and key stakeholders confidence that you will help them navigate their financial performance with financial rigor in place.

Conclusion: Keep Learning

You will grow from your successes and failures.

The trick is to keep learning—every day.

Knowledge is power.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want to help your company move the financial performance needle?

Kick off a finance for non-finance education program.

It helped our business partners connect everyday activities to the financial scoreboard.

Helping us improve company performance using operational finance.

And grow our FP&A reputations. 👊

Tune in to learn how we did it.

Listen on

* Apple

* Spotify

* Substack

Show Notes

* 00:20 - Educate your ENTIRE company in the language of finance

* 01:19 - Help your company make more money = promotion opportunities 🫵

* 02:59 - Help everyone understand the financial scoreboard

* 05:05 - Use SMART goals to connect activities to financial metrics

* 06:01 - Educating the masses will boost your FP&A reputation 💹

* 06:27 - Help your leadership understand the value of finance

* 07:06 - Know your company goals—gives people autonomy

* 08:42 - Whitespace analysis is a great example of operational finance

* 09:45 - Educating your company drives a ton of learning opportunities

* 10:05 - In FP&A, it’s on you to educate the masses in operational finance

Present Financial Info with Confidence

Numbers aren’t that complicated.

So keep it simple.

Start with a high-level metric like revenue:

* Define it

* Tell them why it’s important

* Explain what drives it up and down

From there you connect department activities to the underlying drivers of the metric.

🔥TIP: Here’s more info on how to present financial info.

Whitespace is an Example of Operational Finance

How can you influence financial results in your FP&A job?

Ditch the slides and spreadsheets.

Operational finance is where you take the time to learn your business.

And THEN dive back into Excel to do actionable analysis.

Like white space, which helps your Sales Team drive higher revenue.

🔥TIP: Learn more about whitespace with this case study.

KPIs (and Metrics) Help People Drive Results

What do you do after you create a kick a$$ analysis that drives certain behaviors?

You measure results and report back what you find.

Determine what results matter most by labeling them as a KPI (key performance indicator) or metric.

🔥TIP: Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting KPIs (and metrics).

Conclusion: Build Your FP&A Reputation

Educate your business partners.

Help them drive results.

And measure performance along the way.

You’ll meet a lot of people (which grows your network).

And help your company drive financial performance (which grows your reputation within your company).

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

The feelings you have in your FP&A career are shared by many.

How do we know?

We found +25k FP&A professionals asking and answering questions on the FPandA subreddit.

And today we answered 3 questions from this group.

An FP&A Career is a Long, Winding Road

There is no set path to go from ZERO to FP&A hero.

It requires:

* Being humble

* Constantly learning

* Understanding what you want

And knowing a little accounting and Excel doesn’t hurt either 😉

But when all is said and done.

You can do some interesting things in an FP&A career.

🔥TIP: Here’s why FP&A careers are worth a look.

Show Notes

* 00:21 - This is a mailbag episode w/ questions from the FPandA subreddit

* 01:19 - Why aren’t other departments amazing like FP&A❓

* 02:15 - Numbers don’t sell, market, or make products—they support the biz

* 03:10 - EVERYONE relies on FP&A—so help them, that will make you great

* 04:29 - You know you’re good in FP&A when others can speak to numbers

* 06:29 - How in the world do you get from FP&A Manager to Director❓

* 07:11 - Thinking separates Directors from Managers—help w/ strategy

* 09:21 - Managers manage teams, Directors manage multiple teams

* 10:40 - Hire good people and ensure they’re working towards common goals

* 12:54 - Have high agency—take control of your career

* 13:38 - Should you go back to a company you left for more money❓

* 14:13 - Write down why you leave jobs—reference those notes in the future

* 15:34 - Know why you left a job in the first place—did that change?

* 18:00 - Big finish—keep asking questions, people are willing to help

Why is FP&A Better Than Everyone?

It’s true, FP&A runs circles around people when it comes to numbers.

But guess who runs circles around FP&A in everything else?

EVERYONE.

FP&A people are notoriously bad at:

❌ Marketing

❌ Sales

❌ Product

❌ Operations

It doesn’t mean you can’t learn those functions in your FP&A job.

Challenge yourself to help those other functions speak your language.

Help them translate their daily activities into numbers (aka KPIs and metrics).

Which helps them support your company’s goals and ultimate success.

🔥TIP: Here’s how to help your team set KPIs (and metrics).

How to go from FP&A Manager to Director

Full disclaimer: FP&A job titles are VERY confusing.

We’ve seen CFOs operate like analysts.

And Analysts run places like CFOs.

In general, here’s what Directors do that Managers don’t:

✔️ Support strategy

✔️ Lead multiple teams

✔️ Set KPIs and the surrounding metrics to support them

Think LESS doing stuff in spreadsheets.

And MORE directing people to swim in the same direction.

🔥TIP: Here are all the FP&A job levels and how you can reach them.

Your Old Place Wants You Back

You knew your old place couldn’t live without you.

Let’s face it, having your old company asking (ok sometimes begging) you to come back makes you feel good.

But will returning to that job, even if it means more money, make you feel good for a long time?

Depends.

Know a way to help you make this decision?

Write down why you left the job when you left it.

Reference those notes when they come calling for you again.

How did the situation change?

Only you can decide 🫵

But knowledge is power, and writing stuff down helps memorialize worthwhile knowledge.

Conclusion: Others Have Been There

Ask questions to those that have more experience than you.

They’ve likely walked in your footsteps before.

You don’t need to copy what they did.

Just listen, learn what worked (and didn’t) for them, then decide for yourself.

One thing we do know for certain.

People with the knowledge to share usually like sharing it.

So don’t be afraid to ask 👊

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

This episode features Annette DeYoung.

She aspired to be a teacher, fell in love with math, and took on a career in Accounting, Finance, FP&A—and eventually Sales? 🤔

She’s been a Cost Accountant, Controller, and Director of Financial Planning, and is currently a Senior Solutions Architect at Datarails.

On top of that, she’s involved in theatre, runs a non-profit called Children’s Theatre Project Youth Theatre Project, plays a bunch of instruments, and has 5 kids.

Want to get something done? Talk to Annette.

🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to all FP&A job levels from Analyst to CFO.

Takeaways from Annette’s Interview

* Seek to work for great leaders, figure out who those great leaders are by asking a bunch of questions when interviewing.

🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to crushing your next FP&A interview.

* Great leaders turn followers into leaders, read Turn the Ship Around, by L. David Marquet.

* If you work from home don’t just roll out of bed and start working, start your day preparing yourself (coffee and contemplation for 1 hour can help).

* Take chances in your career, you may miss out on amazing experiences by taking the safe route.

* When new formulas in Excel come out, learn how they work right away.

🔥TIP: Data tables aren’t new to Excel, but learn how to use them to stay ahead.

* Less is more when presenting, word walls will bore and confuse your audience.

* If you’re mad you’re had, speak to facts, not to your emotional opinion, to drive business change.

🔥TIP: Negative feedback isn’t fun to receive, here’s an approach that helped us.

Show Notes

* 01:30 - If you want something done, find the busiest person you know

* 02:20 - A career in Accounting and Finance has led to — Sales? 🤔

* 05:20 - Tell your audience what they need to know—in a way they understand

* 06:24 - I had ZERO idea I would be an accountant—aspired to be a teacher

* 07:05 - 3 vs 5 kids doesn’t matter—you’re outnumbered and play zone defense

* 08:25 - My love for Finance and Accounting started in Intro to Accounting class

* 10:00 - Understand your data—key to getting good at FP&A 🔑

* 11:05 - Saved a large navy ship manufacturing +$50m—kind of a big deal

* 15:55 - Find data, clean it, and use it to move people in the same direction

* 16:46 - If you’re not replaceable, you’re not promotable—KISS 👄

* 20:09 - Your job will get boring—unless you continuously improve

* 24:39 - Working with new people every day can be FUN

* 25:53 - Your time is precious—learn to say NO to save some

* 27:55 - Do you want it RIGHT NOW or do you want it RIGHT?

* 30:50 - Ask your future boss “Will you micro-manage me?”

* 33:10 - Lightning round full of FP&A wisdom—listen up⚡

* 41:40 - Look for Annette on LinkedIn, webinars, and Super Bowl Commercials 🏈

* 42:25 - We spend a lot of time working—do what you can to find a job you enjoy

Conclusion

Annette is a great example of someone who constantly learns.

It doesn’t matter if it’s time management, software tools, or leadership.

She’s obsessed with always improving, saving time, and focusing on things that matter the most.

It helps her enjoy her career.

You can find Annette on LinkedIn.

And in Super Bowl commercials.

THANK YOU Annette for sharing your career story with us.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want an FP&A job that goes beyond traditional month-end reporting?

Try working on your company’s Deal Desk Team.

Or stand one up if your company doesn’t have one yet.

Tune in and learn how we’ve stood up multiple Deal Desks.

And helped boost our company performance and career prospects in the process.

Show Notes

* 00:35 - We’ve stood up Deal Desks at multiple companies.

* 01:50 - Deal Desk is great for companies with daily deal-making.

* 03:15 - Deal Desk = Financial Rigor = Future Financial Transparency.

* 03:55 - Try negotiating with your cable company—practice makes perfect.

* 05:01 - Tracking daily deal-making is beneficial for your CRO and CFO.

* 05:55 - Be a connector between your CFO and CRO.

* 06:52 - Ask why A LOT—helps you understand your pricing strategy.

* 08:31 - Automation is powerful—saves time and drives faster deal-making.

* 09:51 - Understand your Marketing and Sales funnel—helps with analysis.

* 11:51 - Big finish—Deal Desk drives financial rigor for your CFO and CRO.

* 12:46 - After the pod—get your analytical reps by working on a Deal Desk

🔥TIP: Here’s a framework to get to FP&A Manager and beyond, Deal Desk can help.

Why Your CFO and CRO Care About Deal Desk

Guess what your CFO and CRO have in common?

It’s not just the first and last letter in their acronym.

They want your company to hit its revenue targets.

Which is a key KPI at many companies.

Help them achieve this common goal.

By inserting yourself in the middle of the deal-making process.

🔥TIP: Here’s how KPIs and metrics work.

FP&A and Deal Making Can Mix Well

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is counterintuitive and impossible.

At least that’s how it looks on paper.

Your Deal Desk has 3 goals:

* Instill financial rigor by analyzing deals

* Reduce selling friction by removing internal conversations

* Speed up deal-making by assessing list prices and approval thresholds

How can you do all 3 at the same time?

By building a kick a$$ Deal Desk Team.

🔥TIP: Make sure your Deal Desk Team understands pricing strategy.

How to Create a Best-in-class Deal Desk Team

Do these things to help your Deal Desk thrive.

Assess new deal revenue

Surprised by your month and quarter-end revenue?

You can help remove some of that surprise element.

By analyzing new deal revenue expectations.

And do so for every single deal daily so no surprises exist at the end of the quarter.

🔥TIP: Here’s how to do QTD sales analysis.

Understand new deal profitability

Saying NO to deals can be very easy.

But it’s time-consuming and creates back-and-forth friction between Sales and FP&A Teams.

What if you didn’t have to say NO as much?

Build in deal profitability analysis into your deal approval price thresholds.

It will inform Sales of the DO NOT CROSS selling price line.

And when they do cross that line, they’ll be ready to explain why.

🔥TIP: Customer segmentation can help assess profitability.

Global Teams = Follow the Sun Coverage

Sales Teams are constantly working to close deals 24/7 around the globe.

That means your Deal Desk Team needs a good deal approval coverage plan.

If possible have multiple Deal Desk Team members work in different time zones.

Having a person in Asia, Europe, and the Americas can help keep your team working 9-5 with fast response times.

Conclusion: Deal Desks Are Super Powerful

Creating and working in a Deal Desk may not be an FP&A career path you thought was possible.

But take it from us, many companies can benefit from it.

And many careers were accelerated because of the value it brings to Sales Teams, CROs, and CFOs.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want to see a real-life, public example of FP&A driving financial results?

We break down Mimecast’s public earnings release.

Drew helped create some of these metrics during Mimecast’s IPO process.

Case Study: Mimecast

Think about the software you use and pay for right now.

That software is provided by SaaS (software as a service) companies.

And you are contributing to those software companies’ metrics by using and paying for their services.

Mimecast is a SaaS company too, they provide cyber security solutions.

Let’s dive into Mimecast’s public earnings release, which is full of SaaS metrics you can apply to other SaaS companies.

🔥Follow along with us by pulling up Mimecasts external report here.

Show Notes

* 00:35 - Case study time—Mimecast.

* 01:30 - It’s all about KPIs and metrics.

* 01:59 - Constant currency strips out one-time items and fx.

* 02:41 - AOV (average order value) tells your upsell story.

* 03:45 - Average product counts indicate customers are willing to buy more stuff.

* 04:27 - White space can help operationalize upsell using product counts.

* 05:45 - Customer segmentation is a great way to analyze your customers.

* 06:34 - Creating metrics starts with a manual spreadsheet, then automation.

* 07:30 - Lemonade stands can teach us a lot in FP&A 🍋

* 09:30 - Net revenue retention rate (NRR) combines customer retention and upsell.

* 11:30 - Look at your own spending habits to assess your NRR with companies.

* 13:59 - Big finish—you can create KPIs and metrics in FP&A that drive results.

It’s All About KPIs (and Metrics)

Financial and non-financial data is best served when connected to your company’s goals.

How do you do this?

Creating KPIs (and metrics).

🔥TIP: Here’s your essential guide to creating KPIs and metrics.

In FP&A you can help your company create them.

Which influences what you report:

* Internally to guide your business partners to achieve their department goals

* Externally to tell your company’s performance story to investors

Find what other companies report on in your industry as a starting point.

Examples of SaaS KPIs (and Metrics)

Mimecast disclosed several financial and non-financial metrics to tell its external performance story.

Here are 3 that you can apply to companies you work for:

1. Constant Currency Revenue Growth Rate

Your company’s revenue performance has a bunch of drivers.

Stripping away one-time events and foreign exchange (aka fx) helps to clean up the story you tell.

You can do this in 3 steps:

* Step 1: restate your current period revenue results using your base period’s fx rates

* Step 2: remove any portion of revenue related to M&A activity that don’t exist in both the base and current period

* Step 3: remove any portion of revenue related to one-time events that don’t exist in the base and current period

NOTE: companies will have different approaches to constant currency reporting, the above is one example.

2. Average Product Counts

Your customers buy stuff that your company sells.

The more stuff your customers buy from your company is usually a sign they like buying from you.

It’s a matter of using product counts as your numerator.

And customer counts as your denominator.

🔥TIP: Here’s how to calculate product counts at your company.

3. Net Retention Rate (NRR)

SaaS companies are all about ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue).

NRR can help you assess the health of your ARR.

That’s a lot of acronyms.

Do this by breaking apart your month-over-month results into:

* Churn - customers that leave you

* Downsell - customers that spend less with you

* Upsell - customers that spend more with you

* New - customers that are brand new buyers

🔥TIP: Here’s more info on how to calculate customer churn.

🔥TIP: Try segmenting your customers to learn more about them.

Conclusion: You Can Shape Your Company’s Story

In FP&A you can create KPIs (and metrics) at your company.

Don’t stop there.

Help influence your company’s results by connecting them to your company’s daily activities.

That puts you front and center to tell your company’s performance story.

AND helps you influence what future story is told.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want to move up the FP&A ranks faster?

Deliver a little extra financial analysis.

It helped us meet more people, learn new things, and get promoted faster.

Tune in to hear what extra financial analysis we did.

And stay tuned after our off-the-charts closing music for an after-the-pod conversation about pivot tables and marketing yourself.

Show Notes

* 00:20 - Don’t knock doing a little extra—it can lead to a lot of upside

* 01:35 - Being genuinely curious leads to learning

* 01:55 - Analyzing failed payments w/ segmentation = cash flow opportunity

* 03:02 - Leadership wants analysis—then an action plan to improve results

* 03:30 - SURPRISE—quick wins can come from extra analysis

* 03:51 - Doing VMaP analysis can give revenue performance clarity

* 06:11 - Use analytical frameworks that work everywhere—rinse and repeat

* 06:46 - Continuous learning and networking—all from being curious

* 08:08 - Pivot tables and SQL—tools that help you do extra analysis

* 09:20 - Be a marketer—do good work for people, they will be your best promoter

Why Doing Extra Financial Analysis Helps Your Career

15 years ago we built a website for a friend’s business.

We had ZERO experience building websites.

Why did we do it?

We were curious how the process worked and we wanted to help our friend.

The results?

✔️A website was built that generated sales

✔️We acquired skills to build a website (which helped build FP&HEY) 🙏

✔️Our friend is forever our reference for future job opportunities

You don’t need to build a website to spring your FP&A career.

Instead do extra financial analysis.

You’ll acquire new skills, grow your network, and maybe help your company improve results.

You just have to be a little curious.

How Analyzing Failed Payments Helped Cashflow

Cash is kind of a big deal.

Yarty helped a small company generate more of it.

By analyzing failed payments and segmenting customers to understand the drivers.

And at the request of his executives, he collected the money by:

💪Creating an action plan to collect failed payments

💪Selecting a software vendor to help automate failed payment collection

💪Reporting progress

Sometimes FP&A jobs can take on operational tasks.

Which helps you learn a bunch of skills you didn’t think you’d learn.

How VMaP Drove Revenue Performance Clarity

Without revenue, your business doesn’t survive.

So when revenue starts dropping below expectations, you better figure out why.

Which Drew did—by accident.

He used volume, mix, and price analysis to assess shipping and product revenue performance.

🔥TIP: Here’s your essential guide to doing VMaP analysis.

Because he was curious—no one asked him to do it.

The result?

A way better understanding of revenue performance that executives took notice of.

Which resulted in a CFO-sponsored project to do more VMaP analysis.

And some awesome trips to Canada and Spain.

Use Simple Tools to Do Financial Analysis

You don’t need much to whip up a garage project-style financial analysis.

Start with a spreadsheet (Excel is amazing).

Ask your boss for data (SQL can help, so can ChatGPT).

And leverage pivot tables, data tables, and maybe some PowerQuery.

Not sure how to use these tools?

Read up to learn and watch your productivity skyrocket.

🔥TIP: Here’s how to speed up your learning using ChatGPT.

Conclusion: A Little Extra Can Go a Long Way In Your Career

You are capable of doing amazing things (not just FP&A).

And figuring out what you are capable of can happen as fast as you want it to.

By putting yourself out there.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want to take your FP&A skills from one industry to another?

Tune in and learn how we went from manufacturing to SaaS.

Using universal FP&A skills that apply to virtually all industries.

🔥TIP: Here’s why FP&A is a career worth considering.

Show Notes

* 00:45 - Started in manufacturing, used that experience to do a SaaS IPO.

* 01:05 - Light bulbs, renewable energies, and printed materials…oh my!

* 01:59 - Manufacturing is raw materials, vendors, and labor.

* 03:12 - Don’t use your industry as an excuse to not apply for a job.

* 04:05 - SaaS has data centers and customer support teams, all tangible too.

* 05:30 - Whatever industry you’re in, find the tangible thing you can jump into.

* 06:15 - Find industries that you can get excited about.

* 08:10 - Sometimes products you use are in industries you’ll enjoy.

* 09:51 - We all like working on things we understand.

* 10:56 - Volume, mix, and price is a universal framework you can use 🔥

What is an FP&A Job Like in Manufacturing?

Manufacturing is where stuff if made.

The production floor in a plant is an amazing place:

Raw materials are stored and loaded on a production line

Production lines transform them into finished goods

Distribution areas pack and ship those finished goods to customers

Abandon your spreadsheet and put on your safety equipment.

Walking the production floor will teach you how your operations work.

Just ask the engineers and line workers, and they’ll literally show you.

And guess what?

A plant isn’t the only place with a production floor to walk.

What is an FP&A Job Like in SaaS?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is where we enter the cloud.

The cloud is a real place.

It’s where clippy still hangs out (we think).

The cloud is nothing more than a data center.

Blinking metal boxes (servers) and metal cages power the software you use right now.

And there are inputs in SaaS similar to manufacturing:

* Usage (users, customers, data being transferred)

* Support tickets

* Implementation (aka set-up)

Put your computer away and walk to your customer support person’s cube.

Seriously, watch how they operate.

Understand that they are your service in tangible form.

Also, check out your local data center if you have one.

And bring a jacket, the AC in those places keeps those servers cool.

FP&A Skills that Apply to All Industries

Every company in every industry is trying to do one thing.

Make money.

It’s how they keep the lights on.

Help them by:

* Growing revenue

* Managing expenses

* Monitoring cash flow

🔥TIP #1: Use volume, mix, and price analysis to understand revenue performance.

🔥TIP #2: Understand your company’s break-even point for cash flow management.

🔥TIP #3: Make your customers’ renewal process more profitable.

Conclusion: You Can Industry Hop via FP&A

FP&A is full of value-adding activities.

Learn a bunch of them, regardless of the industry you’re in.

Prove to a future employer you know your stuff.

And that you can apply it to a new industry.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com