Is It Time To Appoint A Chief Planning Officer (CPO) To The Board?

Is It Time To Appoint A Chief Planning Officer (CPO) To The Board? Over the last 18 months we have all spent a great deal more time discussing planning budgeting and forecasting – especially scenario planning – than almost any other topic. It seems that everyone is desperate to get a handle on the future, … Continued

WHICH IS BETTER? – ROLLING FORECASTS OR FORECASTING 4 TIMES A YEAR?

WHICH IS BETTER? – ROLLING FORECASTS OR FORECASTING 4 TIMES A YEAR? FSN’s latest research infographic provides compelling evidence that rolling forecasts are better than simply re-forecasting four times a year. In fact, when we compared the performance of organisations that use rolling forecasts, with those that reforecast quarterly, we find that rolling forecasters outperform … Continued

Why ‘Collaborative Enterprise Planning’ points the way forward

Collaborative enterprise planning is the process of connecting and aligning plans from all departments and business units across an organisation. It breaks down silos and brings teams together to collaborate on plans and drive better business outcomes. The case for involving more stakeholders, from across the enterprise couldn’t be stronger.  For example, FSN’s research, The … Continued

How can CFOs increase ‘speed to insight’ in financial forecasting?

In today’s turbulent markets, ‘speed to insight’ is incredibly important, yet combining speed and insight has proved elusive for many enterprises. In the face of uncertainty many companies are reforecasting more frequently (71% reforecast more than twice a year) but FSN’s research, The Future of Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting, finds that such an approach is … Continued

How can CFOs innovate their way to success?

FSN’s 2018 “Innovation in the Finance Function” research confirms the crucial role that innovation plays in finance function success.  The study, assembled the views of more than 1,000 senior finance professionals globally, and reveals that not only do innovative finance functions reforecast the enterprise more swiftly and accurately but they also close the books more … Continued

5 Ways to Innovate in Finance

Innovation is very much in the ‘eye of the beholder’.  What is innovation in one setting could be considered mainstream in another.  While modern finance functions naturally seek to explore the very latest and more experimental technologies (digital assistants, artificial intelligence, natural language processing), there is a treasure trove of benefit to be gained from … Continued