Rise Above The Numbers

FP&HEY
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Rise Above The Numbers

Actionable, practical tips and tricks proven from the trenches to help you grow your FP&A career, all delivered with a touch of humor. 👊 fpandhey.substack.com

  1. JAN 10

    How to Approach Taking on More Work

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY How much free time do you have? Many have little if any. That’s why focusing on saving time now is so important. 🔥TIP: Excel shortcuts will save you hours each week. Because at some point an opportunity will present itself. It may look like someone: * Leaving the company unexpectedly and you fill that gap * Being promoted and you take on their job * Asking for help and you step in to support All of the above has happened to us. And many of these opportunities were unplanned. Show Notes * 00:30 – doing other people’s jobs will happen, it will be unplanned, and you can get through it * 01:11 – only take on the challenge if you can handle it – assess your situation * 01:45 – we’ve gone from solo contributor to doing the jobs of 5 people * 03:30 – you’re only as good as your team and support structure – plan and communicate your approach * 04:35 – the silver lining of people leaving – you learn💡 * 05:00 – the growth mindset helps to get through taking on more than your original scope of work * 06:10 – stepping up to take on more can lead to future opportunities like working with leadership * 06:50 – sometimes your manager will leave and the opportunity to lead is in front of you 🔥TIP: Here’s how to crush your first 6 months as an FP&A manager. * 08:25 – you will get beat up and you will experience failure – all lead to learnings * 10:10 – stepping up and taking on more may or may not make sense depending on what your goals are Conclusion: Opportunities Make or Break Your Reputation You will get opportunities in your career. How you take them on will feed your reputation. Reputation takes a lifetime to build up. And as you build your reputation, the number of opportunities you get goes up📈 Become an opportunity magnet, and over time be selective in the ones you take on. 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 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

    12 min

  2. 11/15/2024

    Setting Smarter Sales Targets

    👋Hey there, It’s budget season. And next year’s targets are being set to support the budget. Some of you are changing targets faster than a pit crew changes car tires. Believe us, you are not alone. It’s a normal part of the budget process. And there are things you can do to minimize the number of tire changes. Tune in to hear about our own target-setting endeavors. When Setting Targets, Think of Incentives Sales Targets become KPIs. 🔥TIP: Read this to learn what KPIs (and metrics) are. And KPIs become the benchmark for incentives (aka commissions and bonuses). Make sure your targets line up with your business goals. And that your various departments' targets connect so that they all work together. Show Notes * 01:30 - Sales targets motivate salespeople to sell (no kidding) * 02:10 - Balance stretch goals with reasonable ones, avoid demotivation ⚠️ * 02:55 - Get grounded in your sales history * 03:30 - Keep Sales (aka Revenue) simple—volume, mix, and price🔥 * 04:10 - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, talk to your Sales Teams for their input * 05:30 - Listen to Sales Rep calls for rapid learning about your selling motion * 06:14 - Understand what performance story your CFO and CEO want to tell * 07:33 - AVOID presenting targets that NOONE recognizes or demotivates * 08:23 - Leverage mind maps to visualize your thinking and get organized🧠 * 10:15 - The key thing about FP&A is we’re always evaluating our performance * 11:00 - Be an advocate for your Sales Team * 12:15 - Sales Target setting is NEVER perfect, keep learning and improving Conclusion: Keep Learning and Advocating Your budget process and Sales Target-setting won’t be perfect. * You’ll deal with new people * May have new company goals * OR you may be in an entirely new company Lead with learning. By talking to your Sales Team and leadership. And leverage those Excel and numbers skills to help them connect their selling goals to the financial scoreboard. You got this 💪 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. 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

    14 min

  3. 10/11/2024

    Know the Details of Your Business Cold

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY Are you a detailed person? Details are what drive those numbers on your spreadsheet. Knowing those details can help you help your company. Which in turn can help your own career growth. Tune in to hear how diving into details helped us: ✅Save money ✅Drive revenue ✅Grow our reputation in various FP&A jobs Details Shmetails Making up words is easy. So is making up what you think happened by doing high-level algebra on financial data. Want to grow your career? Don’t guess what drives financial performance. KNOW what drives financial performance. By diving into the shmetails. 🔥TIP: Here are the FP&A job levels from Analyst to CFO. Show Notes * 00:17 - Great FP&A = know the DETAILS * 01:25 - Being CFO requires knowing the details of cashflow💵 * 02:28 - Growing Sales? Don’t just do algebra, understand what’s driving it * 03:25 - Use the Pareto Principle to find budget errors * 04:59 - Whitespace is a GREAT example of details leading to operational finance * 06:01 - Profit forecasting will help you learn the details of revenue and expenses * 07:20 - Use your cable bill as a way to learn details and do something about it📺 * 08:35 - Looking for savings opportunities? Renegotiate your contracts. * 10:01 - Use P&L data you already have to dive into the details and learn * 11:01 - Cost centers and accounts are created for a reason * 11:44 - Big detailed finish —guess what we talk about? DETAILS💥 CFOs and Cashflow Must be Tight Do you know what keeps most CFOs up at night? Their bank account’s cash balance. Questions a CFO must be prepared to answer EVERY week: * How much accounts payable is due? * What’s my payroll balance? * How much money am I going to collect? * What money will I have in the bank by weeks end? How do you answer these questions? Dive into the details. Invoice aging, payroll waterfalls, hourly tracking, and accounts receivable aging reports are just a few ways to get the details. 🔥TIP: Analyze those details with simple data tables and look-ups. Practice by Analyzing Your Personal Finances What do you spend your money on? Some of those things may be negotiable or can be switched out for something cheaper. Like your cable, phone, insurance, etc… Understand what savings are possible by diving into the details. You may surprise yourself. Then do this same exercise for your company. Profit Forecasting Forces You to Learn Want a crash course in your company’s financial details? Run their profit and cash forecasting process. Because you’ll be accountable for hitting a certain revenue, profit, and cash target. How can you hang your reputation on something that accountable? Know the shmetails. 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to profit forecasting. Conclusion: You’ll Crush FP&A w/ Details Take the extra time to learn what’s underneath those numbers in spreadsheets. You’ll learn your business faster. You’ll help a bunch of people hit their company goals (hello network opportunity). And help yourself accelerate your FP&A career🫵 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 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

    13 min

  4. 09/20/2024

    The Philosophical CFO Career Path w/ Ed Bush

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY We sat down with Cube Software’s CFO Ed Bush in this episode. Ed’s path to CFO has been more philosophical than most. Here are some things he’s done so far: * Started as a philosophy major * Sang in Johnny Legend’s acapella group * Finance hire #3 at WeWork * Became CFO of an FP&A software tool called Cube He’s also a husband, dad, and avid marathon runner. Takeaways from Ed’s Interview * Having a philosophy background is SUPER helpful as your career progresses, especially as a people manager and business leader. * Most of the ideas people have aren’t their own, rather they are a repackaging of other people’s ideas that they came across at some point in their career. * What makes you successful as an FP&A analyst differs from what makes you successful as an FP&A manager—the same goes for every level up to CFO. 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to navigating the FP&A career levels from Analyst to CFO. * Grit, fortitude, and the willingness to take on projects you have no experience with will help you accelerate your career more than any degree or certificate. * Balance looking ahead at predictable skill growth without being too rigid—be open to completely different experiences that will widen your skillset. * Every twist and turn of your career can serve you well, no matter how scary—it’s all about having the right mindset. * Carving out time when you are actively not trying to be productive is a great productivity hack—running is one way to do this. * Be active in communities and ask silly questions—you’ll be surprised at how willing people are to share their own experiences. * If you want to rise in your career you need to do things outside of your comfort zone. * Book recommendation, How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. * When presenting to a large audience DO NOT convey too much information—people will remember 1, maybe 2 things that you say max. 🔥TIP: Here’s how to present financial information. Show Notes * 00:46 – Ed opened for John Legend—yep this is not a typo🎤 * 02:50 – The path from individual contributor to CFO is NOT straight * 03:45 – Consulting was a good entry point for a liberal arts background grad * 05:03 – Surround yourself with smart, motivated people * 05:49 – From philosophy major to being finance hire #3 at WeWork * 06:50 – Take 1 question and think about the 100 questions behind that question * 08:13 – Want to be CFO? Remind yourself to think less and less about finance * 09:36 – High-potential candidates have experience operating in a world with constraints * 12:12 – Entering and leaving college without knowing what you want to do happens * 13:30 – OPPORTUNITY ALERT—CFO asks you to start a data team from scratch * 16:27 – CFOs take their knocks too—the key is to learn from them * 18:50 – Start measuring your impact on your company, not the number of hours you work * 21:09 – Ask stupid questions all the time—it’s how you learn * 23:11 – Remind yourself to do things outside of your normal day-to-day * 25:36 – Not everyone wants to be a manager or CFO—there are many career paths to take * 27:22 – Saving time in spreadsheets = productivity, that’s why I work for and love using Cube * 28:56 – If you can spend time together in person with your team just do it—they will be remembered Conclusion Ed is comfortable being uncomfortable. Taking leaps across career paths and disciplines has stretched him into the CFO he is today. Building relationships in communities, always asking questions, and actively taking time away from spreadsheets have all had a BIG influence on who he is as a leader today. You can find Ed on LinkedIn. And given the twists and turns in his career, you may also find him at your local concert venue jamming out with a legend (like Johnny). THANK YOU Ed for sharing your career story with us. Resources ▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/com

    33 min

  5. 08/16/2024

    What Comes First: Targets or Budgets?

    👋Hey there, For most FP&A teams, the budget is a distant memory. But come early August before late summer vacations hit, it will come fast and furious. Prepare yourself now to make your budgeting process as efficient and effective as possible. How can you prepare? Think about company goals, KPIs, and team metrics first. Tune in to hear about our own budget prep tips (and fails). Listen on * Apple * Spotify * Substack It’s All About Goals and KPIs What does your company want to achieve this year, next year, 5 years from now? This question isn’t just rhetorical—as a leader in your company’s budget process, you should know what your company’s goals are. Because when you do, it gives your coworkers autonomy to work towards the same common goal. Which you’ll help distill into KPIs and metrics. And come budget time, those KPIs and metrics will be your guide to fund: * More resources * Less resources * Brand new ideas 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide on how to think about KPIs (and metrics). Show Notes * 00:21 - Yarty admits Drew is his favorite person—the truth shall set you free! * 00:46 - What comes first — Targets or Budgets? (Get your coffee ready ☕) * 01:29 - At GE (General Electric), targets came first—keeps teams focused * 02:56 - Want your headcount to 4x with flat revenue? Lead with Budget 🆘 * 04:30 - Start with goals—they can become KPIs, targets, then budgets * 06:05 - Avoid wish lists—not a productive exercise when budget deadlines loom * 07:30 - Sales will request lower targets—use stretch goals in commission plans * 08:50 - A critical FP&A skillset is to CHALLENGE your business partners * 09:29 - Don’t scare the sh#t out of Sales with goals stretched too far * 10:39 - Understand your sales reps tenure—informs their selling capacity * 11:35 - Help your company focus on training to ramp up high-quality hires * 12:50 - Leverage tech like ChatGPT to ideate and educate * 13:38 - And the winner of Target vs Budget is… Wishlists Are Dangerous During Budget There is nothing wrong with wishful thinking. There’s a time and place to come up with ideas of what’s possible. That proper time is during your long-term planning cycle, usually when leadership gets together to figure out the 5-year goals of the company. But during budget season—avoid wishlists at all costs. Budget season is a time crunch—get tactical by: ✅ Knowing your company goals ✅ Figuring out the KPIs (and metrics) related to those goals ✅ Creating a plan that fits into that framework within reason. Understand Your Sales Team Members’ Tenure One useful trick to setting Sales targets is to figure out how tenured your Sales reps are. You can’t expect rookie Sales Reps to hit the ground running and hit the same quota as your 5-year Sales Team veterans do. So when your headcount calls for a bigger Sales Team—don’t just assume quota will go through the roof. Instead, focus on sales enablement. Which is key to onboarding Sales Reps quickly and maximizing their selling skills. Good for the company (higher revenue achievement). And good for the new Sales Rep (more closed deals and higher commission payouts). Challenge Your Business Partners Every business partner you work with wants their teams to be fully funded with all ideas approved. You can’t blame them—you would do the same thing if asked for staffing ideas and software initiatives. The trick is to challenge your business partners. Help them balance all the things with an approach that can actually work in practice. For example, hiring is tough and usually takes longer than you think (plus don’t forget about attrition). 🔥TIP: Here’s how to calculate attrition in your headcount. Understand what your company’s recruiting capacity is, and in turn help your business partners understand that limitation too. Stack, rack, and rank priorities. And many of the low-priority items will fall off. Which helps your business partners focus. Conclusion: Succe

    15 min

  6. 07/12/2024

    FP&A Leap From Analyst To Manager

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY Want to take the leap from FP&A Analyst to FP&A Manager? Show off your FP&A Manager skills early and often. 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide on getting to each FP&A job level. You never know when that promotion opportunity will come. For us, it came in the form of a boss leaving. We were ready and got promoted once we took over. Show Notes * 00:41 - Show off mad FP&A Manager skills as an FP&A Analyst * 01:29 - Key skill to get to FP&A Manager—show ability to manage people * 03:32 - Getting thrown into an FP&A Manager role requires communication * 05:30 - Have empathy—and earn your team’s respect * 06:13 - Show up early, leave late—lead your team by helping 🆘 * 07:10 - Know when to put your guard UP and DOWN—be a filter * 08:28 - Leadership isn’t always great at communicating—that’s your job🫵 * 10:08 - Help your team learn from each other—create a learning culture * 11:45 - Athletes make great salespeople—learn what motivates your team * 12:40 - Manage someone the way you want to be managed * 13:10 - Practice controllable failure—safe failure = learning * 15:01 - Practice, practice, practice—it goes a long way * 16:20 - Talk to people that manage people—they will teach you Some Get Thrown Into Starting Manager Roles One way to show off FP&A Manager skills is to do your boss’s job. Sometimes they take vacation. Sometimes they leave unexpectedly (like ours did). Or sometimes they’re injured by a giant linebacker (slide QBs, slide). Either way, use that window of opportunity to step up. Lead your team through this difficult time. While working with your boss’s boss to ensure they get continuity. You Don’t Need a Team to Practice Practice makes perfect (sorry Allen Iverson). How do you practice people management without a team to manage? Try looking for these opportunities right now: * Find an intern or new hire and offer to coach them * Take the lead in a process to practice people and project management * Offer to lead a weekly team meeting These things may sound simple. But trust us, this practice will go a long way in teaching you the skills needed to crush your first FP&A Manager role. Lead By Example Showing you care goes a long way. To do that you can do a few things: * Before logging off ask your team if they need help * Do the day-to-day work that FP&A Analysts do to understand what it takes * Manage people how you want to be managed Sounds obvious, but your team are people just like you. Help them achieve their goals by actively participating and supporting their day-to-day work. Conclusion: Crush Your Manager Opportunity When the time comes, if you’ve practiced and prepared enough, you’ll be more than ready for that leap from FP&A Analyst to FP&A Manager. Remember, it takes time to learn any new role or job. So keep learning, stay humble, and listen to your future team for feedback. You got this FP&A career thing. 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 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

    17 min

  7. 06/21/2024

    CFO by 40, SaaS Experience, and Free-time

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY History repeats itself—even in FP&A careers. How do you get a history lesson in FP&A? Listen to other FP&A enthusiasts’ career stories and questions. We're tapping into the +25k members of the FPandA subreddit for FP&A career stories and questions. Show Notes * 00:19 - Mailbag episode—FPandA subreddit here we come * 00:41 - How someone went from AR/AP to CFO before age 40 🤔 * 03:01 - Braggadocious is a word—and it’s ok to share your career story * 03:45 - Be intentional—and bust your a$$ to accelerate your FP&A career * 05:02 - This CFO story is similar to Drew’s—weird how history repeats itself * 06:00 - Learn how to do EVERY job—that’s how great chefs are born too * 07:51 - How to spend the little free time you have in FP&A❓ * 09:00 - Balance learning with downtime to recharge—we’re partial to podcasts * 10:15 - How do you get a SaaS job with no experience—chicken or egg first 🐣 * 10:55 - Use the chip on our shoulder—and highlight interchangeable skills * 12:20 - Show hustle and curiosity—those types of people are rock stars * 14:58 - Keep asking questions—people want to help How to Become a CFO by Age 40 How do we know history repeats itself? An FPandA subreddit contributor became CFO by age 40. Drew did the same thing. And how both got there were eerily similar: ✔️Went to non-target school for undergrad ✔️Worked as a full-time intern while in school ✔️Started out doing work in accounts payable/accounts receivable ✔️Spent a high number of hours working early on ✔️Did not get CPA ✔️Took jobs intentionally to maximize learning and balance earnings ✔️Recognize luck is involved—and making your own luck helps too This is not the only path to CFO. But this path is a proven way to get there (because 2 people did it). Steal things that may work for you. And avoid things that you don’t enjoy or believe in. Here’s a longer version of Drew’s career journey story for more things to steal and avoid. 🔥TIP: Here’s how role rotation can help accelerate your career. What To Do When You Have Downtime FP&A is synonymous with free time. Free time is precious. And it doesn’t come too often in FP&A careers. How should you spend that time? Here are some ideas: 💡Get better at Excel by learning shortcuts and new features 💡Listen to podcasts to get perspective and ideas 💡Meet with people at your job you don’t typically work with Or just chill Start later, leave earlier, take a longer lunch, go to the gym—find something that helps you recharge. Whatever you do, don’t waste your free time by avoiding it. 🔥TIP: Here’s why shortcuts are vital to saving you time. What Comes First, SaaS Experience or Job It’s the old chicken before the egg discussion. You need experience to get a job, but how do you get experience if you can’t get a job to begin with? This happens a lot in SaaS companies. We landed a job at a SaaS company with Consumer Product experience. How? Focus on your interchangeable skills. For example—understanding revenue performance is required in ALL companies. We used our volume, mix, and price (VMaP) chops to demonstrate our ability to analyze revenue, regardless of the industry that revenue was in. Learn about SaaS by reading 10Ks. And learn about the company your interviewing by spending time on their website. And overlay all that knowledge with your ability to: * Do analysis * Learn new things * Hustle 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to help you crush your next FP&A interview. Conclusion: You Can’t Replace Hustle Luck is always a factor in success. But you can make your own luck by hustling constantly. Keep learning. Keep finding things you enjoy. And don’t be afraid to ask others to share their experiences. 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

    16 min

  8. 05/24/2024

    FP&A Careers Are Not Straight Lines w/ Carl Seidman

    "Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY In this episode, we sat down with FP&A guru Carl Seidman. Carl’s 20+ year FP&A career is far from linear📈 Some things he’s done so far: * Founded a fractional CFO company called Seidman Financial * Has trained thousands of FP&A professionals around the world * Has a BIG following on Linkedin—which wasn’t planned * Partied w/ Mike Tyson * Is a proud dad of twins And all of this started years ago playing guitar, bagging donuts, and majoring in health sciences. 🔥TIP: Here’s why FP&A could be a good career choice for you. Takeaways from Carl’s Interview * It’s ok to take steps back, Carl switched majors in school from medicine to business…imagine Carl’s LinkedIn presence as a fractional dentist 🦷 * Don’t think of life as a series of wins or losses, rather think of them as successes or learning opportunities that help you grow. * Be kind to yourself and have ONE goal in mind each day, your to-do list will keep growing and it’s easy to see failure at the end of each day. * Start your career learning evergreen skills that apply to a number of disciplines—like communication, professionalism, and managing people/processes. 🔥TIP: Here’s a guide to presenting financial info. * Over time learn what comes naturally to you and what others value—double down on those things. * Have a “figure it out” mentality when starting your own business or starting a new job. * Book recommendation, SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari. * Working from home is the best commute—but super challenging if you don’t structure your time and try to weave personal and work time together. Show Notes * 00:32 - Started a fractional CFO biz and can memorize 60+ names at a time—NBD * 02:27 - FP&A careers can start by playing guitar and bagging donuts🍩 * 07:35 - Taking steps back can lead to long-term gains * 12:23 - Think of your career as 2-year chapters * 14:20 - Collect skills—they are your greatest FP&A career asset * 15:18 - It’s not win or lose—it’s succeed or learn💪 * 18:55 - Communication and professionalism are evergreen skills * 20:35 - Starting a business is HARD—need a “figure it out mentality” * 25:30 - Be the dumbest person in the room—listen and learn * 27:28 - Understand the people and processes behind the numbers * 29:00 - Whiteboard your deliverables to stay organized —what, when, context * 30:45 - What comes naturally to you that’s valuable to others? Double down * 32:48 - Working from home requires structuring your day * 35:20 - The list of to-do’s never ends—set achievable goals each day🎯 * 38:20 - Anticipate to avoid surprises, and be kind to yourself when chaos happens * 44:10 - Careers aren’t linear—what’s important now may change * 47:00 - Start your day thinking not doing * 49:58 - You will not fail even if you take steps back—you are resilient * 51:55 - Table functionality will save you A TON of time working in Excel * 53:25 - Minimize vulnerability when building your work product * 54:55 - Parties with Mike Tyson and towers of shellfish are the best🦐 * 56:35 - Great bosses and companies invest in their people via training * 58:55 - Be as loyal as you can be until that is not reciprocated Conclusion Carl doesn’t have his entire career figured out—and he’s 100% ok with that. He takes his life and career one chapter at a time📖 Each chapter helps him build knowledge assets, create relationships, and constantly assess what the next chapter could look like. All of this requires humility, hard work, and resilience. You can find Carl on LinkedIn. And maybe hanging with Iron Mike at some fancy event🥊 THANK YOU Carl 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

    1h 2m
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3 Ratings

About

Actionable, practical tips and tricks proven from the trenches to help you grow your FP&A career, all delivered with a touch of humor. 👊 fpandhey.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    FP&HEY
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © FP&HEY
  • Show Website
    Rise Above The Numbers

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