How to Approach Growth vs. Maintenance Investment Analysis Imagine you’re an FP&A analyst for a consumer goods company. One day, your manager hands you two proposals — one to replace outdated machinery (a maintenance investment) and another to fund an expansion into a new market (a growth investment). Faced with two different proposals, you need…
How a Structured Capital Allocation Process Drives Better Decisions Suppose your finance manager asks you to perform a capital allocation analysis for a major investment. Without a clear roadmap to assess capital investments, a request like this can feel overwhelming. Sound business decision-making matters more than ever. Every decision is essentially an investment decision, including…
In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained, we explore the strategic power of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) in driving business success. From dynamic budgeting to data-driven forecasting and insightful financial analysis, we break down the key pillars of a high-impact FP&A function. Learn how top FP&A teams align financial strategy with execution, leverage real-time…
Why Financial Benchmarking Skills Suppose the SaaS company you’re analyzing posts a 10% net profit margin. It looks solid until you compare it to similar SaaS businesses and the average margin is 15%. The financial performance of a single company becomes significantly more meaningful when it is compared to industry benchmarks and similar companies. Benchmarking…
In this episode of Careers in Finance on FinPod, we sit down with Nicole Lee, a former UBS executive director who navigated a remarkable career transition after 13 years in banking. Discover Nicole’s journey from a role at UBS (including the Chief Investment Office in Wealth Management) into the dynamic world of fintech, and ultimately,…
Why Does Negative Working Capital Matter in Financial Analysis? Imagine performing financial analysis on a national grocery chain. You notice low account receivables and fast-moving inventory, but accounts payable are stretched to 60 days. When you calculate working capital, the result is negative — a red flag? Not necessarily. Encountering negative working capital might initially…
In this episode of FinPod, we introduce our latest course: Making Effective Business Decisions—designed to help FP&A professionals and finance teams evaluate capital investments. We walk through the course structure, including a four-step decision-making framework (idea generation, analysis, planning, and monitoring), NPV, IRR, and Excel Solver to prioritize projects under budget constraints. We also explore…
The Challenge of Building Financial Dashboards That Drive Action After weeks of work, you unveil your meticulously designed financial dashboard to the executive team. Your dashboard features strong visualization, an on-brand color scheme, and precise data. But the room falls silent as they take it in — then the CFO asks a simple question: “So…
Building Strategy Into Your Financial Models: Core Methods for Analysts Have you ever created a financial model that looked perfect on paper but somehow missed the mark when it came to driving real business decisions? You’re not alone. Technical accuracy is foundational to any good financial model. But even the most precise models can fall…
How Headcount Forecasting Errors Lead to Financial Planning Issues Accurately planning for employee compensation is essential for managing labor costs, budgeting, and financial planning. But even small headcount forecasting errors can have ripple effects across payroll, cash flow, and workforce planning. Forecasts that don’t reflect real scheduling constraints, benefits costs, or payroll timing can lead…
