Who Are You Really Hiring - A Business Partner or an Excel Fixer?

Introduction

You're looking for a new FP&A Analyst to take the lead on reporting and forecasting your financials. In the job description, you mention that you're seeking someone to step in as a strategic business advisor.

But what often happens instead is you bring someone on board and hand them a massive Excel model filled with inconsistencies in formulas and data. 

They end up spending most of their time updating the model, ensuring it doesn’t produce errors. Or they waste countless hours digging through the model to make sense of the data when asked an ad hoc question like, “What is the ARR per rep forecast for each geographic region?”

The analyst might want to update or improve the report, but management insists on keeping it the same—likely because they know the report was built on a shaky foundation. Any changes could unravel the model, leading to discrepancies in numbers that have been consistently reported.

So, instead of the strategic business partner you envisioned, you end up with a professional Excel fixer and number-tier. Here are some things we need to consider to empower our FP&A Professional to be the business partners we envision them to be.

1. The Modern FP&A Role: More Than Just Numbers

What FP&A Is Supposed to Be:

• Driving strategic decision-making by providing data-driven insights.

• Collaborating with department leaders to align financial goals with overall business objectives.

• Proactively identifying growth opportunities, risks, and trends before they escalate into issues.

The Reality in Many Companies:

• FP&A analysts spend 70-80% of their time fixing Excel formulas, reconciling data, or manually compiling reports.

• They’re so bogged down by process inefficiencies that strategic thinking falls by the wayside.

2. Why Does This Happen?

Bad Data Processes:

• Many companies rely on manual, siloed data update processes.

• This often involves pulling data from unconsolidated sources and using complex Excel formulas or pivot tables to organize it into a summarizable format.

• These inconsistencies and manual updates make models more prone to errors and significantly extend the reporting process.

Resistance to Change:

• Many C-level and finance executives are resistant to change, fearing that any adjustment to the process could alter the numbers they rely on.

• They often prefer a time-consuming process that produces familiar figures rather than addressing the root issues of how data is sourced and formatted.

• The irony is that their fear of inaccurate numbers might already be a reality under the current process—and they may not even realize it.

Time Constraint:

• Even if the finance team agrees that a process change is necessary, it often means a significant increase in workload for the analyst. 

• They’re tasked with running and auditing the current model while simultaneously developing a new one.

• To make matters worse, the root issue is usually the data process itself. 

• As a result, the new model they build isn’t much better, leaving them with two large Excel models to update and reconcile over and over until complete tie out.

3. How to empower your analyst into becoming a partner

Give them the time they need:

• Reporting is essential, but when an optimization project is on the table, give analysts the space and time they need to focus on it.

• What usually happens is an analyst finishes compiling the monthly reporting and begins working on the optimization project—only to be bombarded with ad hoc requests through Slack.

• Ensure FP&A  has the time to think critically and tackle the project with minimal distractions. Try to limit ad hoc requests to only which is truly vital. This type of work requires a significant amount of deep focus.

Enlisting third parties:

• Focusing on improving data processes to enhance forecasting can sometimes feel overwhelming for analysts. 

• Hiring additional staff may not be practical, as the need for this work is often temporary. 

• Enlisting a third-party consultant—particularly someone with FP&A expertise in your industry—can be highly beneficial. 

• At Conveas, we specialize in report-building services. 

Conclusion

Don’t hire a strategic thinker only to turn them into a spreadsheet mechanic. By addressing process inefficiencies upfront, you can empower your FP&A team to deliver the insights and value your business needs. 

If your reporting processes feel overwhelming, consider partnering with an FP&A expert to streamline workflows and equip your team with the time and tools to think strategically.

Connect With Us

At Conveas, we prioritize building strong partnerships. Feel free to reach out to us directly by filling out your information on the "Contact Us" section of our landing page. We’d be happy to set up an initial meeting to better understand the reporting and forecasting challenges you're facing and explore how we can help.