Barry Ritholtz

MARCH 18, 2025

The challenge in writing How NOT to Invest was organizing a large number of ideas, many of which were only loosely connected, into something coherent, understandable, and, most importantly, readable. Bad Numbers : 4. Create a financial plan (then stick to it). It is March 18th! Publication day is finally here! Index (mostly).

Investments 127

Investments Math Concentration Valuation 127

Jedox Finance

OCTOBER 24, 2019

A high-quality business forecast delivers far more than just numbers. Finance professionals regularly try to look in their crystal ball with forecasts and enable the company to have seamless, solid planning. For this to succeed, your forecast must be of high quality. regularly adjusted. uniform and systematic.

Forecasting 100

Forecasting Finance Budgeting Communication 100

Jedox Finance

JULY 6, 2021

When considering the performance of any forecasting model, the prediction values it produces must be evaluated. An error metric is a way to quantify the performance of a model and provides a way for the forecaster to quantitatively compare different models 1. Where y’ is forecasted value and y is the true value.

Forecasting 105

Forecasting Math Numbers Planning 105

Centage

JANUARY 18, 2022

While spreadsheets have long reigned supreme as the foundation of budgeting and forecasting for many organizations, the shortcomings of this legacy, siloed tool have become too hard to ignore. Accuracy is the critical to the budgeting and forecasting process. Confidence – Am I confident in the numbers coming out of the model?

Budgeting 111

Budgeting Forecasting Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) General Ledger 111

Centage

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

However, one of the most important planning tools for a business of any size is cash flow forecasting – and it’s especially important in times of uncertainty. Knowing the timing, amount and predictability of future cash flows with cash flow forecasting should be an essential component of the budgeting and planning process.

Cash Flow Forecasting 98

Cash Flow Forecasting Forecasting Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Profit and Loss 98

Centage

DECEMBER 1, 2021

If your board asked you to run new numbers based on fresh assumptions, it took you days or weeks to create a new set of reports. But times have changed – which is why financial forecasting is more important than your annual budget. More than half (57%) are producing P&L forecasts more often than monthly.

Forecasting 98

Forecasting Budgeting Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Benchmarking 98

Centage

OCTOBER 28, 2021

Is now the time to move forward with that planned investment? Dynamic market conditions may not be anything new but navigating the current business environment and its unprecedented unpredictability has shined a spotlight on just how critical cash flow forecasting is to an organization. What about workforce considerations?

Cash Flow Forecasting 90

Cash Flow Forecasting Forecasting Budgeting Data Analysis 90

Centage

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

There is some risk to using past performance to inform your long-term plans, and this can be compounded during times of economic uncertainty. Your company needs to make plans for the future. What Is Financial Forecasting? Forecast vs. Budget Though similar, a budget and a forecast serve different purposes.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Forecasting Profit and Loss 98

Centage

OCTOBER 3, 2022

This accessible program can accomplish various tasks, such as financial forecasting and budgeting. Excel is an easy-to-use platform for inputting numbers and getting results with simple formulas. If your business has used Excel for financial forecasting, you may have found some challenges with the program.

Forecasting 98

Forecasting Budgeting Data Analysis Financial Modeling 98

Fpanda Club

MAY 17, 2022

Budget and annual planning cycle - these words can make many people tremble. Aimed at determining firm’s short-term objectives and transforming them into operational plan by allocating available resources, annual planning exercise is mostly considered by its stakeholders to be a curse rather than a savior. Too much game playing.

Budgeting 147

Budgeting Planning Benchmarking Leadership 147

The Finance Weekly

FEBRUARY 23, 2025

Did you know that 35% of organizations identify data quality and timeliness as significant barriers to effective financial planning and analysis (FP&A)? This issue hampers forecasting accuracy, risk management, and resource allocation. This leads to better budgeting, more reliable forecasting, and stronger financial stability.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 52

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Budgeting Forecasting Risk Management 52

Centage

JANUARY 31, 2022

Cash flow forecasting provides that much needed insight and is the most effective way to start future-proofing your business for the year ahead. Or perhaps your integrated cash flow reports are based on GAAP accounting rules, not formulas, but aren’t supported in your current planning and forecasting software application.

Cash Flow Forecasting 98

Cash Flow Forecasting Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Forecasting GAAP 98

Musings on Markets

JANUARY 10, 2025

It is the end of the first full week in 2025, and my data update for the year is now up and running, and I plan to use this post to describe my data sample, my processes for computing industry statistics and the links to finding them. Aggregate operating numbers 3. Corporate Governance & Descriptive 1.

Corporate Finance 119

Corporate Finance Valuation Finance Numbers 119

Centage

AUGUST 15, 2022

In the current economic climate, proper financial planning and management are more essential than ever before. With that in mind, many businesses are turning to budgeting and planning drivers as a way of obtaining more accurate information. Managers can then run scenarios with the drivers to improve long-term strategic planning.

Budgeting 105

Budgeting Planning Forecasting GAAP 105

Centage

APRIL 6, 2022

The key is to have a keen understanding of your business drivers, and build your financial plan around them. The plan must identify critical drivers to meet those goals, e.g. unit price, number of units sold, number of salespeople needed to meet that objective, along with marketing investments required to support the sales team and so on.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Forecasting Budgeting 98

Centage

JUNE 20, 2023

These solutions create and support a budgeting and forecasting process that is more efficient with shared ownership that reduces risk and uncertainty. Real-time cash flow is a vital piece of information that can get swallowed by all the other numbers, or worse, left out of reporting entirely.

Budgeting 97

Budgeting Forecasting Finance Planning 97

Centage

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

The start of a new year is always a time for planning. As a FP&A professional, all eyes are on you to help plan the year ahead, step-by-careful-step, with enough lead time to avoid pitfalls and seize unexpected opportunities. For instance, 70% of SMBs have created scenario planning to prepare for the future. What lies ahead?

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Budgeting Forecasting Finance 98

Centage

DECEMBER 21, 2022

The Value of Stress Testing Your Financial Plan. As we approach the end of the fiscal year and begin a new one, business leaders have an overriding concern: How accurate are the assumptions we made when we created our plan? All plans, to a certain extent, are based on assumptions. Scenario Planning and Goal Alignment.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Forecasting Budgeting 98

Future CFO

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

He also highlights the importance of building agility in supply chain management and, external focus and benchmarking in forecasting, whilst continuing to be data and insight-led. In weathering these challenges, Shivam notes the importance of having clarity of vision and ensuring resource allocations are clearly aligned with the vision.

Finance 96

Finance Healthcare Benchmarking Forecasting 96

Global Finance

JANUARY 2, 2025

We provide a very user-friendly tool where you just insert the numbers from the target and from the buyer, and you get a score indicating the likelihood of success. Every quarter it either met or exceeded analysts revenue forecasts. They speak about huge synergies to come and great things to be had from the acquisitions.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) 124

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Finance Accounting Forecasting 124

Centage

AUGUST 8, 2023

Worse, when your company is ready to migrate to a new financial model, like rolling forecasts and scenario planning , or report on company performance, Excel may hold you back from making the leap to move your company forward. Plus, more team members will need to have input into the numbers that make up a company’s budget.

Budgeting 98

Budgeting Planning Forecasting Financial Modeling 98

Centage

MARCH 15, 2022

Designed to help businesses prepare for the unknown, financial scenario planning is a strategic tool for flexible long-term decision-making. With financial scenario planning, companies seek to avoid overpredicting and underpredicting their future by separating content into two categories: things that are certain and things that are unknown.

Planning 98

Planning Forecasting Budgeting Data Analysis 98

Centage

MARCH 14, 2023

If companies want to succeed, they need to craft their personnel planning with care, ensuring their choices hold up to close scrutiny from upper management and investors. The Importance of Workforce Planning Companies often confuse strategic workforce planning with more general annual resource planning.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Budgeting Forecasting 98

Collectiv

JANUARY 24, 2025

Did you know that 96% of finance teams still rely on spreadsheets for planning and 93% rely on them for reporting? If youre stuck in a vicious cycle of manual updates and outdated insights, its time to rethink your approach to planning and financial reporting. Spreadsheets are not built for strategic decision-making.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 52

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Financial Reporting Forecasting Budgeting 52

Centage

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Workforce planning is important to meeting your organization’s strategic vision, but it’s something that many consider a kind of fortune telling. In reality, it’s more science than art, and should be a critical component of management’s operational planning – especially during uncertain times. Download the Workforce Planning Toolkit.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Budgeting Forecasting 98

The Finance Weekly

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Financial models are essential for organizations, helping forecast financial performance using historical data and future projections. This practice allows businesses, investors, and finance professionals to evaluate investment opportunities, assess risks, forecast future scenarios, and support strategic decision-making.

Financial Modeling 52

Financial Modeling Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Budgeting Forecasting 52

Future CFO

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

According to non-profit research organisation APQC , when these systems are optimised and are able to produce reliable data that finance professionals and senior leaders trust, then automation can reduce the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) needed in this area, even during busy seasons.

Forecasting 52

Forecasting Planning Budgeting Financial Data 52

PYMNTS

AUGUST 13, 2020

There have been signs that the sector was beginning to rebound as the number of bookings were off 30 percent in June from a year earlier, compared with a 70 percent year-over-year decline in May. Airbnb’s business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019.”.

Planning 111

Planning Valuation Forecasting Securities 111

Centage

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

in the wake of the global pandemic and a drastic shift to remote/hybrid work, workforce planning has never been more challenging to manage. These are unprecedented times, adding to the pressure of effectively executing workforce planning and budgeting. Get Detailed With Personnel Planning Details, Details, Details!

Planning 93

Planning Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Budgeting Forecasting 93

CFO Selections

MARCH 4, 2024

The “branches” off each decision alternative that result use data analysis to forecast the most likely outcome of each decision. Decision trees can be more conceptual in nature or have numbers to back up decision scenarios, as is the case of pricing changes affecting revenue figures.

Planning 86

Planning Data Analysis Strategic Planning Forecasting 86

CFO Talks

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

The ability to analyze numbers and translate them into actionable strategies has always intrigued me. Early in my career, I realized that finance is not just about managing numbers—it’s about empowering organizations to make informed decisions, optimize resources, and achieve long-term goals.

CFO 98

CFO Leadership Communication Problem Solving 98

Centage

DECEMBER 7, 2022

the maker of QuickBooks Online Advanced, to bring automated budgeting, forecasting, reporting and analytics capabilities to QuickBooks Online Advanced customers and mid-market organizations looking for more robust and streamlined budgeting capabilities. Key Priorities & Requirements for Finance in 2023. Seamless Integration.

Budgeting 98

Budgeting Planning Forecasting GAAP 98

The Finance Weekly

JULY 14, 2024

Are you planning for a Saturday night? How about, planning to buy a house in the next five years? That’s exactly how Long-range Planning (LRP) works – not only for individuals but for businesses as well. Given the current volatility in markets and global economies, long-range planning can indeed seem daunting.

Planning 105

Planning Leadership Budgeting Financial Analyst 105

Onplan

JANUARY 12, 2022

We used our free headcount planning template to run the numbers. You can download it to follow along or create scenarios that work for your business, so you can consider all the moving parts as you plan your strategy. Alternate scenario: Headcount planning template for hiring in a new office location. Number of hires.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 89

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Planning Forecasting Prioritization 89

CFO Network

OCTOBER 25, 2021

For those of us on a calendar fiscal, we are probably getting into the process of planning for 2022 and beyond. Since the GFC planning has been focused mostly around growth and a stable economy. The 2022 planning cycle, given recent economic data points, could be anything but another round of the same.

Planning 94

Planning CFO Transportation Economics 94

Centage

JANUARY 17, 2023

Between a volatile stock market, high interest rates, supply chain issues, inflation, and a possible recession, having a solid financial planning process in place is an important piece of sustaining your business through challenging times. Today’s business leaders are facing unprecedented uncertainty. Was it a salesmanship issue?

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 98

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Budgeting Planning Forecasting 98

E78 Partners

MARCH 3, 2025

The IPO market has also seen a resurgence, with 13 IPOs each aiming to raise $100 million or more filed in January 2025 alone , marking the highest number of sizable IPO filings in a single month since early 2022. Implement budgeting and forecasting processes that withstand market scrutiny.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) 52

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) GAAP Marketing Compliance 52