FP&A - Managing Finance Teams from Mess to Mastery

FP&A can be a function that is constantly in a reactionary state trying to respond to receive quality information from accounting/controllership, and respond to requests from their business partners. This session will walk through the steps to turn FP&A from a last minute stressor, to a true story-telling and business analysis powerhouse.

About this course

$49.00
1 CPD hour
November 6, 2025 - 12:00 PM ET

Structure

Starting Point:

Reporting is very ad-hoc

Data quality is low

Confidence is low

Step 1: Standardization

Define clear roles and timelines - who needs to do what and by when

Identify time sinks and bottlenecks

Design reusable templates

Determine KPIs and necessary data

Step 2: Automation and Error Proofing

Automate data refreshes

Link Excel files

Define a consistent naming and folder structure

Step 3: Evaluation

Measure Finance team on their KPIs - time to close and re-work rate

Step 4: Iteration and Continuous Improvement

Set a schedule to revisit templates and processes during down-time

Bridge data limitations

Define new and improved KPIs

Work towards implementing new tools

Instructor(s)

Dave O'Brien

Dave is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Senior Engagement Manager with Sapling. Upon graduating from undergraduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, he worked for four years at a mid-size accounting firm. His time in public accounting gave him exposure to numerous companies in diverse industries, and a keen eye for analyzing financial statements. After cutting his teeth in public accounting, Dave furthered his education by completing a Master of Finance degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, to complement his background.

With Sapling, Dave has helped grow the diligence practice, overseeing the preparation of Quality of Earnings reports for mid-market transactions in industries ranging from healthcare to aviation. As part of due diligence engagements, Dave leverages his background in accounting to understand the earnings of a company, and go deeper than internal or accountant-prepared financial statements. Additionally, Dave has experience in operational and budget modelling, valuations, and data analytics.