I teach Finance Teams how to use ChatGPT - Keynote speaker on AI for Finance & FP&A

For AI Finance Trainings and Workshops:

✉️ Contact me here: hello@nicolasboucher.online

About me:

Finance Thought Leader specialized in AI, trained more than 5,000 people and on a mission to help more than 1 million finance professionals.

I teach finance people how to use AI.

You can also book me as a keynote speaker.


My previous roles:

🏭 Thales (Germany):
2022-23: Senior manager controlling role for the Transportation business (€500 million business)
2018-22: Part of the management and led the Finance and Controlling team of a production site (400 people) specialised in producing Traveling Waves Tubes for Satellites
2016-2018: Head of Finance Transformation

👨‍💻 PwC:
2014-2016: Audit Manager in PwC Luxembourg
2012-2014: Audit Manager in PwC Singapore
2009-2012: Auditor in PwC Luxembourg


My experience:

Living in 5 different countries across 3 different continents (France, USA, Luxembourg, Singapore and Germany) gave me the capacity to integrate myself quickly and understand different local and working cultures.

Worked 8 years for Thales, an engineering and industrial french multinational.
I had finance manager roles and was part of the management of a 400 people production site.

Prior to that, I worked 7 years as an auditor and consultant for PwC in Luxembourg and Singapore.


My private life:

I am married and a happy father of two young daughters. We both learn from each other and we enjoy reading french books together and play outside.
When I am not busy with my daughters, I am exercising, cooking and spending quality time with friends.
Finally, traveling and tasting new food are some of my favorite experiences. But if you ask me where is the most beautiful place and where can we find the best food in the world, I have only one response: my hometown, Brittany in France.


My Specialties:

-Finance & accounting
-Controlling, budgeting & forecasts
-FP&A
-ChatGPT
-AI
-Storytelling
-Cross-cultural management, coaching and training
-Cost reduction
-Management
-Analytics, Business Performance and Activity Dashboard
-Audit & controls
-Business Processes Modelling
-Financial Statements and Cash Flow
-Business Intelligence
-Fluent in French (native speaker), English & German

Hashtags:
#finance #controlling #accounting #management #cfo #cash #budgeting #forecasting #chatgpt

https://nicolasboucher.online

Nicolas Boucher

Top 100 KPIs (I wish I knew them sooner)
👉 Download your PDF copy here: https://lnkd.in/drNX_va6

Most finance teams drown in metrics but miss the few KPIs that actually move the business.

I’ve created this Top 100 KPIs collection every finance team should know across 10 categories that cover the full finance spectrum:

1. Accounting KPIs
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Days Payable Outstanding (DPO), Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), and the full Cash Conversion Cycle
→ These show how efficiently you manage working capital and operations

2. Cash KPIs
Operating Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, Cash Burn Rate, Runway, and Liquidity Ratio
→ Track how long your business can survive and when to act

3. CEO KPIs
Revenue Growth, Gross Margin, EBITDA, Net Profit Margin, and ROI
→ The metrics every CEO and board watch first

4. SaaS KPIs
MRR, ARR, CAC, LTV, Churn Rate, and Payback Period
→ If you run a subscription model, these define your business health

5. Investor KPIs
Earnings per Share, ROE, ROA, Debt-to-Equity, and P/E Ratio
→ Metrics that signal financial strength and investor confidence

6. Headcount KPIs
Revenue per Employee, Cost per Hire, Turnover Rate, and Productivity Index
→ Connect finance and HR to improve efficiency and retention

7. Capex KPIs
Capex to Revenue, Capex ROI, Depreciation %, and Asset Turnover
→ Reveal how well you invest and utilize company assets

8. Balance Sheet KPIs
Current Ratio, Quick Ratio, Debt Ratio, and Working Capital
→ Essential for liquidity and solvency checks

9. Tax KPIs
Effective Tax Rate, Deferred Tax %, and Tax Liability to Revenue
→ Track the real cost of taxation and compliance performance

10. Inventory KPIs
Inventory Turnover, Stockout Rate, and Holding Cost %
→ Keep cash flow healthy and avoid overstock or shortages

This is the checklist I wish I had as a Finance Manager and CFO

Use it to:
✅ Select the KPIs that truly drive your business
✅ Assign owners and targets
✅ Review them monthly and make decisions faster

Save this post for your next board or planning session.

If you want the PDF of my Ultimate Finance Cheat Sheet in addition to the 100 KPIS collection, comment "cheat sheet" below and I will send it to you.

I teach Finance Teams how to use AI - Keynote speaker on AI for Finance (Email me if you need help)

What is CapEx?
👉 Download my Ultimate Finance resources: https://lnkd.in/e7DPs84q

The Ultimate Breakdown for Finance Teams

CapEx is one of those concepts everyone thinks they understand…
Until they have to explain it in a board meeting

“CapEx looks simple… but it’s where most teams make the wrong calls”
Here’s the post that fixes that

CapEx matters because it shapes:
• Your growth story
• Your asset health
• Your company valuation

But most confusion comes from how to calculate it, when to use it, and how it differs from OpEx

Here’s what’s inside the infographic:
1. What CapEx actually is
Funds used to acquire, upgrade, or maintain long-term assets
Not day-to-day expenses. Capitalized on the balance sheet

2. Why it’s crucial for businesses
• Indicates growth and reinvestment
• Maintains aging assets
• Impacts Free Cash Flow and valuation

3. How to calculate CapEx
PP&E (current) – PP&E (prior) + Depreciation
Or pull it from Investing Cash Flow

4. CapEx vs. OpEx
CapEx = long-term, capitalized, depreciated (trucks, buildings, patents)
OpEx = daily operations, fully expensed (rent, salaries, utilities)

5. Limitations of CapEx
• Huge cash drain
• Risk of asset impairment
• Inflated earnings quality

6. When to analyze CapEx vs. when NOT to
✔ High-heavy industries
✔ Free Cash Flow analysis
✔ Expansion strategy
✖ Early-stage startups
✖ Short-term liquidity checks
✖ Lease vs. Buy distortions

If your team misunderstands CapEx, you’ll misread cash flow, misjudge performance, and mislead investors

This infographic fixes that in 60 seconds

👉 Download my Ultimate resources for finance pros here: https://lnkd.in/e7DPs84q

💬 Want me to make an OpEx version next?

🔁 Repost to help another finance pro understand CapEx

ChatGPT vs Copilot 
👉 Download my 100 ChatGPT Tips: https://lnkd.in/e6VC4Rhq

Which GenAI should you actually use: ChatGPT or Copilot?
That’s a question I get a lot

That’s why I created this guide for you.

Here are my clear rules on which one to choose:

1 - INDIVIDUALS & SMALL BUSINESSES

You’re an individual or small business, not fully in Microsoft or Google?

Recommendation: ChatGPT (take the Teams license if you’re a small business; it has enterprise-grade security and is SOC2 Type II compliant).

It has the best functionalities, best interface, and always ships innovative models first.

Drawback: it's not yet fully connected with your business data (though it's improving with connectors to Google Drive, Calendar, OneDrive, and Outlook).

This is the one I use for my team and me.


2 - BUSINESSES USING MICROSOFT

You guessed it: Copilot.

Why?
Because Copilot 365 with Microsoft 365 brings AI directly to your work data.

This is Copilot’s most underrated feature and the main reason to choose it if you’re a Microsoft shop.

Try this:
Step 1. Switch to "Work" mode
Step 2. Type "/" in Copilot and access a doc
Step 3. Enter the file name
Step 4. Ask Copilot to perform a task on it
Step 5. AI works with real context from your files

That’s a huge advantage over ChatGPT or tools not connected to your work data, where you need preliminary steps to provide context

If you already trust Microsoft with Outlook and Excel online, Copilot makes perfect sense:
- No extra vendor to manage
- Your confidential info stays in Microsoft’s security graph (the same Copilot uses)
- No separate user/license management (it’s tied to Microsoft 365)

And Copilot is just getting started
I got insights from Microsoft Teams telling me that they are working to integrate AI deeper, with more promising features coming soon

Bottom line
Choose based on where your work lives, not the hype
Tell me which one is your favorite one and why

👉 Download my 100 ChatGPT Tips: https://lnkd.in/e6VC4Rhq

Top 100 Excel Shortcuts
👉 Download the High Resolution PDF: https://lnkd.in/dXhJ4HvF

Make yourself 2x more productive in Excel

100 shortcuts ranked from Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Underrated

Like, Bookmark this and Share it.
Thousands of hours will be saved!

If you think you know well Excel, I bet you will still learn something new in the Advanced table (items 51 to 75).

What do we cover?

A list of essential Excel shortcuts for professionals.

Here is a preview:

🟠 Basic

1. How to copy text?
Ctrl + C

2. How to cut text?
Ctrl + X

3. How to paste?
Ctrl + V

4. How to undo?
Ctrl + Z

5. How to redo?
Shift + F11

(get the answers 6-25 in the Cheat Sheet below)

⚪ Intermediate

26. How to autosum?
Alt + =

27. How to fill down?
Ctrl + D

28. How to fill right?
Ctrl + R

29. How to do flash fill?
Ctrl + E

30. How to insert hyperlink?
Ctrl + K

(get the answers 31-50 in the Cheat Sheet below)

⚫ Advanced

51. How to show / hide ribbon?
Ctrl + F1

52. How to create custom view?
Alt + W + C

53. How to paste special (values only)?
Ctrl + Alt + V > V

54. How to change font format?
Ctrl + Shift + F

55. How to goal seek?
Alt + A + W + G

(get the answers 56-75 in the Cheat Sheet below)

🔵 Underrated

76. How to move to the next open workbook window?
Ctrl + F6

77. How to move to the previous open workbook window?
Ctrl + Shift + F6

78. How to insert current date and time?
Ctrl + Shift + :

79. How to paste values & formatting only?
Ctrl + Alt + V > T

80. How to apply or remove cell wrap?
Alt + H + W

(get the answers 81-100 in the Cheat Sheet below)

📥 Get the full HD cheatsheet for free: https://lnkd.in/dXhJ4HvF

🔁 Repost to help your team get faster in Excel

💬 Which shortcut do you use most? Drop it below

Steal my Audit Checklist (Excel Template)
👉 Download yours for free here: https://lnkd.in/dFWf3YRA

I have prepared an Excel Checklist to help you in your audit preparation

Use this checklist to get ready for your next audit

If you are a CFO, a controller, an accountant, or a Finance manager, this checklist is for you.

What is inside the Excel file?

19 tabs comprising the following checklists:

1. Overview Checklist (in the picture below)
2. Financial Statements Preparation
3. Account Reconciliation and Analysis
4. Documentation and Record Keeping
5. Internal Controls and Compliance
6. Risk Management
7. Tax Review and Planning
8. Inventory Management
9. Fixed Assets and Capital Expenditures
10. Investments and Other Financial Assets
11. Employee Benefits and Pensions
12. ESG Compliance
13. Technology and Data
14. Review of New Accounting Policies
15. Related Party Transactions
16. Subsequent Events and Contingencies
17. Sustainability and Continuity Planning
18. Communication with Auditors
19. Final Review and Reporting

👉 Don't forget to download it for free here: https://lnkd.in/dFWf3YRA

If you need any other template, let me know in the comments

CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CMO, and CRO

👉 Download my top 100 KPIs here: https://lnkd.in/edvvYTJc

They sound impressive
but what do they actually do?

I broke it down in one visual below

Here’s a sneak peek at what each role owns
As well as the first 5 rows of the comparison

See the full comparison in the image below

1. CEO → Strategy, growth, vision, investors, expansion
CEO leads the company
CEO drives strategy, growth, and innovation
CEO represents the company to stakeholders & is the public face
CEO sets corporate values
CEO drives global expansion

2. CFO → Financials, performance, risk, profitability
CFO manages finances
CFO ensures stability and establishes discipline
CFO reports financials to the board and shareholders
CFO sets financial benchmarks
CFO optimizes existing markets

3. COO → Daily ops, resource planning, execution
COO oversees daily operations
COO implements the strategic initiatives
COO coordinates departments for smooth execution
COO aligns operational processes with said values
COO manages operational aspects of market penetration

4. CIO → Tech stack, security, data
CIO defines & leads the company's tech strategy
CIO oversees IT infrastructure and systems
CIO ensures technology aligns with business goals
CIO manages cybersecurity and data protection policies
CIO establishes IT Governance & IT Budget (CAPEX, OPEX)

5. CMO → Brand, demand gen, customer journey, messaging
CMO leads marketing strategy & brand position
CMO drives brand awareness & customer acquisition
CMO represents the brand across channels and media
CMO sets brand voice and messaging tone
CMO plans market penetration campaigns

6. CRO → Revenue growth, monetization, customer value, sales performance
CRO drives revenue growth
CRO monetizes strategic initiatives
CRO reports revenue metrics to the board & stakeholders
CRO sets revenue targets & quotas
CRO crafts revenue models for market penetration

This visual will give you instant clarity on who does what at the top

Also, get your copy of the Top 100 KPIs here: https://lnkd.in/edvvYTJc

🔁 Repost to help your network understand the C-suite

Free AI for Finance Course

👉 Download my 100 Prompt Tips PDF: https://lnkd.in/dZ4WKBvS

Save 1000s of dollars with this free course

Bookmark this and follow the curriculum below
+ TONS of FREE RESOURCES at the end!

You want to learn AI for Finance?
I have built and curated a free finance course for you

15 free lessons to make you more knowledgeable than 90% of the finance professionals in using AI

🙏 Help me spread this free course: like, share and comment!

Leverage AI to boost your career
and become irreplaceable

1. AI for Finance Fundamentals Email Course - https://lnkd.in/gFbWBDQ9

2. Prompting & Data-prep - https://lnkd.in/gtz7Bd78 & https://lnkd.in/gC8MqVG7

3. AI Roadmap for Finance team - https://lnkd.in/gK7svud4

4. Generative AI for managers - https://lnkd.in/g_EAYwv8 

5. ChatGPT vs Copilot vs Gemini - https://lnkd.in/gd-8ysiv

6. Top 100 ChatGPT Tips - https://lnkd.in/gX2sekmf

7. Top 100 AI Finance Tools - https://lnkd.in/gvKvkbvA

8. ChatGPT for Finance - https://lnkd.in/grBz2tGv

9. ChatGPT Image Generation for finance - https://lnkd.in/g55D5PtP

10. 30 Ways ChatGPT Helps Finance - https://lnkd.in/gwJ5CKXx

11. 28 Ways to use ChatGPT in Finance - https://lnkd.in/gV8FV82e

12. 6 AI Use Cases for Finance (real ones) - https://lnkd.in/g4wbFW7Q

13. 3 Ways to automate your work with AI - https://lnkd.in/gwUqv83G

14. Save 1 hr per day with ChatGPT - https://lnkd.in/gGdsC-Vr

15. The fast close playbook - https://lnkd.in/gniqwtju

- - -

Here are my bonus resources for you:

My Ultimate Finance Cheatsheet 2025
👉 https://lnkd.in/dxRatm2A

Top 10 Free Finance Resources
👉 https://lnkd.in/d9TA7bNu

Ultimate Finance Resources
👉 https://lnkd.in/dnfrN6R8

🙏 Help me spread this free course: like, share, and comment!

🔁 Repost to help more finance professionals
start using AI in their daily workflow

Atomic Habits for Finance
👉 Download my 48 Laws of Power applied to Finance: https://lnkd.in/edgY7bWe

What if the real difference between an average finance team
and a world-class one wasn’t talent… but habits?

Most teams try to “work harder” during closing, forecasting, or budgeting.
But the truth?

Finance improves in the same way individuals do
through tiny, consistent behaviors that compound over time

That’s why I built this cheat sheet: to translate Atomic Habits into Finance habits you can start today

Here’s what’s inside:

1. How Atomic Habits actually work
Identity, systems, and tiny gains matter more than intensity.
A finance team that sees itself as reliable and data-driven behaves differently.

2. The 4 Laws applied to Finance
#1: Cue – Make it obvious
– Clear dashboards
– Daily stand-ups
– Simple finance scorecards
– Habit stacking during closures and POs

#2: Craving – Make it attractive
– Temptation bundling (variance analysis + coffee)
– Social groups that celebrate clean and on-time data
– “Forecast accuracy leaderboard” for business units
– Motivation rituals in meetings

#3: Response – Make it easy
– Smaller, more frequent forecasting cycles
– Pre-built templates for P&L, variance, board packs
– Standard naming conventions
– The 2-minute rule: if it takes <2 minutes, do it now

#4: Reward – Make it satisfying
– Show reduced cycle times and error drops
– Visible payoff dashboards
– Track on-time submissions & forecast accuracy trends
– Reward behaviors that stick

1% daily improvement
A finance team improving 1% per day becomes 37× better after one year
Tiny process improvements beat massive transformation projects

How to break bad habits
– Make them invisible (remove distractions)
– Make them unattractive (highlight cost of errors)
– Make them difficult (add friction to bad habits)
– Make them unsatisfying (reinforce consequences)

Finance excellence isn’t built in Q4 but it’s built in the daily routines you repeat all year

💬 Which habit are you implementing first?

🔁 Repost to help more finance teams improve 1% every day

👉 Download my 48 Laws of Power applied to Finance: https://lnkd.in/edgY7bWe

100 Prompt Tips
👉 Download the PDF here: https://lnkd.in/dzTqfSjX

Stop writing prompts that confuse AI instead start using ones that compound your results
Most people don’t have a prompt problem

They have a framework problem
Here’s what this visual makes painfully clear:

Clarity > Cleverness
Structure > Guessing
Process > Randomness

The image breaks down 100 prompt tips into 4 categories:

FRAMEWORKS
Tools like CBI-FBI, AIDA, CARE, STAR, SWOT, PESTLE and more that turn vague ideas into precise instructions

DATA TIPS
How to extract tables, convert data, build dashboards, clean datasets and automate insights with
ChatGPT

HACKS + PROMPT ENGINEERING
Templates, constraints, version control, chunking, clarifying questions - all to get higher-quality outputs

FINANCE + PROCESS
Ready-to-use scripts for P&Ls, FP&A workflows, scenario modeling, investor updates and reporting automation

Here’s the real takeaway:

If you learn even 5 of these frameworks, your output improves instantly

Not because AI gets smarter
But because you stop asking messy questions

Want the PDF version of this post?

👉 Download it here: https://lnkd.in/dzTqfSjX

🔁 Repost to help your team get better at prompting

Top 50 Finance KPIs
👉Download it in HD now: https://lnkd.in/d5F8bv2m

Includes explanations and formulas!

You see a lot of KPI lists, but they miss something:
1) These lists do not explain the goal of the KPI
2) These lists do not give you the KPI formula

In this Cheat Sheet, you get both!
Because a KPI is not helpful without explanation and without a formula...

Take it as a catalog from which you can pick 3 to 4 key KPIs.

I like to take 4 KPIs to make a 4-quadrant dashboard.

The standard quadrant I would recommend?

This one:

1. Revenue Growth
2. Net Profit Margin
3. Operating Cash Flow
4. Employee engagement

What would be yours?

You can pick from the 50 following KPIs:

🧾 Accounting KPIs:
1. Debt-to-Equity Ratio
2. Invoice Processing Time
3. Working Capital Ratio
4. Net Profit Margin
5. Return on Equity
6. Gross Profit Margin
7. Accounts Receivable Turnover
8. Fixed Asset Turnover
9. Accounts Payable Turnover
10. Inventory Turnover

💰 Cash KPIs:
11. Operating Cash Flow
12. Days Payables Outstanding
13. Average Days Delinquent
14. Days Sales Outstanding
15. Days of Inventory Outstanding
16. Cash Burn Rate
17. Free Cash Flow
18. Cash Conversion Cycle
19. Cash Reserves in Days
20. Overdues Ratio

👨‍💼 CEO KPIs:
21. Revenue Growth
22. Market Share
23. Employee Productivity
24. Innovation Index
25. Brand Equity
26. Market Expansion
27. Sustainability Metrics
28. Employee Engagement
29. Employee Turnover
30. Cash Flow

🖥 SaaS KPIs:
31. Lifetime Value
32. SaaS Quick Ratio
33. New Buyer Growth Rate
34. ARR Per FTE
35. Customer Churn Rate
36. Runway
37. Customer Acquisition Costs
38. Monthly Recurring Revenue
39. Average Revenue Per User
40. Total Addressable Market

💼 Investors KPIs:
41. Earnings per Share
42. Quick Ratio
43. Dividend Payout Ratio
44. Current Ratio
45. Return on Investment
46. Share Buyback Ratio
47. Price-to-Earnings Ratio
48. Gross Margin Ratio
49. Dividend Yield
50. Net Promoter Score

👉Download it in HD now: https://lnkd.in/d5F8bv2m

My 25 Hidden Excel Shortcuts
👉 Get my full 100 Excel Shortcuts PDF: https://lnkd.in/deaTy2Xs


I made a list of 25 underrated Excel shortcuts that can save you hours
(and impress your colleagues)

I bet you don't know at least half of them

Excel Shortcuts List:

1. Move to the next open workbook window: Ctrl + F6

2. Move to the previous open workbook window: Ctrl + Shift + F6

3. Insert current time: Ctrl + Shift + :

4. Paste values & formatting only: Ctrl + Alt + V > T

5. Apply or remove cell wrap: Alt + H + W

6. Clear all formats: Alt + H + E + F

7. Insert a line break in a cell: Alt + Enter

8. Insert a new comment in a cell: Shift + F2

9. Open cell options menu: Shift + F10

10. Paste special - transpose: Ctrl + Alt + V > E

11. Insert sparkline from selected data: Alt + N + SL / SW / SO

12. Enter full-screen mode: Ctrl + Shift + F1

13. Record a macro: Alt + F8

14. Open the Visual Basic editor: Alt + F11

15. Autofit column height: Alt + H + O + A

16. Hide a sheet: Alt + H + O + U + S

17. Unhide a sheet: Alt + H + O + U + H

18. Insert slicers: Alt + N + SF

19. Apply or remove strikethrough: Ctrl + 5

20. Expand or collapse the formula bar: Ctrl + Shift + U

21. Collapse sheet outline: Alt + A + H / J

22. Create names from selection: Ctrl + Shift + F3

23. Insert new worksheet: Shift + F11

24. Select an entire row: Shift + Space

25. Select an entire column: Ctrl + Space


👉 Interested in more Excel shortcuts? Get them all here: https://lnkd.in/deaTy2Xs


What’s your go-to Excel shortcut?

CEO vs CFO vs COO KPIs
👉 Download my Top 100 KPIs here: https://lnkd.in/dgwVdfEM

📊 CEO KPIs
1. Revenue Growth
(Current period revenue - Previous period revenue) / Previous period revenue

2. Gross Profit Margin
(Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue

3. Net Profit Margin
Net Income / Revenue

4. Return on Investment (ROI)
Net Income / Investment Cost

5. Earnings per Share (EPS)
(Net Income - Preferred Dividends) / Average Outstanding Shares

6. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
(Marketing + Sales Costs) / New Customers Acquired

7. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
(Average Revenue per Customer × Average Customer Lifespan) / CAC

8. Employee Engagement
Measures employee satisfaction and engagement using surveys or performance reviews

9. Employee Turnover
Number of Employees Who Left During the Period / Average Number of Employees

10. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
% Promoters - % Detractors

---

📉 CFO KPIs
1. EBITDA
Net Income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization

2. Return on Equity (ROE)
Net Income / Shareholders’ Equity

3. Working Capital Ratio
Current Assets / Current Liabilities

4. Debt-to-Equity Ratio
Total Debt / Total Equity

5. Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)
Days Sales Outstanding + Days Inventory
Outstanding - Days Payable Outstanding

6. Debt Service Coverage Ratio
Net Operating Income / Total Debt Service

7. Return on Assets (ROA)
Net Income / Total Assets

8. Inventory Turnover
Cost of Goods Sold / Average Inventory

9. Quick Ratio
(Current Assets - Inventories) / Current Liabilities

10. Cash Flow
Operating Cash Flow + Investing Cash Flow + Financing Cash Flow

---

⚙️ COO KPIs
1. Project Efficiency
Actual Project Cost / Planned Project Cost

2. Productivity of Staff
Total Output (unit or value) / Total Number of Employees

3. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Image is wrong (will be corrected in next post).
It should be Unit sold x Standard Cost

4. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
Availability × Performance × Quality

5. Operational Efficiency
Total Output / Total Input

6. Customer Satisfaction
Number of Satisfied Customers / Total Number of Customers

7. Time to Market
Number of Orders Delivered on or Before Promised Delivery Date / Total Number of Orders

8. Quality Index
Defects / Total Units Produced

9. Capacity Utilization
Actual Output / Potential Output

10. Safety Incident Rate
(Number of Incidents × 200,000) / Total Hours Worked

👉 Get my Top 100 KPIs here: https://lnkd.in/dgwVdfEM

🔁 Repost if this gave you a clearer view into the C-suite mindset

Your team’s output became 10x bigger
That means as a manager your review 10x also!

👉 Enroll in my free AI course now: https://lnkd.in/dNNPzeMX

Reviewing AI work is much easier when you master the fundamentals first
Click on the link above ☝️

AI Broke Your Review Process
It created a massive "Transparency Gap."

Every week, I see the same situation: Your juniors can now produce 10x more output. But more output does not mean better work.

You are left with a pile of deliverables you can't trust because you are starting your review from zero.

You don't know:
• What was AI-generated vs. manual analysis?
• Which parts were reviewed vs. just accepted?
• What context they gave the AI?

The Reality?

You spend your entire Friday trying to figure out
which parts are accurate and which parts are AI guesses

The Solution: The Crystal Method

We built this system to fix the bottleneck. It makes review faster, not slower
It answers three questions for every piece of work:

1️⃣ What did AI do? (Which parts were generated vs. manual)
2️⃣ How was it done? (Which tool, which prompt, what context)
3️⃣ What was verified? (What the human checked vs. accepted)

That’s it. Three answers, massive clarity

The shift? From "Did they do the work?"
to "How did they do the work?"

From "Redo the maths" to "Check the method"

If you lead a team using AI, follow the implementation roadmap in the infographic:
1. Build Awareness: Discuss where AI helps and where it creates problems
2. Define Scope: Use the Golden Rule (Use AI to generate, not calculate)
3. Standardize: Define the tool, model, and verification checklist
4. Create Reusable Tools: Stop copying prompts; start building custom GPTs
5. Full Automation: Only do this when steps 1-4 are solid

Your team is using AI whether you train them or not
Take 60 minutes this week to ensure that usage is clear & transparent

Reviewing AI work is much easier when you master the fundamentals first

👉 Learn the AI Finance Fundamentals here with my free AI course: https://lnkd.in/dNNPzeMX

ChatGPT 5.2 ≠ ChatGPT 5.1 (especially on Thinking)

📥 Download my 100 ChatGPT Tips: https://lnkd.in/djxgz65s

You got a bad AI answer? You used the wrong “brain”

Most finance pros treat every model the same…
then wonder why the output is:
confident but wrong
messy when you need a clean table
inconsistent halfway through a long analysis

Here are the key differences:

Hallucinations
5.2: hallucination rate reduced to 6.2% + errors ~30% less common + improved reliability for professional use
5.1: hallucination rate 8.8% + more errors with longer/complex reasoning + accuracy can decline in research/citation-heavy tasks

Long-context memory & consistency
5.2: retains info ~100% consistently + far fewer memory drops + better for long, multi-source work
5.1: would forget earlier details mid-conversation + frequent re-prompting needed + not ideal for long, multi-source work

Vision accuracy (screenshots, UI, diagrams)
5.2: stronger visual understanding + more accurate at reading screenshots/charts/UI layouts
5.1: vision works, limited UI detail + less reliable for screenshots/app interfaces

Structured output (slides, sheets, apps)
5.2: more polished layouts + ready-to-use slide decks/sheets
5.1: can generate slides & sheets + often needs heavy manual cleanup

Thinking time vs answer quality
5.2: thinking mode can run much longer + longer thinking correlates with better correctness
5.1: auto mode favors speed + thinking helps, but depth is limited

Quick summary:
5.2 = A Serious Analyst (deep reasoning, professional output, long & complex tasks)
5.1 = A Smart Assistant (faster, conversational, everyday tasks, personalized tone)

Here’s my simple rule:

ChatGPT 5.1 = the fast assistant
I use it for quick drafts, short questions, and everyday tasks

ChatGPT 5.2 = the serious analyst
I use it when accuracy matters: long-context work, screenshots/UI interpretation, structured outputs

Using the right model for your needs is also another way to save time

👉 Which one have you used today: 5.1 or 5.2?

Stop Buying New AI Tools

👉 Download my 30-Day AI finance playbook: https://lnkd.in/dw5DQkaD
(To learn how to train your finance team on AI)

You're probably paying for 3 AI tools, and using none of them well

Your junior analyst is on ChatGPT
Your FP&A manager swears by Claude
Your director is experimenting with Gemini

Meanwhile, you're stuck wondering:
Which AI tool should we standardize on?

Here’s the real problem →
You're not choosing based on what works for the team
You're choosing based on what feels newest or most hyped

Let’s fix that

The Real Problems

Problem 1: You're Paying Twice (or 3x)
• Teams buy Copilot or Gemini licenses
• But still expense ChatGPT Plus
• That’s $2,400/year wasted on duplicate tools

Check your license here:

For Copilot:

Problem 2: Nobody Can Collaborate
• Each AI tool keeps prompts and knowledge siloed
• When someone leaves, their context goes with them

Problem 3: Analysis Paralysis
• 10 minutes wasted just deciding which tool to open
• 3 tools = 3x the time to find one answer

The Smarter Approach: Go Ecosystem-First

Instead of asking “Which AI is best?”, ask:
“What ecosystem are we already in?”

If you're already on:
• Microsoft 365 → Use Copilot
• Google Workspace → Use Gemini

Why this works better:

Security as Standard
• Enterprise-grade data protection
• No personal account sharing
• Audit trails + IT-managed access

Team Collaboration
• Everyone shares prompts and files
• Conversation history is retained
• Knowledge builds over time

Seamless Integration
• Copilot and Gemini access your OneDrive or Google Drive
• No manual uploads or copy-paste
• AI works where your team already works

But What About Advanced Features?

Copilot (GPT-5.2) and Gemini (Gemini 1.5) now support:
• “Thinking mode”
• Slide generation
• Report summaries

And they run on the same foundational models
But directly embedded in your workflow

Follow the 80/20 Rule
80% of work = Ecosystem AI
• Emails, summaries, lookups, reports

20% of work = Specialist AI
• Deep modeling, creative ideation, scratch generation

Your Move (This Week):
1. Open your Microsoft or Google admin panel
2. See what you’re already paying for
3. Pick one ecosystem AI tool for your team

Chances are, you already own what you need
✓ No more tool debates
✓ No more triple testing
✓ No more wasted budget

👉 Learn how to train your finance team on AI in 30 days: https://lnkd.in/dw5DQkaD

The future-ready finance team isn’t chasing the “best AI”

It’s aligning around the one AI mindset that just works

🔁 Repost to help more finance professionals use AI together better

Prompting 101 Cheatsheet
👉 Enroll in my free AI course: https://lnkd.in/dgFNrHuC

A CFO preparing a cost-reduction plan types one line into ChatGPT
The answer sounds smart but it’s useless for the board deck

For CFOs, FP&A and finance leads, vague prompts are expensive
They waste time, hide risks, and make AI look like a toy instead of a strategic partner

I have turned this prompting system into a one-page cheat sheet you can hand to your whole team

It’s the same structure I use when training 5,000+ finance professionals and inside my 1,500+ member AI Finance Club

Here’s what’s inside:
1. What a “prompting technique” actually is
→ Why a precise, well-structured prompt beats a vague question every time.

2. The CSI framework (Context-Specific-Instruction)
→ How to brief AI like a colleague, not a search bar, with a cost-reduction example for a mid-size European company.

3. The FBI add-on (Format-Blueprint-Identity)
→ Turn generic text into board-ready tables, tuned to your tone, industry, and role.

4. The CSI + FBI combo prompt
→ A full example you can paste into ChatGPT to design a structured cost-saving plan with realistic initiatives

5. Chunking technique for complex analyses
→ Break big asks (like an acquisition assessment) into safe, controllable steps the model can actually handle

6. Six-step acquisition prompt chain
→ From “you are an expert financial analyst” to a concise go/no-go summary for your board without leaking sensitive details

7. Guardrails for sensitive data
→ A reminder to keep confidential numbers inside secure enterprise AI accounts only

When your prompts mirror how you brief a senior finance colleague
context, structure, and clear roles

AI finally delivers outputs you can take to the board

👉 Free AI for Finance Beginner Email course here: https://lnkd.in/dgFNrHuC

Where I will talk more about the CSI-FBI Framework for writing perfect AI prompts

Repost to help your team work faster

Which point will you try first?

How CFOs use GenAI to cut costs
👉 Enroll in my free AI Course: https://lnkd.in/ggmMizQk

Cost programs don’t fail from lack of ideas
They fail due to lack of structure

Most teams know what could be cut
Very few can rank it, size it, and turn it into an executable plan fast
So instead of starting with blank slides, you start with a structured first draft, then validate it with your data

Here’s what’s inside:
1. The exact prompt I use (copy/paste):
I am the CFO of a manufacturing company

I need to come up with a cost-saving plan

Create a detailed plan for me and my team

The plan should do a table first and then a project plan detailing the top 10 low-hanging fruits and the exact plan to enable them

Write this like the best cost-cutting consultant with super practical and pragmatic approach and bring some innovative ideas

2. Result you will get under 30 seconds
Top low-hanging-fruit initiatives ranked by impact vs effort
Savings ranges benchmarked to EU manufacturing peers
Named roles, KPIs, timelines, and risk mitigations
Tool recommendations (Power BI, e-sourcing, low-code apps, SaaS AI)
Governance cadence and kick-off checklist ready to paste into your deck

3. The keywords that steer the output:
“Table first”
“Exact plan”
“Innovative ideas”
“Practical & pragmatic”

4. Example of a pragmatic mini action plan (this is the level of detail):
Reverse-Auction for Tier-B Materials
Scope: 180 SKUs (fasteners, packaging, secondary alloys) worth €8M p.a.
Owner: Strategic Sourcing Lead

Steps
Cleanse spend data & spec sheets (June)
Bundle SKUs into 4 lots to boost volume leverage (July)
Invite >6 qualified suppliers; supply sample for QA (Aug)
Run 45-min online auction (Sept)
Dual-source top lot to keep pressure (Oct)

Quick win
Pilot 1 lot (€1M) first—often lands ~5% saving within 30 days

Contract guardrails
Index-linked price bands, dual-source clause, quarterly rebates

5. Why this is powerful for you
Instant knowledge synthesis — thousands of best practices, one coherent plan
Iterative co-creation — stress-test ideas and refine in minutes
Cost-free first draft — consultant-grade structure without the day rate
Scalable expertise — pivot from opex to capex, WC, or board-ready scripts fast

6. How to get more value from the LLM:
#1 Be specific in the ask — format, depth, tone (“table first, then plan”)
#2 Provide context — industry, size, constraints
#3 Challenge & iterate — “stress-test initiative #5”
#4 Validate with data — model it before executing
#5 Blend human + AI — AI drafts, humans judge feasibility and drive change

GenAI won’t run your cost program
But it can compress week 1 into minute 1 so your team spends time deciding, not drafting

👇 Master the fundamentals of AI for Finance here: https://lnkd.in/ggmMizQk

Which initiative would you stress-test first?

Save 10 Hours/Week with Your AI Clone

👉 Download my 100 Prompt Tips here: https://lnkd.in/dmRgrhCj

Ever feel like you’re constantly reintroducing yourself to ChatGPT?

Every time you start a new chat, you waste time explaining your role
Your company
Your style
Your metrics
Your tone

And then you spend even more time fixing generic outputs that just don’t sound like you

That’s the Content Tax
A silent productivity killer that drains 20 minutes per task...
and worse, breaks your consistency

Here’s how I got rid of it 👇

I built my AI Digital Clone
A personalized version of GPT that already knows how I think, write, and work
It understands:
The structure of my board packs
Which metrics I care about
My preferred writing tone and formatting
The level of detail I expect

This isn’t just about using “memory” in ChatGPT
It’s about giving AI a permanent blueprint of you...
your voice, your process, your goals

I broke the setup into 6 clear steps:
1. Gather your professional materials
CV, LinkedIn profile, company info: the building blocks of your digital self

2. Define your tone
Grab a few emails that sound like you and explain how to replicate your writing style

3. Upload everything to a new chat
Your resume, tone guide, and company context go in together

4. Fill in the blanks
Use prompts to help the AI answer key questions about who you are

5. Generate the master prompt
Ask the AI to create a detailed instruction set so it always acts like your clone

6. Build your custom GPT
Now you're ready to create a reusable AI assistant that never forgets who you are

Whether you're using ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot... the process is the same
You just need the right inputs

👉 Download my 100 Prompt Tips here: https://lnkd.in/dmRgrhCj

Key takeaway:
The time you spend not building your digital clone is time lost to repetition
Build it once → save 10+ hours every week

Wharton Online

About the Program:

➣ It’s an 8-week cohort-based online program

➣ Upon passing the exam, participants earn a certificate in FP&A from Wharton.

➣ Learn everything you need to transition into FP&A or grow your career: 
- Planning
- Forecasting
- Analysis
- Modeling
- Business Partnering
- Reporting and Storytelling
- Using cutting-edge tools like AI and Machine Learning

➣ Learn technical FP&A skills from the faculty of Wharton and real-world practical skills, delivered by FP&A practitioners.

➣ For FP&A beginners and seasoned professionals who want to learn best practices.

Explore the program here:
https://wallstreetprep.wharton.upenn.edu/financial-planning-and-analysis-certificate/

Director - FP&A Certificate Program

FP&A Prep

Managing Director & Lead Instructor

WHAT I DO: 

I help finance teams develop their FP&A skills through customized in-person and virtual training. 

HOW IT WORKS: 

I provide tailored FP&A training programs that delve into the breadth and depth of planning, business partnering, financial storytelling, and analysis, with a strong emphasis on your business context.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY:

➢ The accounting and advisory firm Wiss hired me to train their 22-person FP&A advisory team.
    
”Thank you for facilitating a great training session with the team! The content, Q&A sessions, self-study component, and individual learning lessons were all excellent and exactly what we were looking for.This was a very successful training for our team. Happy to be a reference for you in the future.”
    
    -Travis Miskowitz , Partner  at Wiss.com
    
➢ The education company Chegg engaged me to train their 25-person global FP&A team.
    
“Thanks for running the workshop this week. The feedback was OVERWHELMINGLY positive - it was a home run! Great job.”

-Roberto Leao, VP of Finance at Chegg Inc.

➢ The gaming company Take-Two Interactive Software enrolled their 13-person FP&A team in my training program.
    
“This program was extremely informative about many aspects of FP&A. The different platforms used (Kahoot, breakout rooms, case studies) kept everyone engaged.”
    
 - Mary B., Senior Manager, FP&A at Take-Two Interactive

Learn more about FP&A Corporate Training here:

https://www.fpaprep.com/training

FP&A Corporate Training for Finance Teams

WHAT IT IS:
FP&A Bootcamp is a live online course where you'll learn FP&A best practices together with a group of peers. In six workshops over two weeks, you’ll learn via exercises, small group discussions, and guided brainstorming sessions.

We cover best practices on:

➢ Financial Storytelling
➢ Business Partnering
➢ Budget Management
➢ Planning & Forecasting
➢ Financial Modeling

WHAT MY STUDENTS SAY:

“The course takes you through a practical approach to FP&A and you walk away with ideas and strategies you can begin to utilize in your business right away.”

-Anthony L., VP of Finance at Smokey mos BBQ

“If you are new to FP&A, or have been doing it for years, this is a great course to ensure you are on the correct path. The time commitment isn't so much that you take too much time away from work, but enough that you feel you are getting plenty of resources to take back to your job.”

-Sara B., Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at Mosaic

“This is both a good refresher for seasoned professionals and a good introduction for individuals with less experience. Time went by very fast as it was an enjoyable course.”

-Steve D., CFO at WAFLA

Learn more about FP&A Bootcamp here:

https://maven.com/fpaprep/fpa-bootcamp

FP&A Bootcamp - live online training for individuals and small teams

WHAT IT IS:

Get your message in front of my 20,000+ audience. You can sponsor a text-based ad in the “FP&A Tuesday” newsletter.

And we can organize a webinar together where Christian shares educational content and promotes the webinar to his 90,000+ LinkedIn followers and email subscribers.

WHAT CLIENTS SAY:

“As the Head of Marketing at E78 Partners, I have had the pleasure of working with Christian Wattig through various sponsorships. Our experience has been nothing short of outstanding!

FP&A Tuesday has served as an invaluable resource, providing insightful and engaging content, and E78 has seen tremendous results from our sponsorships. 

Whether we're promoting an event or sharing valuable insights, the newsletter consistently drives high-quality engagement and fosters meaningful connections with our target audience. In short, FP&A Tuesday has been a game-changer for our marketing initiatives.”

-Scott Raspa, Head of Marketing at E78 Partners

Learn more about becoming a sponsor here:

https://www.passionfroot.me/fpa-tuesday

For Advertisers: Newsletter Ads & Sponsored Webinar

WHAT IT IS:

A free weekly newsletter with insights and actionable advice to build your Financial Planning & Analysis skills. 

Join 20,000+ finance and accounting professionals and receive:

-3 insights from me

-2 ideas from others, and

-1 FP&A infographic

… every Tuesday.

WHAT READERS SAY:

“Excellent information. Easy-to-read format. One of the best emails I get each week.”

-Josh B., Director of Finance at Spire

Sign-up to the newsletter here (free):

https://www.fpaprep.com/fpa-tuesday

Newsletter: FP&A Tuesday

WHAT IT IS:

 You’ll learn the T.A.C.T. framework to improve your forecast accuracy, navigate budgeting with ease, and have more impact as a finance professional.

HOW IT WORKS:

It’s an online course with 45 short lessons covering budgeting, metric selection, forecasting techniques, and reporting frameworks. It includes case studies and hands-on exercises so you can anchor your learning. We cover forecasting for revenues, expenses, headcount, and cash flow.

WHAT MY STUDENTS SAY:

“This is a goldmine for me. I have been through a significant amount of budget processes. I have picked from here a lot of the challenges we experienced. This information would improve our budget process tremendously. The questions and answers provided is excellent”

-Ernestina L.

“Great approaches to both the planning and forecasting process that I can take back to my company.”

-Tom I., VP of Finance at Slingshot Aerospace

“Even if you aren’t in FP&A, getting a baseline for the forecasting process will help in other parts of the business. Having more people understand the forecasting and planning processes will help everyone make better-informed decisions. And this class will certainly help with that.”

-Dan D., Financial Analyst at Perform CB

Learn more about “The Art & Science of Forecasting” here:

https://forecastingmastery.com/

The Art & Science of Forecasting - self-paced online learning

Datarails

Create and lead professional development training programs, externally for customers and internally for employees.

Head of Training

Lead a team of FP&A experts who consult customers on process improvements and implement automation projects.

FP&A Solution Architect

Squarespace

- Lead Financial Planning and Analysis for Marketing and Growth

- Partner with the Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Creative Officer, and VP for Business-to-Business sales

Financial Planning & Analysis Lead

Maven

I was selected to join the Maven Course Accelerator. It's a six-week intensive program to learn how to build cohort-based courses under Wes Kao.

Maven Course Accelerator

Unilever

- Lead financial planning and analysis for the North American freight and warehousing operations

- Partner with Senior Leadership in Logistics, Procurement and HR to provide visibility on risks and opportunities

- Lead a team of seven direct reports, managing their daily tasks and professional development plans

Senior Finance Manager - FP&A Logistics North America

- Lead financial planning and analysis for marketing investments company-wide for the US business.

- Partner with Senior Leadership in Marketing and Procurement to provide visibility on risks and opportunities in Marketing budgets, including 3rd party vendor budgets.

- Lead a team of five direct reports, managing their daily tasks and professional development plans.

Finance Manager - FP&A Marketing Finance & Analytics

- Responsible for financial planning and analysis for the global Hair business of Family Value Brands

- Lead innovation business case development and analysis

- Lead a direct report, managing their daily tasks and professional development plans.

- Lead a team of three to develop and present trainings on Productivity Management and MS Excel for the North American Finance team.

Finance Manager - FP&A Global Hair Care

- Supply Chain innovation analysis for the Beverage category in North America

- Close collaboration with Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, Engineering, Plant Finance and Brand Marketing across time zones

Associate Finance Manager - FP&A Supply Chain Refreshments

Avon

- Management reporting, month-end accounting and process optimization at the global headquarter. Temporary assignment.

Senior Financial Analyst - FP&A North America Marketing (Consulting)

Procter & Gamble

- Recommended strategic product, pricing and promotion changes in close collaboration with cross-functional team. 

- Financial analysis for new product initiatives. Analysis of sensitivities on net present value, gross margin, revenue & profit via creating financial models to consolidate inputs of all functions.

FP&A Financial Analyst - Fabric Care Middle East & Africa

- Management reporting and financial analysis for all P&G categories in Switzerland

- Partnered with sales teams to deliver on joint goals with major Swiss customers.

Customer FP&A Financial Analyst

📌 Struggling to Master FP&A? You’re Not Alone.

FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) is one of the most challenging areas in finance to break into or excel at—especially if you’re learning on the job or stepping into a new leadership role.

Books and videos alone can’t teach you the real-world skills that matter most, like financial storytelling and effective business partnering. That’s where I come in.

With 15+ years in FP&A leadership roles at Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Squarespace, and Datarails, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what works—and I’m here to pass those insights on to you.

Over 1,000 mid-career finance professionals have enrolled in my online FP&A training programs.

I’m also the director of the Wharton School's FP&A certificate program. 

And I regularly get hired to uplevel the FP&A skills of teams in top companies such as Lowe's, Merck, Google, and many others.

In fact, Google hired me to train 96 Googlers across four FP&A workshops. 

This was their feedback:

“We were initially hesitant about piloting a portion of Christian Wattig's FP&A skills program. However, after experiencing the workshops, we found that his core content and delivery were indeed strong.
We would recommend Christian as a corporate trainer. He possesses a strong foundation in FP&A, excellent content development skills, and a clear ability to facilitate engaging sessions.”

 David Mitchell, Finance Academy Manager at Google


📌 How I Can Help You

I offer FP&A training through four avenues:

1️⃣ Free Newsletter: Subscribe to “FP&A Tuesday” and join 30,000+ Finance and Accounting pros for actionable advice on budgeting, forecasting, and more.
👉 Subscribe here: FPAprep.com

2️⃣ Self-Paced Learning: Explore my engaging and exercise-based online course portfolio.
👉 Learn more here: courses.fpaprep.com/portfolio

3️⃣ Live Online Bootcamp: A six-session program covering Financial Storytelling, Business Partnering, Budgeting, Planning, and Financial Modeling. Perfect for individuals and small teams.
👉 Learn more here: maven.com/fpaprep/fpa-bootcamp

4️⃣ Corporate Training: Tailored workshops for larger teams (10+), offered virtually or in person.
👉 Email hello@fpaprep.com to learn more.

If you are interested in a marketing collaboration, email hello@fpaprep.com.

Christian Wattig

Most FP&A teams spend hours on variance analysis and still miss the $2M problem hiding in plain sight.  

After 15+ years at P&G, Unilever, and Squarespace, I've seen brilliant analysts calculate every variance perfectly - yet fail to spot the warning signs that matter.  

The difference? They're doing math. Not detective work.

The ARCTIC Framework changes that:  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 1: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁

Start by identifying what actually happened. Compare actuals to forecast at the right level of detail. Too granular and you're drowning in data. Too high-level and you miss critical insights.  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 2: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝘆

This is where most teams fail. They stop at "sales were down 10%." But WHY were sales down? Was it volume or price? New customers or retention? One product line or across the board?  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 3: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 

Connect the variance to business impact. A 10% sales miss might be fine if it's timing-related. It's a crisis if it signals a competitive threat.  

The three-step framework in the infographic breaks this down into actionable workflows - and ARCTIC helps find the crucial "So What" (see below).

Now, what separates good FP&A from great FP&A?  

Great teams don't just report variances. They prevent future ones by understanding root causes and adjusting forecasts accordingly.

Variance analysis becomes your early warning system - spotting trends before they hit the P&L.

The attached framework shows you how to build this capability step by step.

Which step in the ARCTIC framework has been most insightful for your team? Drop it below 👇 

-Christian

𝗣.𝗦. Black Friday is here, and I'm offering $503 off Inside FP&A Academy - my complete FP&A training program. 

You'll master variance analysis plus forecasting, modeling, business partnering, and financial storytelling. 

The same frameworks I teach at Wharton, now available online.

Grab the deal: https://lnkd.in/eCu7s8U5

Director, Wharton FP&A Program | Founder, Inside FP&A | On-site FP&A training at your offices (US & CA) and self-paced online learning

After interviewing dozens of FP&A candidates, I kept seeing the same costly mistake.

Smart candidates with solid technical skills would freeze when I asked: "Tell me about a time you worked with someone particularly demanding."

Or: "Describe when you had to complete a lot of work against tight deadlines."

Silence. Then scrambling. Then a vague, unconvincing answer.

The pattern was so consistent that it became predictable.

These weren't weak candidates. They had the Excel skills. They understood variance analysis. They could build complex models.

But they hadn't prepared specific examples for behavioral questions.

And in FP&A interviews, behavioral questions aren't just icebreakers. They're deal-breakers.

Why? Because FP&A in junior roles is 50% technical skills and 50% managing stakeholders, tight deadlines, and competing priorities. In more senior roles, it skews even more to interpersonal skills.

When you can't articulate how you've handled demanding CFOs or impossible deadlines, interviewers question whether you can handle the reality of the role.

The fix is simple: 

Before any FP&A interview, document 5-7 specific situations using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Cover the basics:

• Demanding stakeholder situations
• Tight deadline scenarios
• Data quality challenges
• Cross-functional conflicts
• Process improvement examples

Real examples. Real numbers. Real outcomes.

Because when the interviewer asks about that demanding stakeholder, you want to confidently share how you managed the CMO who wanted three forecast revisions in two days - and still delivered.

That's what separates candidates who get offers from those who get polite rejections.

-Christian

P.S. Want to ace your FP&A interview prep? I've compiled my top 10 most popular FP&A one-pagers covering all six pillars of FP&A to get you interview-ready. 

The same frameworks my Wharton exec ed students use to land roles at Fortune 500s: https://lnkd.in/eZt8u_Ar

Most finance professionals treat AI like Google Search.

4-5 words. Hit enter. "AI doesn't help me much."

I discovered this during a recent 3-day on-site FP&A training when I included an AI segment for the first time. I asked the team to use ChatGPT for writing a tricky Excel formula. 

The results shocked me.

They entered prompts like "calculate variance" or "forecast model Excel."

Then concluded AI was useless for finance work.

But when I showed them how to write highly-specific prompts with just the right amount of context, everything changed. AI suddenly became their secret weapon for financial modeling, variance analysis, reporting, even business partnering.

That moment opened my eyes:

Finance professionals now have access to enterprise-grade, secure AI at work.
But nobody's teaching them how to use it effectively for FP&A tasks.

That's why I created 𝘈𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘗&𝘈 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺.

The carousel shows 10 ways AI transforms FP&A work - from prepping for CMO meetings to running ARIMA forecasts in Excel. Each with the exact prompts that actually work.

Real examples:

• Challenge budget assumptions diplomatically
• Predict board meeting questions before they're asked  
• Transform boring reports into executive-ready insights
• Build 3-year P&L models from basic assumptions

After training Fortune 500 FP&A teams for 15+ years, AI is the biggest shift I've seen.

Yet most finance professionals are still typing 4 words and giving up.

AI for FP&A Academy takes you from AI novice to turning it into a high-level financial analyst. 10 modules of beginner-friendly applications. Real templates and prompts you can use immediately.

Launch discount: Get 50% off (expires Friday, December 5th)

Learn more about 𝘈𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘗&𝘈 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺:
https://lnkd.in/exhPeUNq

Which of the 10 prompts are you excited to try? Drop it below 👇

-Christian

10 Ways to Use AI in Finance

Stripe offered $1.2 billion to acquire Airwallex. Guess how the founders responded?

They said no.

This was in 2018 - Airwallex was making just $2 million in revenue then.

Fast forward to today: 

Airwallex just raised $330 million at an $8 billion valuation (30% jump in 6 months) led by Addition and with participation from T. Rowe Price, Activant, Lingotto, Robinhood Ventures and TIAA Ventures.

They just hit $1 billion ARR (90% growth). Doubled transaction volume to $235 billion. Launched in 12 new countries. And they're opening a second HQ in San Francisco with a $1 billion investment to take on Stripe directly.

The business model that made them worth betting on themselves?

They spotted a simple inefficiency in global payments that traditional banks ignore:

With traditional banking: You earn USD → Bank converts to your home currency → You pay supplier → Bank converts back to their currency.

Two conversions = Two FX fees = Money lost both ways.

Airwallex lets businesses hold 20+ currencies in one account. Money never converts until YOU decide. This alone saves companies 3-6% on every international transaction.

And while opening a bank account in a new country traditionally takes weeks or months, requires local presence, and tons of paperwork, with Airwallex you can do it in 60 seconds. From your laptop.

No wonder McLaren Racing, Canva, Arsenal Football Club, Navan, Qantas, Brex and Deel use them.

The founders could have taken the $1.2 billion and walked away. Instead, they bet on solving a real problem that affects every global business.

𝗦𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗼 $𝟭.𝟮 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 $𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗼.

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘪𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘹, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵.

👉 Check out how Airwallex handles global payments here: https://lnkd.in/e98KetVM

Brand partnership • Director, Wharton FP&A Program | Founder, Inside FP&A | On-site FP&A training at your offices (US & CA) and self-paced online learning

The 26 skills you need to succeed in FP&A

When I interviewed FP&A job candidates, I looked for examples of how they demonstrated each of these skills:

Technical Skills

1/ Financial Modeling
2/ Accounting
3/ Financial Controls
4/ Budgeting
5/ Forecasting
6/ Excel
7/ Root Cause Analysis
8/ Budget Management
9/ Reporting
10/ Presenting
11/ Identifying Risks & Opps
12/ Industry KPIs
13/ Data Science (basics)

Interpersonal Skills

1/ Communication
2/ Influencing up and across
3/ Relationship Building
4/ Managing tough conversations
5/ "Leadership"

Self-management skills

1/ Attention to Detail
2/ Discipline
3/ Structured Thinking
4/ Quantitative Affinity
5/ Time Management
6/ 80/20 Orientation
7/ Growth Mindset
8/ Bias for Action

👉 Which skills would you say gain importance in the age of AI? Comment below. 

Would you like more help with landing your FP&A dream job?

Prepare by reading my top 10 most popular FP&A One-Pagers. They cover the same principles I teach at Wharton (free for a limited time):

https://lnkd.in/eZt8u_Ar

-Christian Wattig
________________________________________________

𝗜'𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗣&𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗣&𝗚, 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲.

I have trained 1,000+ professionals at companies like Google, Merck, and Lowe's. 

Here is how I can help you:

🚀 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗣&𝗔 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆:
My comprehensive online course. 

🤖 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗣&𝗔:
A crash course on the future of finance. 

🏢 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴:
On-site workshops for your team.

🔗 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲.

26 FP&A Skills (2)

Most FP&A teams manage $100M+ decisions with models held together by duct tape.

After 15 years at P&G, Unilever, and Squarespace, I've watched brilliant analysts crash and burn because their financial models became unmanageable beasts.

The worst part? It's preventable.

The difference between the analysts who thrive and those who barely survive comes down to three fundamental practices I've refined over thousands of modeling hours.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴:

✅ Prepare Sensitivities Before You Need Them
✅ Separate Inputs from Outputs (Always)
✅ Document Assumptions Like Your Job Depends on It

Because it does.

I've seen careers made when someone could answer the CEO's curveball question instantly.

And careers stalled when "let me get back to you on that" became the default response.

The carousel breaks down exactly HOW to implement each tip - with the specific tactics that work in real boardrooms, not textbooks.

Which modeling challenge costs you the most time? Drop it below 👇

-Christian

P.S. Want my complete Financial Modeling Template with 46 best practices built in? It's the same framework I teach at Wharton. Free for my LinkedIn followers: https://lnkd.in/eBAmSF_6

3 Tips To Effortlessly Manage Large Financial Models

Ever lost an afternoon reconciling "Budget_Final_v9_reallyFINAL.xlsx"?

After 15+ years in FP&A at P&G, Unilever, and Squarespace, I know that pain intimately. 

One late change to pricing, and suddenly half your model is out of sync. You're auditing formulas instead of analyzing trends.

Excel's flexibility is both its superpower and its kryptonite for budgeting.

That's why JustPerform from insightsoftware caught my attention. Their demo shows an Excel-like interface we're all comfortable with - but with all data living in one connected system.

No more version chaos. No more broken links between files.

What stood out from the demo:

• Budget assumptions flow directly into forecasts without manual exports

• Built-in AI flags anomalies that are easy to miss in manual reviews  

• Consolidation happens automatically across departments

The promise? Less time reconciling spreadsheets, more time pressure-testing growth drivers.

See if it fits your planning process:

https://gofyi.ly/20800ECF

#ad, #InsightsoftwareInAction, #JustPerform, #insightsoftware, #EPMSolution, #FinancialConsolidation, #PlanningAutomation, #PredictivePlanning, #FinancialClose, #FinanceAI

Headcount planning in Excel is where good FP&A analysts go to cry.

You've got HR data in one tab, bonuses in another, new hires in a third. One wrong VLOOKUP and your CEO thinks you're hiring 500 people next quarter.

After 15+ years in FP&A, I've built every workaround imaginable:

• Color-coded tabs for each cost center
• Password-protected sheets (that everyone still edits)
• Macros that break when someone adds a row
  
The real nightmare? Permissions. 

Marketing shouldn't see Sales comp. Regional managers need their data only. You end up maintaining 47 versions of the same model.

JustPerform from insightsoftware tackles this differently. Their demo showed how it pulls HR data directly and lets you adjust variables (start dates, bonuses, promotions) with the impact flowing through automatically.

But what caught my attention: role-based permissions that actually work.

Since it handles budgeting, close, and reporting in one platform, you set governance once. Not three times across three systems. The AI flags unusual patterns—like when that new hire's comp is 2x market rate.

The result? Fewer "why don't these numbers match?" meetings and more time analyzing whether you actually need those 500 hires.

Check if it solves your headcount headaches:
https://gofyi.ly/20800ECF

#ad #InsightsoftwareInAction #JustPerform, #insightsoftware, #EPMSolution, #FinancialConsolidation, #PlanningAutomation, #PredictivePlanning, #FinancialClose, #FinanceAI

Still rebuilding forecasts line by line every month in Excel?

You know the drill: 

• Monday: Update actuals for 200 SKUs

• Tuesday: Adjust pricing across 15 regions

• Wednesday: Layer in new discount rates

• Thursday: Find the formula error that's overstating EMEA by 40%

• Friday: Present stale insights from data that's already a week old

Manual forecasting is where good intentions meet broken formulas.

After 15+ years in FP&A, I've seen every forecasting disaster.

The worst?

When someone "helpfully" adds a row and breaks every SUMIF in the model. You discover it during the board presentation when numbers don't foot.

The real cost isn't the errors—it's the opportunity cost.

While you're rebuilding the same forecast structure monthly, your competitors are running scenarios and finding growth opportunities.

JustPerform from insightsoftware takes a different approach. Their demo showed driver-based planning where you update the inputs (units, price, discounts) and the model cascades automatically. 

The AI catches unusual patterns before they corrupt your forecast.

Key difference: the forecast logic stays intact month after month.

No rebuilding from scratch. No broken links between regional models. And since it's integrated with close and reporting, your assumptions flow through without manual exports.

For teams drowning in monthly forecast rebuilds, this could free up a full week per quarter for actual strategic analysis.

See if driver-based planning fits your process:
https://gofyi.ly/20800ECF

#ad #InsightsoftwareInAction #JustPerform, #insightsoftware, #EPMSolution, #FinancialConsolidation, #PlanningAutomation, #PredictivePlanning, #FinancialClose, #FinanceAI

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