Assessing & Improving Your FP&A Skills
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I am regularly asked what skills a person needs to work in FP&A. While the list will vary depending on who you ask, many of the top skills are similar, no matter who you ask or what company you choose to work for. Developing these skills will not only help you get a job in FP&A, but improving on these skills will help you carve out a successful career in FP&A where you can develop and advance.
In this article, we will discuss the top technical and soft skills for FP&A. We will share what guests have said on FP&A Tomorrow about the #1 soft and technical skill and also provide you with a list of the top 8 soft and technical skills based on the opinions of Ron Monteiro and myself.
Finally, we will provide you with an individual skills assessment for you to take to determine where you are at with your FP&A skills and provide resources for improving your skills to make you better at FP&A. Assessing and then developing a plan to improve upon your FP&A skills is a great way to become a more valuable resource.
One thing we want you to keep in mind is that the skills we develop in FP&A are all about helping the business make better, faster decisions. Stu West, the former CFO of Grammarly, shared in a recent webinar that finance and FP&A are all about helping the business make better, faster decisions, and developing the skills listed below will help you do that.
What are the Top FP&A Skills
I regularly get emails and DMs on LinkedIn asking about what skills people need to work on to get an FP&A role or asking for resources to help them improve certain skills. After being asked a lot about this, I decided to add these questions to my podcast as a way to see what FP&A leaders across the globe said about top FP&A skills.
I ask nearly every guest of FP&A Tomorrow the same two questions.
What is the most important FP&A technical skill
What is the most important FP&A soft skill
The list will vary depending on who I ask, but some clear themes have developed over time.
Typical answers for top technical skills include:
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Every FP&A professional needs to be able to build a financial model, and that is why it is one of the most common answers, along with spreadsheet skills. When it comes to building a financial model one of the most important skills for me is learning how to design a well-structured model. Below are two quotes from prior guests responding to the question of what is the # 1 technical skill with financial modeling:
“Building financial models so that whatever you’re building is flexible and error-free.”
– Christian Wattig, Director FP&A Certificate Program, Wharton Online
"I think the ability to create a clean financial model. I'm talking about a clean financial model, not overly complicated, no copy and pasting values, simple formulas."
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As an FP&A professional, you will spend a great deal of time working in spreadsheets, and more often than not, you will work in Excel. Learning how to be efficient in Excel and learning Modern Excel will be invaluable to your future as an FP&A professional. Not only will it make your work easier, but it will save you hours. Below are two quotes from prior guests responding to the question of what is the # 1 technical skill with spreadsheet skills:
“I think it's still a spreadsheet. What can I say? I think professionals still need to master Excel and Google Sheets and that spreadsheet realm.”
“Spreadsheet Ninja”
– Julian Catelli, Board Director & Operating Partner for Growth Stage Companies
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Several guests mentioned that understanding and working with data is the most important FP&A skill. The amount of data we are asked to work with is constantly growing, and we must be comfortable working with large datasets. We need to not only be able to analyze the data but also manipulate it.
“Getting comfortable with using multiple datasets and ranges”
– Jim Calitbiano, Chief Operating Officer, Southwind Foods
“I think you should definitely try to learn about data. About data a little bit. Try to dabble with SQL and Power Query, things like that. “
– Charlie Liu, Chief Executive Officer, Monte Carlos Consulting
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A few guests highlighted accounting skills as the #1 skill for FP&A professionals. Accounting is the language of business and one of the biggest complaints I hear is why is my company hiring FP&A people without accounting skills. You do not need to be an expert or a degree but you need to understand enough accounting to do your job. Quote below on accounting skills:
“I'm going to be very boring here. Debits and credits. And just being able to know your journal entries.”
- Andrew Jepson, Business Partner Trainer, theFBPteam.com
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This one aligns very closely with working with data as Power Query is an ETL tool in Excel that allows you to easily extract, transform, and load data. I mention it because 3 different guests mentioned it when mentioning the most important skill and it is a tool I love very much. I personally was able to get myself promoted by learning Power Query because of the way it allowed me to work with and manage data. Quotes below on Power Query:
“If someone was to ask me, I would say Power Query is where I would want someone to really lean in on.”
- Olivia MacDonald, Director FP&A, Texada Software
“Technical skill I would say really excel and Power Query as we've talked about that will do wonders for your career.”
-Kathy Svetina, Founder & Fractional CFO, NewCastle Finance
Typical answers for top soft skills include:
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Communication – This is by far the #1 answer when I ask people about the top soft skills. The days of only being able to be a spreadsheet jockey are long gone. With communication, they often mention active listening, collaboration, or even storytelling. The bottom line is you must be able to communicate your findings and talk with the business regularly. A few quotes from people on communication:
“I would say, listening and talking with people. …If you can walk out and go out into the operation,… go talk to a salesman, go talk to whoever, you're going to learn so much more about the business and what's behind the numbers.”
- Tom Schultz, Fractional CFO, NextGen CFO
“Communication. If you can't communicate and you can't understand what your business partners need and what finance requires, you'll always be at a stalemate.”
- Leslie Stuart, Director, Financial Planning, Walmart Canada
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Data Storytelling – Data storytelling is one of my favorites and as we continue to work with more and more data its importance continues to grow. Lots of guests have listed data storytelling as the #1 skill because of the fact we are so often asked to communicate the story. A few quotes on data storytelling.
“It's probably in this vein of storytelling results if you can create a compelling story. Humans love stories. So, if you can create a compelling story, people will gravitate towards listening to you. They'll come to you for the story if you can tell a good story. So, I love that one.”
- Brett Hampson, Finance Director, Allstate Insurance
“I think for me it is around storytelling and communication. Take a minute, think about anyone who tells a story and how engaged people come in. So, it's about storytelling okay.”
- Ron Monteiro, FP&A Trainer & Keynote Speaker, KICT
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Empathy – I personally always love when guests mention empathy because I think it is so important for us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes. We are working with people from all over the business, and the more they feel understood and heard, the more effective we can be at our job. I love the quotes below on empathy being #1 from Jack McCullough and Aaron Goss.
“I would say I guess I'm always going to go with empathy for an FP&A person. always put yourself in the other person's shoes.”
- Jack McCullough, President, The CFO Leadership Council
“This is specific to FP&A, but empathy towards other employees. And so understand why it's difficult to be the tech guy, meaning. Every company is different, right? But do whatever you can to break out of your mold and see from their point of view, which is not numbers and spreadsheets. Very few people besides the finance team live on those spreadsheets, and so get out of that for the day or the hour or whatever it is, and shut up and just listen to what it's like to be a mechanic and get your hands greasy”
- Aaron Goss, Founder, Harmony Consulting
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Business Partnering/Relationship Building – Several people have mentioned some combination of business partnering and relationship building, which in many ways go together. As one guest mentioned, I look for the ability to build strong relationships in the interview process because the technical skills can be taught. Below is what a few guests said about relationship building.
“Building rapport and strong relationships is the super important soft skill. And that's what I look for in the interviews as well.”
- Olivia MacDonald, Director FP&A, Texada Software
“Building meaningful professional relationships.”
– Christian Wattig, Director FP&A Certificate Program, Wharton Online
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Influencing/Persuasion – As an FP&A professional, we rarely have authority over the people we work with, and often, these people are superior to us. This is why I am not surprised to hear persuasion as a top soft skill. It is not enough to have a solid analytical argument we must learn how to persuade and influence people to make better decisions. Quotes from guests about Influence/persuasion being the #1 soft skill.
“It is effective communication. I think it's about influence.”
- Ryan Sanders, Growth Investor, Mercato Partners
“Persuasion. I think you need to be able to persuade people and get them to believe you and hear the message that you're truly trying to send.”
- Zach Rial, VP of Finance & Governance, Campspot
I share the above video because it discusses empathy and data storytelling, which are common soft skills guests list as the most important for FP&A. The above list only includes people’s opinions on the #1 soft and technical skill for FP&A, not what skills are needed to be great at FP&A. FP&A professionals must develop many skills to be great at FP&A. In the next section, we will introduce an individual skills assessment you can take to rate yourself on the most essential FP&A skills needed for the job.
Conducting an Individual Skills Assessment
Ron Monteiro and I created an individual skills assessment as part of our advanced FP&A course, and we are making the assessment available here to help you assess where you stand and improve your FP&A skills. The assessment was created using Microsoft Excel and you will rate yourself on eight different soft and technical skills with a score from 1 to 10. The skills listed are what Ron and I felt were the most important skills for FP&A professionals.
The goal is to provide an honest assessment of your current situation to determine your strengths and areas for improvement as you prepare for a job in FP&A or look to improve your FP&A skills to advance your career in FP&A.
The assessment defines every soft and technical skill, and it includes a one-page writeup showing examples of what the different rankings might look like to help you score yourself.
Below is a table that shows how the scoring works. The table provides the numbers, descriptions, and details about each rank. You will review the one-pager for each skill in the Excel document for more information on how to rank yourself.
The one-pager for each skill is laid out as follows:
Skill Definition – A brief definition of what the skill is as it relates to FP&A
Key Components – A bulleted list of the key components that make up the skill
Examples of Skill in Practice –This section provides three examples of skill in action, including what it looks like at the basic, intermediate, and world-class levels.
The first page of the Excel document is where you will score yourself. You will score yourself on a scale of 1-10 for all soft and technical skills, and the document will provide you with your weighted average score for your technical and soft skills and your overall score.
The document will also have a column where you can write down ideas for improving each skill. In the next section, you can see the list of the most important soft and technical skills for FP&A professionals based on the opinions and work experience of Ron Monteiro and myself. The list is subjective, and I am sure others will have a slightly different list, but it will give you a good idea of what is expected of FP&A professionals.
List of Top Technical Skills
Spreadsheets - For an FP&A professional, spreadsheets are an essential tool for organizing and analyzing large volumes of data, performing calculations, creating financial models, and performing ad hoc analysis. Proficiency in spreadsheets is a requirement for the job, and the better they understand spreadsheets, the more they can perform data analysis, build financial models, and automate and streamline many manual processes.
Financial Modeling - Financial modeling is the process of creating a numerical representation of a company's financial performance, often using spreadsheets, to forecast future financial outcomes and support decision-making. This requires understanding financial modeling, best practices, and good design principles to ensure efficient and effective models are built.
Analytical Skills - Analytical skills involve collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to solve problems and make informed decisions. These skills include logical reasoning, critical thinking, and data analysis. The four types of data analysis are descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive.
Forecasting/Budgeting - Budgeting involves creating a financial plan for a company that aligns with the strategic plan and forecasts, at a minimum, a P&L and often all three financial statements. A budget is a plan or guide for a set period of time, often a year, and involves working closely with business partners to create such a plan. Forecasting is the process of trying to actively anticipate where the business is going over a specific time and is often used to update the annual budget with newer projections.
Data Visualization - Data visualization is the graphical representation of data using charts, graphs, and maps to make complex data more accessible and easier to understand. Being able to clearly and easily visualize data in a way non-finance people can understand is a key FP&A skill.
Critical Thinking - Critical thinking is objectively analyzing and evaluating information to form a reasoned judgment. It involves questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and making logical conclusions. FP&A professionals must be able to critically assess different projects and ideas and challenge other assumptions to help ensure the organization makes smart decisions.
Simplifying - Simplifying involves making complex information or processes easier to understand or perform by reducing them to their basic elements. For FP&A professionals, this involves creating simple models and budgets, which is often harder than creating a complex model or budget. It is an art to learn to balance complexity with simplicity in finance.
Financial Reporting - Financial reporting is the process of documenting and communicating a company's financial activities and performance over specific periods, typically through financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. FP&A professionals must be able to provide accurate and timely financial documents, including flash reporting, department reports, BVA commentary, board decks, and more.
List of Top Soft Skills
Active Listening - Active listening is the process of fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and remembering what is being said during a conversation. It involves paying attention to the speaker, showing that you are listening, providing feedback, deferring judgment, and responding appropriately. An active listener listens to understand, not to respond.
Data Storytelling - Data storytelling is the practice of crafting compelling narratives to effectively convey data-driven insights to stakeholders. It involves combining data analysis and visualization techniques with storytelling principles to communicate insights, trends, or patterns in a meaningful and engaging way.
Influencing - Influencing is the ability to persuade others toward a desired outcome, using interpersonal skills, clear communication, and logical reasoning to guide decisions and actions, often without exerting direct authority.
Empathy - Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, creating a supportive and trusting environment by recognizing and respecting diverse perspectives. It involves being aware of, being sensitive to the emotions and experiences of others.
Tough Conversations - Tough Conversations involve addressing challenging topics or conflicts constructively, using clear, respectful communication to resolve issues and maintain positive relationships. Navigating effectively requires careful preparation, clear communication, and emotional intelligence.
Setting Expectations - Setting expectations involves clearly communicating with team members what is required of them in terms of performance, behavior, and outcomes. It provides a clear framework within which people can operate, reducing misunderstandings and fostering a sense of mutual respect.
Delivering Results - Delivering results refers to consistently achieving or surpassing goals and expectations through effective planning, execution, and problem-solving. It involves performing at the highest capacity level, following through on commitments, and ensuring that tasks are completed successfully.
Collaboration - Collaboration is the ability to work with others toward a common goal, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared responsibility within a team or across departments.
Tips For Improving Your FP&A Skills
Improving your FP&A skills is similar to improving any other skill in your life. Below is a list of tips that will help you improve your skills regardless of what skills you decide to focus on. This list is not in order of importance and is just my thoughts on the subject.
Set SMART & Clear Goals - Setting SMART goals is a great way to improve any skill. When we set goals, we give ourselves a target to shoot for, and when they are SMART goals, we also have a timeframe. It is easy to say I want to be a better speaker, but without defining what that means and establishing clear SMART goals, it becomes very hard to make progress. SMART goals are:
Specific - Clear goals precisely define what you want to achieve, including who is involved, what you want to accomplish, where it will happen, and why it matters.
Measurable - Your goal should include concrete criteria for tracking progress and knowing when you've achieved success, such as quantities, dates, or other clear metrics.
Attainable - While your goal should stretch your abilities, it must remain realistic and attainable given your current resources, knowledge, and time constraints.
Relevant - The goal must align with your broader objectives and be worthwhile within your current context and circumstances.
Time-Bound - Setting a clear deadline or timeframe creates urgency and helps prevent everyday tasks from taking priority over your longer-term objectives.
Break tasks into Smaller Steps - Trying to tackle the entire skill at once can be overwhelming. For example, trying to set a goal for being a better communicator is too broad. You could start with improving at speaking slower, using body language, or actively listening to others. When you break the skill down into components and focus on one element at a time it becomes easier.
Deliberate Practice - Practice makes progress. Deliberate practice makes faster progress. Make sure you are not just practicing for the sake of practicing but you are focused in your practice and deliberate about what you want to accomplish.
Create a learning environment - Make sure you have a safe space where you can feel free to learn. You will struggle if you are always trying to learn in a noisy and full-of-distractions environment. You know yourself best and what kind of environment you need to learn in; create that environment for yourself.
Ask for Feedback - We are often blind to the things we need to work on and how we are doing. A great way to focus our development effort is to ask for feedback from those around us. Focus on having trusted advisors/co-workers who will give you honest and open feedback that can help you improve.
Take a Course - A great way to focus on improving a skill is to take a course on the subject. For example, if you want to get better at building financial models, take a course about financial modeling. However, taking a course on its own is not enough as you have to practice and implement what you learned.
Read a book - Another great way to learn is by reading a book on a subject. However, remember that reading alone is not enough; you need to find ways to practice and implement what you read.
Reflect on Progress - To see how far we have come; we often need to take a minute to pause and look back. As we work to improve skills it is often easy to get overwhelmed and feel like we have a long way to go and will never get there. When this happens take a minute to write down the progress you have made and reflect on all you have accomplished. Doing this will often help reenergize and motivate us to keep going.
Adjust goals and practice methods as needed - Your needs and priorities will change over time, so be willing to change your goals. If your priorities have changed, your goals will also need to be adjusted. Remember that consistently using the same practice method can lead to burnout.
Embrace Failure - You will make mistakes and have setbacks as you work to improve your skills. Remember, failure leads to success. Failure is a learning experience so be willing to get outside your comfort zone and make mistakes as you learn to improve your skills.
Resources to improve FP&A skills
Many great resources are available to help one improve their FP&A Skills. Some of the most common resources include:
Note: Click on the links for more information about each resource.
Professional Certifications - Several professional certifications exist that are focused on helping you improve your FP&A, finance, accounting, and financial modeling skills. I address these in depth in another article. You can also learn about common FP&A and financial modeling certifications here on my website. I have affiliate arrangements with several of the most popular certifications, including discounts if you use my code.
Courses - More people are creating FP&A courses than ever, and many great options exist. I have several FP&A courses on my website that you can take both digital and live. If you want to see a list of my course offerings, click here. If you want to see a list of other course offerings, I recommend click here.
Books - Many great books exist to improve your FP&A skills, and I have provided a list of several books on the different skills needed to improve your FP&A skills.
Following People - I have learned a lot by following other great voices on LinkedIn who share content about the many skills needed to be great at FP&A. That is why I compiled a list of some great people to follow who can help you learn about different subjects and skills important to FP&A.
Websites - Many websites are available dedicated to FP&A or various skills that will help one become better at FP&A. I have put together an article covering many of the websites I recommend.
Newsletters - Many newsletters are available dedicated to FP&A or various skills that will help one become better at FP&A. I have put together an article covering many of the websites I recommend.