The FP&A Guide

End-to-end, this free guide will teach you everything you need to know to run a high-performing FP&A team. Enjoy!

Brett Hampson

Founder of Forecasting Performance

Introduction to Reporting in FP&A

Reporting is the foundation of FP&A. It provides the data-driven foundation that organizations need to make informed decisions. Once we have a firm foundation of reporting in place, we can then move on to analysis, forecasting, and consulting (business partnering).

When finance teams suffer from ineffective reporting, CFOs and their teams struggle with inaccurate data, inefficient processes, and frustrated stakeholders. But for many finance teams reporting feels more like a treadmill than a strategic advantage. The key to breaking out of this treadmill lies in overcoming manual processes, siloed data sources, and outdated tools.

High-impact reporting transforms this reality. It’s about providing the right data, to the right people, at the right time. When done correctly, reporting becomes a strategic lever, enabling faster decisions and greater confidence in planning.

The Essentials of High-Impact Reporting

High-impact reporting boils down to three core principles:

Accuracy: Your credibility is only as good as your reporting. And your reports are only as good as your data. Ensuring data accuracy requires centralized, clean data sources and rigorous validation processes. Without these, even the most visually appealing reports are worthless. Early on, this is easy enough to overcome with a talented FP&A professional and a clean Excel model. But as the company scales, so does data complexity - which drives the need for standardized data governance processes at scale.
Timeliness: Reports must be delivered when decisions are being made—not after the fact. This means every delay in aggregating, summarizing, and delivering your reporting should be mercilessly eliminated. Organizations that succeed in this area often use automated workflows to close the gap between data collection and report distribution. For instance, setting up dynamic dashboards that are directly linked to underlying business data for critical KPIs can help shift reporting from reactive to proactive.
Relevance: One of the largest issues at scaling businesses, reports should be flexible enough to align with the business’s strategic goals at any given time. They need to also provide actionable insights for key stakeholders rather than overwhelming users with unnecessary details. Both of these together will ensure the end user finds value from the reporting they are being served and can take confident action from them. An effective way to ensure reporting relevance is to work backward from the decision-making needs of your key stakeholders. Ask: What critical business decisions will this report inform? Any data or information that doesn't support these decisions should not be included in the report.

Automating Reporting for Efficiency

Automation is the biggest efficiency unlock of modern FP&A reporting. Manual processes (typically run by entry-level employees) are error-prone and time-intensive which leaves little room for strategic analysis and high-value business partner interactions. Automating your reporting one of the single biggest ROI decisions you can make to add more value and retain your best employees (who hate producing reports).

Here’s how automation can elevate your reporting:

Streamline Processes: Automated workflows reduce the time spent gathering and formatting data, allowing teams to focus on interpreting results. For example, integrating your ERP and BI tools can automate the transfer of financial data from its raw from to a user-friendly output, eliminating repetitive manual tasks.
Improve Accuracy: Automation minimizes human error by taking out all (or most) of the manual touches from data creation to report distribution. Nobody likes sending/receiving inaccurate reporting so it's wise to allow the data and computers do what they do best.
Enhance Accessibility: When you automate reporting, you often open up the opportunity for advanced reporting outcomes like real-time dashboards. Real-time dashboards provide stakeholders with the data they need, whenever they need it. A benefit of pushing accessible dashboards to your key stakeholders is breaking down silos and driving ownership of the reporting into the business.

When implementing automation, it’s crucial to start small. Identify the most time-consuming or error-prone reporting processes and automate those first. This will free up a bit of time for you to invest in the next automation project.

Monthly Reporting Cadence

Establishing a predictable reporting cadence ensures consistency, clarity, and stakeholder alignment. Here’s an optimized monthly timeline:

Results Flash (Days 2-3):

Objective: Deliver a high-level summary of financial performance.
Content: Revenue, margins, expenses, and other critical KPIs compared to plan, prior month, and prior year.
Audience: Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and key stakeholders.
Automation Level: Near 100%, enabling rapid turnaround.

Results Summary Email (Days 3-4):

Objective: Add insights to the raw numbers.
Content: Narrative explaining variances, key trends, and areas requiring attention.
Pro Tip: Include a "Next Steps" section to outline upcoming analysis.

Early Results Meetings (Days 5-6):

Objective: Engage business leaders with tailored insights.
Content: Customized KPI discussions for each business unit, setting the stage for collaboration.

Forecast Review Meetings (Days 10-12):

Objective: Align on updated forecasts and action plans.
Content: Detailed scenario analyses, forecast updates, and strategic recommendations.

ELT Presentation (End of Month):

Objective: Deliver a cohesive financial narrative that drives strategic decisions.
Content: Balanced scorecards, integrated insights, and forward-looking recommendations.

By anchoring your reporting efforts around these milestones, you ensure every stakeholder—from department heads to the board—has the information they need, when they need it.

Designing Your Reporting Ecosystem

Great reporting resists the urge of building random reports at the request of business partners. Instead, a well-tuned FP&A reporting team will design their ideal reporting ecosystem and build the reports to fit inside.

Building your reporting ecosystem often considers 3 key ideas:

Standardized v Custom

A great reporting ecosystem strikes a balance between automation and adaptability:

Standardized Reports: These include results flashes, KPI dashboards, and monthly scorecards—automated for efficiency and consistency.
Custom Reports: These address unique stakeholder needs or deep-dive analyses. While labor-intensive, they’re invaluable for critical business decisions.

A well-crafted reporting ecosystem balances these 2 types of reports to deliver maximum impact for the business while maintaining efficiency for FP&A.

Automation as a Strategic Tool

Aim to automate 80-90% of recurring reports. This frees up much-needed capacity for deeper analysis and innovation. Tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Python can:

Connect directly to source systems.
Automate complex calculations and visualizations.
Eliminate manual errors and ensure scalability.

This is often step 1 in a FP&A transformation project since the freed up capacity can now be used to deploy back into the business for value-added work.

Designing for Impact

Each report should answer three questions:

Who is the audience? Tailor content and presentation accordingly.
What decision does this support? Ensure the data is actionable.
How will this be consumed? Consider formats like dashboards, presentations, or narrative emails.

Often these 3 dimensions will cause you to create different levels of reporting for different parts of the organization. Remember, reporting isn't about the numbers on the page. It's about the recipient's ability to drive action with the report.

Navigating Operational Reporting Ownership

A growing area of complexity in reporting is operational reporting ownership.

Traditionally, FP&A teams focus on financial reporting while operational reporting—such as metrics related to production, sales, or supply chain—is managed by individual business units. However, this delineation is becoming less defined as FP&A evolves into a more data-centric function and is finding itself more involved in all kinds of reporting due to our nature as objective and independent advisors to the leadership.

Today, many organizations are seeing FP&A teams take on operational reporting responsibilities. This shift is driven by the need for:

Centralized Data Management: FP&A teams often have the tools and expertise to consolidate data across systems, creating a single source of truth. Who better to facilitate data management than the people with the skills and tools?
Integrated Insights: Combining financial and operational data allows for deeper analysis and more strategic decision-making. This is the main motivator of FP&A owning operational reporting. Once a leadership team gets comfortable with the first few levels of analysis, the need for 'more and deeper' analysis quickly turns into blending financial and operational reporting.
Efficiency Gains: Centralizing reporting within FP&A reduces duplication of effort and ensures consistency in reporting standards.

However, taking ownership of operational reporting requires careful planning. FP&A teams must:

Collaborate with Business Units: Establish clear lines of communication to ensure that operational metrics are accurate and aligned with financial data.
Invest in the Right Tools: Robust BI and reporting platforms are essential to manage the increased volume and complexity of data.
Redefine Roles and Responsibilities: Clarify where FP&A’s responsibilities begin and end to avoid overburdening the team while maintaining accountability.

As FP&A becomes more embedded in organizational decision-making, the line between financial and operational reporting will continue to blur. By proactively embracing this shift, FP&A teams can position themselves as indispensable strategic partners.

Next up: Analysis

Analysis is the lifeblood of FP&A - it's the thing we are uniquely equipped to provide senior leaders to ensure all known risks and opportunities are identified.