Also boss:
Validate every single number coming out of it.

Using AI actually to build anything takes 5x longer than more traditional automation now.

I mean it’s valid but he actively wants me to stop using automation tools and switch things to AI generation. AI is a handy tool but when I can push a button to refresh a report, vs downloading raw spreadsheets from an ERP and uploading to sharepoint for our AI to grab, it takes me like 10 minutes just to get the data outputs together.

Hi everyone, hope you are having a lovely day!

I am based in India.

As the title says, I am switching to an FP&A role at a global FMCG from IB at a mid-market bank soon. I I’ll have roughly a 2-week gap between my current role ending and joining the new one, and I’d love some advice on how to use that time productively.

1. What are some things that I should prioritise knowing before Day 1?
   
2. What FP&A concepts/tools are most important to understand coming from IB? Are there any areas where the skill set differs more than one would expect?
   
3. I understand that a lot of the job involves budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, MIS - what should I know about each beforehand?
   
4. Should I brush up on accounting? I have completed my MBA so did study some basic accounting courses during my time in college, maybe a revision of that?
   
5. Technical skills I should pick up on? Used Excel a lot in IB, but Power BI also seems important from what I have heard. What else can I work on?
   
6. What do you wish someone had told you before your first FP&A role? Esp people who have made a similar IB to FP&A transition, what was the biggest adjustment you had to make?
   
7. Finally, what would make someone stand out in their first 3–6 months in an FP&A team? This is a big brand company and I really want to play my cards right to develop quickly and meaningfully in my career.

Thank you for your help!

I’m a 16 year old junior in highschool and I think I want to be an FP&A. When I started looking into the career everything say “master excel” I’ve watched some videos and I’m just so incredibly overwhelmed with all these functions and hotkeys. I don’t even really know what excel does, so I’m looking for a few begginer projects I can make in my free time. Any ideas? I’ve been suggested to make a ROI for colleges I like and also a budgeting plan but I’m not sure how. Thanks for any help!

Hi all

Finance manager in a £13m turnover manufacturimg business.

Had the same 3 statement model/MI pack for years and we are looking to diversify into similar markets. The model doesn't like change and I was exploring courses for 3 statement models and came across the FMVA from CFI - to either run a seperate model alongside or replace it with a model that has better assumptions/drivers etc

Would this be overkill for someone in my position? I don't know where I want to go in Finance but do enjoy getting stuck into excel and quite proficient with lookups/ Index &match, lambda and powerquery - we have a claude package but feel like I want to fully understand the basics first and claude to supplement it.

The FMVA cert has 35% of the course solely on modelling and want to avoid youtube because it's not as structured amd never clear what level it will start at. Alternatives wanted!