What is Financial Planning and Analysis?

Financial planning and analysis, or FP&A, is a corporate finance function focused on budgeting, forecasting, and analysing financial performance to guide strategic decisions. FP&A teams work closely with senior leadership to create annual budgets, build financial models, produce variance analyses, and provide insights into the financial impact of business decisions.

Key activities include preparing budgets and multi-year plans, updating rolling forecasts as conditions change, and reporting actual results against the plan on a monthly or quarterly basis. FP&A professionals use financial modelling, data analysis, and business intelligence tools to consolidate information from multiple units and give a comprehensive view of the organisation’s finances.

Strong FP&A teams are valued as strategic partners rather than just financial reporters. They combine technical finance skills with business understanding and the ability to communicate complex information clearly to decision-makers.

In financial advisory services, FP&A can also describe the analytical work advisors do for clients, such as modelling cashflows, projecting retirement outcomes, and stress-testing plans under different assumptions. In both corporate and personal contexts, the goal is to provide clarity and confidence about future financial outcomes.

‍