Great FP&A Gets the Story Straight
Fri Jun 06 2025
"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY
Stories tell how a business performed in the past and the future.
These stories can be fun to tell (crush revenue, generate more cash, hire like crazy).
Or not so fun to tell (missing budget by a lot, making cuts, no end in sight).
Regardless of the story’s outcome, you can help your business tell AND influence it 🫵
By connecting the story to everyday operations where the doers live.
Show Notes
* 01:30 – AI is powerful when you have good thinking frameworks in place
* 00:55 – Shout out to quality and practical FP&A content
* 01:35 – IR (aka Investor Relations) is the story of your business
Shout out to Secret CFO post on IR and operations, keep the great content coming
* 02:35 – Talk is cheap, get your hands dirty in the operations, and help improve them
* 04:25 – Your business’s story should be about what it does today, and what it wants to do in the future
* 05:30 – Customer counts, customer segmentation—all metrics that help you manage your business
🔥TIP: Here’s how to analyze customers
* 06:25 – We respectfully disagree with Secret CFO’s take on IR; the (IR) story helps enable operational improvement
* 08:20 – Stories provide clarity, especially when numbers (aka metrics) support it
🔥Tip: Here’s how to create KPIs (and metrics)
* 09:52 – Do investor relations reports matter? Heck ya they do—especially the transcript
* 11:05 – Learn from the best business communicators, like Warren Buffett (hint: he always keeps messaging insanely simple and created a not-so-small company in the process)
Check out Warren Buffett’s insanely simple shareholder letters on an insanely simple website
* 13:01 – Big finish—keep writing great content Secret CFO, it’s interesting and practical 👊
Conclusion: Tell a story everyone can relate to
Figure out what your company’s goals are.
Put numbers to them (revenue, profit, cash).
Drill one level down to find a number that teams can relate to.
And tell a simple story connecting what teams do to the ultimate goal.
A practical way to do this is during your budget process (DO NOT leave operational groups out of this exercise).
That’s storytelling that drives future business results.
Go IR 👊
Resources
▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey
▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com
Disclaimer: This content is not investment advice or financial advice. The views expressed and stories told are our own. We may be investors in the companies discussed. Do your due diligence when considering applying what you learn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com
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"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY Stories tell how a business performed in the past and the future. These stories can be fun to tell (crush revenue, generate more cash, hire like crazy). Or not so fun to tell (missing budget by a lot, making cuts, no end in sight). Regardless of the story’s outcome, you can help your business tell AND influence it 🫵 By connecting the story to everyday operations where the doers live. Show Notes * 01:30 – AI is powerful when you have good thinking frameworks in place * 00:55 – Shout out to quality and practical FP&A content * 01:35 – IR (aka Investor Relations) is the story of your business Shout out to Secret CFO post on IR and operations, keep the great content coming * 02:35 – Talk is cheap, get your hands dirty in the operations, and help improve them * 04:25 – Your business’s story should be about what it does today, and what it wants to do in the future * 05:30 – Customer counts, customer segmentation—all metrics that help you manage your business 🔥TIP: Here’s how to analyze customers * 06:25 – We respectfully disagree with Secret CFO’s take on IR; the (IR) story helps enable operational improvement * 08:20 – Stories provide clarity, especially when numbers (aka metrics) support it 🔥Tip: Here’s how to create KPIs (and metrics) * 09:52 – Do investor relations reports matter? Heck ya they do—especially the transcript * 11:05 – Learn from the best business communicators, like Warren Buffett (hint: he always keeps messaging insanely simple and created a not-so-small company in the process) Check out Warren Buffett’s insanely simple shareholder letters on an insanely simple website * 13:01 – Big finish—keep writing great content Secret CFO, it’s interesting and practical 👊 Conclusion: Tell a story everyone can relate to Figure out what your company’s goals are. Put numbers to them (revenue, profit, cash). Drill one level down to find a number that teams can relate to. And tell a simple story connecting what teams do to the ultimate goal. A practical way to do this is during your budget process (DO NOT leave operational groups out of this exercise). That’s storytelling that drives future business results. Go IR 👊 Resources ▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey ▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com Disclaimer: This content is not investment advice or financial advice. The views expressed and stories told are our own. We may be investors in the companies discussed. Do your due diligence when considering applying what you learn. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com