CFOs today are expected to do far more than ensure the numbers add up.
They’re asked to guide strategy, anticipate risk, allocate capital wisely, and help the business move faster in uncertain conditions. Yet many FP&A processes were built for a very different world—one with longer planning cycles, fewer variables, and more predictable outcomes.
On the surface, everything may look fine. Budgets are approved. Forecasts are delivered. Reports go out on time. But when volatility hits, cracks begin to show.
The fastest way to understand whether FP&A is truly enabling the business is not by reviewing more reports—but by asking better questions.
Here are seven questions every CFO should be asking about their FP&A process.
1. Are Our Plans Still Relevant Six Months In?
If a plan is outdated before the year is halfway through, it’s no longer a planning tool—it’s a historical document.
CFOs should ask whether forecasts are refreshed often enough to reflect current realities. Markets shift, costs fluctuate, and priorities change. FP&A must be able to adjust assumptions continuously, not wait for the next annual cycle.
If plans age faster than decisions, agility is already compromised.
2. How Long Does It Take to Reforecast When Assumptions Change?
Speed matters.
When leadership asks for an updated forecast, does FP&A respond in hours, days, or weeks? If reforecasting requires extensive manual consolidation or spreadsheet rework, decisions are delayed—and opportunities may be missed.
A modern FP&A process should allow finance teams to respond quickly when assumptions change, without starting from scratch every time.
3. Can We Confidently Answer “What If” Questions on the Spot?
Scenario planning has become a core expectation, not a nice-to-have.
CFOs are regularly asked questions like:
- What if revenue softens next quarter?
- What if hiring slows?
- What if costs rise faster than expected?
If answering these questions requires days of modelling—or worse, guesswork—FP&A is operating reactively. High-performing teams treat scenario modelling as an everyday capability, not an exception.
4. Do Business Leaders Trust the Numbers—or Just Tolerate Them?
Trust is one of the most overlooked indicators of FP&A effectiveness.
If meetings frequently derail into debates over whose numbers are correct, or which version is the latest, confidence in the planning process erodes quickly. Leaders may still use the reports, but only because they have no alternative.
A strong FP&A process provides a clear, consistent source of truth that stakeholders trust—and rely on—to make decisions.
5. Is FP&A Driving the Conversation—or Just Reporting It?
There’s a clear difference between reporting performance and shaping decisions.
CFOs should ask whether FP&A is bringing insights, trade-offs, and recommendations to the table—or simply explaining variances after the fact. Reporting tells you what happened. Planning should help decide what happens next.
The most effective FP&A teams move beyond narration and actively influence business direction.
6. How Much Time Is FP&A Spending on Analysis vs Administration?
Where FP&A spends its time reveals where its value goes.
If teams are consumed by data collection, reconciliation, and version control, there’s little capacity left for strategic analysis. Manual processes may feel familiar, but they quietly drain the function’s ability to add insight.
CFOs should expect FP&A to spend more time interpreting results than assembling them.
7. Can Our FP&A Process Scale as the Business Grows?
Growth exposes weaknesses quickly.
New products, markets, entities, and organisational complexity place enormous strain on planning processes that rely heavily on spreadsheets or disconnected tools. What worked at one stage of growth may become a bottleneck at the next.
Modern FP&A platforms—such as Workday Adaptive Planning—are designed to scale with the business, supporting complexity without sacrificing speed, control, or collaboration.
Final Thoughts: Better Questions Lead to Better Decisions
CFOs don’t need more data. They need clearer answers.
These seven questions aren’t about finding fault—they’re about understanding whether FP&A is truly supporting the business the way it should. Strong FP&A processes don’t just produce forecasts; they enable confidence, speed, and strategic clarity.
In an environment where uncertainty is constant, the quality of FP&A often determines the quality of decisions. And asking the right questions is the first step toward strengthening both.
