5 Tips to Advance Your FP&A Career

Transcription

1 5 Tips to Advance Your FP&A Career Jack Laschenski, CPA AMA Faculty Marina Theodotou American Management Association Today s Presenter John P. Laschenski is the founder of his own Rochester, New York, based CPA and consulting firm, which has been in existence for nearly 25 years. Mr. Laschenski develops and provides systems for corporate performance measurement and reporting, as well as for executive compensation. In addition, he regularly prepares and delivers update seminars on accounting, auditing, and related topics to CPAs all over the United States. Before founding his own company, Mr. Laschenski was a financial executive for Xerox Corporation. He is a member of the New York State Board for Public Accountancy. 1

2 Q1: How is the FP&A Role Changing Today? Tip #1: Know how the FP&A role is changing today The FP&A professional is required to play many a dynamic role within an organization, which requires a breadth of knowledge and a depth of experience. This transformation from solely reporting numbers to: driving improvement enabling the line of business and executive management to make sound decisions and enhancing enterprise value is at the heart of FP&A. 2

3 Q2: What is the FP&A Job Market Outlook? Tip #2 : Understand the FP&A Job Market Outlook A FP&A search on: Simplyhired.com lists 2,718 FP&A job openings Monster.com lists over 1,000 FP&A job openings Linkedin.com shows 21,718 people in the FP&A job Enterprises need help in understanding the past and projecting the future. The FP&A professional provides that help 3

4 Where do Certified FP&A Professionals Work? Q3: What skills make a strong FP&A Professional? 4

5 Tip # 3: Distinguish the skills that make a strong FP&A Professional Sharpening FP&A Skills which include: Conducting Strategic Planning Preparing Financial Budgets and Forecasts Preparing Financial Statement Accounting and Reporting Explaining Ratio Analysis Applying Managerial and Cost Accounting Understanding Micro and Macro economics Implementing Project Management Building Financial Models in Excel Tip # 3: Distinguish the skills that make a strong FP&A Professional Conducting Sensitivity and Scenario Analyses and implementing them in Excel Implementing Risk Management in Excel Making sales volume and revenue projections in Excel Making financial projections in Excel Analyzing capital projects in Excel Sharpening Effective communication skills Mastering Excel's complex functions Learning the structure and language of Databases, Enterprise Resource Planning and Business Intelligence systems, including the SQL language 5

6 Q4: What s a possible path to build strong FP&A skills? Tip # 4: Explore Certification Path to build the necessary FP&A skills The skills required for the FP&A job are broad knowledge and very good analytic ability The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), has created a learning program to help you acquire those skills and pass the exam At the completion of the program, you will become a Certified Financial Planning and Analysis Professional 6

7 The FP&A Certification Credential Earning the FP&A Credential: Makes you more marketable when you compete for FP&A positions Shows mastery of core FP&A knowledge and principles Raises your professional reputation among your staff and your peers Expresses career long-term commitment through ongoing professional development Opens the door to more opportunities for career advancement Validates employer confidence in your skill set Who is the AFP? The Association for Financial Professionals ( coalesced the FP&A body of knowledge and best practices from FP&A Professionals around the world AFP has organized this body of knowledge into a comprehensive and rigorous learning system consisting of 27 chapters and 1,138 pages in print and online to help an individual become a Certified FP&A Professional The certification will help the individual to either get a FP&A job, or improve his or her performance in a FP&A job 7

8 Q5: How can the FP&A Professional get started? Tip # 5: Chart a plan to get you there! Meet the Certification requirements Meet certain educational requirements Have some FP&A experience Register for the Exam Invest time Prepare, Prepare, Prepare! 8

9 Tip # 5: Chart a plan to get you there (cont.) Consider the AMA 5 day total immersion experience Exam Prep Course Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Certification Exam Prep AMA Course 1501 This course is taught by the AMA s most effective Finance Instructors each with over 20 years of working experience in the financial workplace Tip # 5: Chart a plan to get you there (cont.) Capitalize on personalized, live, in-classroom, total immersion exam Prep Course with AMA instructors across 5 cities nationwide Use AFP FP&A Learning System Leverage AFP Website On-line quizzes for every Chapter in the textbooks, with immediate feedback on right and wrong answers 5 elaborate case studies using Excel models to help you understand how modeling is done Downloadable flashcards to help you memorize correct answers Practice Exams that you may take as many times as you choose 9

10 Tip # 5: Chart a plan to get you there (cont.) On completion of this course, you will have: studied all 27 chapters and 1,138 pages learned about all the knowledge and skills required in the FP&A job gained an immersive exposure to the nature of the certification exam 5 Tips Recap Tip #1: Know how the FP&A role is changing today and why Tip #2: Navigate the FP&A job market Tip #3: Distinguish the necessary skills of a strong FP&A professional Tip #4: Explore paths to build the necessary skills Tip #5: Chart a plan to get you there! 10

11 John P. Laschenski Next Step to Advance Your Career: Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Certification Exam Prep Seminar #1501 Prepare for successful results with the AFP FP&A certification exam Access the FP&A Learning System containing the most up-to-date knowledge for financial planners and analysts Provide more specific input to your organization s financial and strategic planning Increase your own professional value and career prospects in FP&A 11

12 SPECIAL BONUS OFFER Take $200 Off Any AMA Seminar Register by 10/9/2015 to get the discount. Use Offer Code LHQ9. $ 200 OFF TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offer(s). Individuals eligible for GSA or SLS Contract pricing must choose between their contract pricing or this discount applied to the AMA Member rate. AMA Annual Pass/Premium Annual Pass, AMA Seminar Savings Pass, Express Skills Courses, AMA Webinars, and third partydelivered programs available through AMA are not eligible for this offer. 90-Minute Webinars Taking Effective and Accurate Meeting Minutes September 24 Useful and time-saving notetaking templates Ways to recap decisions that outline what was decided and what was agreed to Specific words and phrases to accurately summarize discussions How to make quick work of correcting your notes Mastering Excel Formulas and Functions October 1 How to use formulas and functions to save time Powerful Formula/Function building techniques boost your productivity Tactics for using CHOOSE VLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH, COUNTIF, SUMIF and a host of other powerful array formulas and functions For details & registration, visit: 12

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