Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) is often a tedious and complex process.

What a world we live in today! We can ask any question and get an answer almost instantly.

When I hear or read that artificial intelligence (AI) is “disrupting” financial planning and analysis, I tend to challenge the premise.

For many FP&A organizations, the global health crisis was like a bank of fog rapidly and unexpectedly engulfing a ship at sea.

For a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Companies’ Financial Planning Comes Up Short in the Coronavirus Era,” I was asked how FP&A professionals could have predicted both the pandemic occurring and the scope and scale of its impact.

Part of the ‘new normal’ for FP&A means remote work and virtual collaboration.

The company was losing sales when its popular products weren't in stock so it stopped using static forecasts to anticipate demand.

Smart investment on the planning side can help retailers better align forecasts with actual sales.

Greater adoption of rolling forecasts and subscription pricing models are among the trends you'll see this year.

I always enjoy addressing the question, “What do you think will be the biggest/most important/most impactful trends in fp&a of the coming year”? It gives me a chance to pause and review all the places I’ve been, all the CFOs I spoken with, and all the companies I’ve worked with over the past twelve months, to refine and distill what I believe are the top technological trends for financial planning & analysis in 2019.