Curious how others are feeling lately. I feel the shift in FP&A has been very much more about challenging costs, being a strategic partner, knowing the business, etc. This has been pushed hard by our Finance leadership. However, the disconnect on how the business views us and thinks of our role is huge. I'll have my team push for questions on how certain costs are built, the details behind the numbers, the structure of the contracts, etc., and I typically get an email in hours from business leadership questioning our intent. It doesn't even matter how I go about it (being tough, being fluffy and supportive, being completely honest about educating ourselves, etc.).

At the end of the day, if my Finance leadership isn't going to back us up, then I'm fine being a reporting team. Mostly venting, but Just curious if anyone else has similar experiences with business partners like this?

hi everybody,

i am a manufacturing financial analyst at stellantis in one of the plants. i have been working at this role for the past 10 months, since September 25. I love the job, i don’t have to work too much. Maybe 20-25 hours a week out of the 40. I have learned so much about manufacturing and how finance is handled. I’ve also learned how a company takes measures when they don’t have money problems vs when they do. I have an extremely nice manager. He gives me full freedom to do whatever I think can help me excel at this role. He has guided me through every single thing or task we do at the plant in finance. I mainly work on learning as much of excel, powerbi, sql data pulling, and data validation/ model building. I also do the daily/monthly tasks like daily morning meetings with plant leadership, monthly sox, close process, currently working on forecasts/budget so he is teaching me parts of it one by one. The only thing i dont like about my job is one 5 days in person and 2 manufacturing is not a high ceiling or high exposure environment i feel. It’s been the perfect playground for me though to learn and adapt as a new college undergraduate.

I did a ba in economics and graduated in august 25. Gpa was as close to 3.0 as possible but it wasn’t a 3.0. I did not focus much in college. I wanted to do finance and the college was competitive so I never got admission. Which led to me just passing classes and getting stuff done in economics. I was fortunate enough to find a job in finance. But nowww….

I feel like i would need to get out of manufacturing for sure to move up and even learn more. Yes I still probably can learn a lot more in this job and place but mentally I have the feeling that manufacturing is not good enough i need to do better. I just want to get human comments into what i have and if i am doing good or not or can i do better

at the end. I like my job, i like my manager, i am growing everyday, i can learn whatever i want, pay is great at 80k for starting.

Tuff parts are gpa, manufacturing maybe on resume, only 10 months in, maybe need to grow my communication skills.

I recently completed my CIMA qualification, but I’m finding it really difficult to break into FP&A in London. I’ve only had one interview in the last month, and it’s starting to feel quite discouraging.

Is this fairly normal in the current market, or am I doing something wrong?

I sacrificed a lot of time and effort to become CIMA qualified, so I was hoping it would open more doors. At the moment, it doesn’t feel like I’m getting much return on that investment.

Does anyone know of any finance or FP&A networking events in London that are worth attending? I’d also really appreciate any advice from people who have successfully made the move into FP&A.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I was laid off couple months ago and I haven't been able to land an interview for a finance manager role. I have an MBA and a lot of experience in the FP&A world. So I assume it's my resume that is the issue. Please help. Be honest and brutal. I can use all the help I can get.

Looking for any advice on how people come up with their monthly rebate accruals for credit cards?

The issue that I’ve been running into is that every client has a different contract. So each spend amount to hit a tiered rebate level is different & spending enough to get it.

Has anyone taken the online behavioral assessment for Capital One recently? I took it back in January and didn’t pass it. I reapplied for a financial analyst Role, so no
Coding but there is some math and behavioral questions. Any tips?

FM with 8 YOE (late twenties); need advice on career trajectory:
1. Current role: FM at a large public tech company (well known brand, but not faang), TC 170k in HCOL. WLB amazing, flexible hybrid, 15 min commute, love my boss, don’t enjoy business partners or the culture though. Role is interesting-ish (not just your typical reporting, I business partner a lot and do a ton of projects). I also think I will have internal mobility opportunities eventually, my boss has said my name is in the hat for the Sr manager, hinted to expect it this year & I have received an “exceeds” rating twice. However I often ask myself if this is really it, if I’m getting too comfortable and whether I will stay marketable for long (especially entering my thirties very soon). Another point is that the company would be impacted if AI bubble burst (not AI or saas or anything like that, but heavily relies on overall economy doing well).

1. Offer: Pre-IPO tech, very anticipated IPO. Sr manager role, cash comp 230k in HCOL, not counting pre-ipo equity. Culture will be a fit, but expect shitty WLB for at least 2 years. Remote for now. I did like the people a lot & know people that work there. I know overall this would be a shining star on my resume and people would kill for this opportunity. However, the scope of the role is not clearly defined, it’s basically one big “we need someone to come in and fix everything”. I’ve done this type of work before as an FM and so I know in theory I can do it. But now that I’ve had a taste of good wlb, I wonder if it’s worth it.

TLDR: looking for advice on whether I should leave my comfort zone for something that sounds very cool & pays very very well. Is the grass truly greener? Maybe I just need a reality check.

Hi everyone,
I’m early in my FP&A career and I’m trying to become a stronger finance professional. I have an FP&A case study that I need to complete, and I’d really appreciate advice from someone with FP&A experience.
I’m looking for feedback on my approach, what hiring managers typically look for, and how I can make my analysis and recommendations more impactful. Even a 15-20 minute chat or a quick review of my thought process would be incredibly helpful.
It’s a bit last-minute, so if anyone has some time today or in the next few hours, I’d be very grateful. I’m also happy to keep the discussion here in the comments or move to DM if that’s easier.
Thanks in advance, I really appreciate any guidance!