Erik Lidman

CEO & Founder Aimplan

8 Skills To
Become
Great
at FP&A
 1. Financial Modeling

You need to be good at creating

detailed financial plans to help the
company make better choices and
plans for growing revenue and
saving costs.

This skill is fundamental for

figuring out potential business
impacts and advising departments.
2. Budgeting and Forecasting

Companies highly value FP&A pros

who can predict financial changes
accurately or close to that.

It helps the company know how to

manage risks and navigate.

The impact goes to budget

allocations and staffing
adjustments and smoother
business operations.
3. Data Analysis and
Visualization

It’s a great skill to be able to

provide clear insights into
various aspects of business
performance and be part of
impactful decisions.

The C-suite loves clear, easy-

to-understand information
about the company's
performance.
4. Strategic Planning and
Business Analysis

Be better at planning the

company's future.

Understand the past challenges.

Analyze the company's financial

reports to see if goals are met
and suggest changes if needed.
5. Deep Business Knowledge

Step out of your cube.

You must have business insight

and awareness of industry trends
to stay ahead in your sector,
capture opportunities.

And make informed decisions to

grow the company's offerings
without risking financial stability.
 6. Digital Mindset

Get away from manual tasks.

Automate.

Find out what tools are there in the

market that can help you get your
job done in hours and not in days.

So you can focus on high-level

tasks.
 7. Storytelling

Being able to tell stories that all

stakeholders can understand well
is very powerful skill.

You need to turn numbers into

stories and stories in to futuristic
ideas and ideas into actions.

Extract info from financial reports

and practice storytelling
8. Team Building

Be strong.

Be someone people can trust.

Make fast decisions about the

company's financial plans.

Help clients with budgeting and

business planning.

Help your teams see the

company’s vision. Unity is
strength.
These 8 skills will help FP&A
people work closely with different
groups in a business, like
investors, staff, and customers.

They need to deeply understand

the needs and viewpoints of
these groups to help the business
grow.
 Hi, I’m Erik!
CEO & Founder Aimplan

I have spent 25 years of my life working in

the FP&A, EPM, and CPM spaces, both as a
consultant and within software companies
delivering FP&A solutions.

I share daily PowerBI & FP&A tips, talk

about finance trends, and share life
lessons to empower finance and
accounting teams.