Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management (Wiley Finance) - Hardcover

Alexander, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119491487 ISBN 13: 9781119491484

Publisher: Wiley, 2018

Synopsis

Critical insights for savvy financial analysts

Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is the essential desk reference for CFOs, FP&A professionals, investment banking professionals, and equity research analysts. With thought-provoking discussion and refreshing perspective, this book provides insightful reference for critical areas that directly impact an organization’s effectiveness. From budgeting and forecasting, analysis, and performance management, to financial communication, metrics, and benchmarking, these insights delve into the cornerstones of business and value drivers. Dashboards, graphs, and other visual aids illustrate complex concepts and provide reference at a glance, while the author’s experience as a CFO, educator, and general manager leads to comprehensive and practical analytical techniques for real world application.

Financial analysts are under constant pressure to perform at higher and higher levels within the realm of this consistently challenging function. Though areas ripe for improvement abound, true resources are scarce―until now. This book provides real-world guidance for analysts ready to:

• Assess performance of FP&A function and develop improvement program
• Improve planning and forecasting with new and provocative thinking
• Step up your game with leading edge analytical tools and practical solutions
• Plan, analyze and improve critical business and value drivers
• Build analytical capability and effective presentation of financial information
• Effectively evaluate capital investments in uncertain times

The most effective analysts are those who are constantly striving for improvement, always seeking new solutions, and forever in pursuit of enlightening resources with real, useful information. Packed with examples, practical solutions, models, and novel approaches, Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is an invaluable addition to the analyst’s professional library. Access to a website with many of the tools introduced are included with the purchase of the book. Please see About the Website page for access instructions.

About this title

About the Author

JACK ALEXANDER is an experienced CFO and operating executive turned consultant, author, and educator. As the founder of Jack Alexander & Associates, LLC, he provides advice to businesses across a wide range of financial and operating areas, with a focus and passion on Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Performance Management (PM). The firm also offers customized training and workshops on FP&A. He is a frequent speaker on FP&A and PM. He is the author of Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation and Financial Planning and Analysis and Performance Management, both from Wiley.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management

"Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management provides a comprehensive yet pragmatic framework to deliver value from finance and contribute to overall business success. Addressing not only the science but the 'art' of FP&A, a truly valuable resource to both the finance executive defining the roadmap to FP&A excellence and the analyst establishing credibility as a business partner."
Michael Rossi, MBA, Healthcare CFO

"Beyond academic theory, I have witnessed firsthand Alexander's framework-driven concepts improve firm profitability and value. This comprehensive book is a required read and reference for finance executives and FP&A teams."
William W. Benton, CFA, Investment Analyst, Partner, William Blair Investment Management, LLC

"Well written and comprehensive, Jack Alexander's latest work leads you to the true drivers of business performance in a business world awash with detached KPI's and useless dashboards. An essential read for any Human Resources leader who wants to speak intelligently about the business and to be an effective business partner. The sections on Innovation, Agility, and Human Capital Management are refreshing and precisely on target."
Warren Davis, Vice President, Human Resources, JMA Wireless

"A terrific resource for all finance professionals, with actionable content for improving key areas of FP&A. Once again, Jack has captured practical tools and techniques, providing them for such critical areas as analysis, modeling, rolling forecasts, KPI's and dashboards, valuation and capital investment decisions. The book will serve as a great future reference for our FP&A group."
Dan Heaney, CFO, Public Consulting Group

"Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is an invaluable reference tool for finance professionals from entry-level to CFO, written with a refreshing clarity that non-finance professionals also will appreciate. The practical techniques, KPI's and dashboards are easy to execute with the power to transform your business's decision-making and drive operating performance and profitability."
Laura J. Goedken, CFO, TaxAct, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management offers a comprehensive and down-to-earth guide to financial planning and analysis (FP&A). Written by Jack Alexander, a former CFO and the author of Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation, this important text is filled with illustrative examples and visual aids and provides real-world guidance for professionals responsible for assessing and improving the performance of the FP&A function. Throughout the book, Alexander includes the most current thinking and shows how to put into practice leading edge tools to plan, analyze, and improve vital business and value drivers. In addition, the text reveals what it takes to build analytical capability and to effectively present financial information.

Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management offers CFOs, FP&A professionals, investment banking professionals, and equity research analysts an important text that covers the fundamentals of finance through advanced topics and best practices. The author examines the key analytical tools and identifies the best practices in selecting key performance indicators (KPI's) and developing effective dashboards. It provides guidance on developing projections in uncertain times including budgets, operating plans, rolling forecasts, and long-term projections. The author also presents analytical frameworks for evaluating capital investment decisions, business valuations, value drivers, and mergers and acquisitions. Insightful guidance is provided on extending FP&A to important areas including innovation, agility, human capital management and competitor analysis. Throughout the text, author Jack Alexander offers an insightful CFO perspective to the critical areas that directly impact an organization's success.

Filled with dashboards, graphs, and other visual aids the text also includes a companion website that offers a number of illustrative performance dashboards, analysis, and Excel models that are highlighted in the book.

In today's highly competitive environment, financial analysts must perform at higher and higher levels within the realm of their consistently challenging function. Though areas ripe for improvement abound, true resources are scarce until now. Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management provides real-world guidance for analysts who want to excel at their profession.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1119491487
• ISBN 13: 9781119491484
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 640