New Report Uncovers 12 Key Principles for Financial Planning & Analysis

Giuseppe Barone
IMA
(201) 474-1681
giuseppe.barone@imanet.org

Taylor Fenske
Stern Strategy Group
(908) 325-3866
tfenske@sternstrategy.com

Montvale, N.J., July 16, 2019IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) released a Statement of Management Accounting (SMA) report today that uncovers the 12 principles of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) critical to organizational success. FP&A, or how a company allocates resources, is the arguably the CFO’s most powerful tool to either create or destroy value.

If done well, it has the potential to drive shareholder and stakeholder value by:
  • Driving planning and execution of the strategy
  • Ensuring the financial and operational goals of the organization are achieved
  • Generating ideas for new business opportunities
  • Ensuring the optimal allocation of resources (how time and money will be invested for maximum results)
“Recent studies have shown that many companies have deficient FP&A functions,” said Kip Krumwiede, Ph.D., CMA, CSCA, CPA, director of research for IMA and co-author of the report. “Because it is so inextricably linked to value creation, we wanted to examine what top-performers do differently in FP&A.”

The SMA, “Key Principles of Effective Financial Planning and Analysis” discusses and recommends 12 key principles of FP&A best practices. While any one principle, if properly implemented, will likely yield positive results, it is the way these principles reinforce each other that will more fully deliver on the promise of effective FP&A.

“In general, the best-performing organizations take a more rigorous and integrated approach to FP&A,” said Lawrence Serven, author of “Value Planning: The New Approach to Building Value Every Day” and co-author of the report. “They use FP&A to drive results, not just predict them.”

The SMA, which is designed to be a comprehensive FP&A resource for management accountants, also examines the role of technology, the skills needed in the function, how to get started and how to “sell” the need for FP&A improvement to top management.

To read the full report, visit here.

About IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA®, named the 2017 and 2018 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) programs, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 125,000 members in 150 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.

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