financial modeling

Corporate CPR Episode 99: Making Finance-Driven Decisions

/ Jana

On today’s episode, we are talking about making finance-driven decisions.

Paul Barnhurst, known as The FP&A Guy, is a seasoned Finance Professional with over 12 years of experience in finance and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). He holds a bachelor’s degree from BYU, an MBA specializing in finance, and a Master of Information Management from Arizona State University. Paul’s diverse career spans various industries, including government, travel services, finance, automotive, Cyber Security, and Ecommerce. His expertise lies in budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, modeling, report building, and business partnership. Paul recently launched The FP&A Guy, offering FP&A consulting for small and mid-sized companies, FP&A training, and content creation. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, he’s an active thought leader on LinkedIn in the FP&A field.

Episode Highlights:

  • Financial Modeling for Informed Decisions: Financial modeling is a critical tool for making informed decisions. It involves creating dynamic models with inputs and outputs to estimate the financial implications of various scenarios, such as business expansion. Good financial modeling helps in projecting likely outcomes.
  • Aligning Strategy with Finance: Financial modeling in the corporate context plays a key role in aligning strategic plans with financial considerations. It engages different departments in the budgeting and forecasting process, ensuring that business decisions are financially sound and in line with the company’s overall strategy.
  • M&A as an Art and Science: Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) strategies should combine both financial analysis and a deep understanding of market dynamics. Successful M&A deals require discipline to avoid overpaying or making unrealistic assumptions. It’s both an art and a science.
  • Building Robust M&A Models: In M&A, success hinges on having a robust financial model, conducting effective due diligence, understanding the strategic fit between companies, and structuring deals intelligently. Consideration of market conditions and future exit strategies is essential.
  • Key Considerations for Informed M&A: When considering M&A, focus on key factors such as financial aspects, the technology state of the target company, cultural fit, legal risks, and understanding industry growth or decline. These considerations are fundamental for making well-informed decisions during mergers and acquisitions.

Paul’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Modeling is only one decision-making tool. It should be used to help guide your decisions, not dictate them.
  2. Most M&As do not result in a return to the buyer so make sure you bring discipline to your process and try to remove emotion.
  3. Make sure you’re asking Finance for help. Finance can bring a lot of value, especially if they are willing to learn & partner with the business.  

How to Connect with Paul:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy/   

Email: Pbarnhurst@thefpandaguy.com

Website: www.thefpandaguy.com

Corporate CPR Episode 38: Financial Modeling for Your Organization with Ian Schnoor

/ Jana

On today’s show, we discuss financial modeling for your organization.

Ian Schnoor, CRM, CFA is one of the founders of the Financial Modeling Institute in 2017. He oversees the organization including its strategic direction. Ian is also founder of The Marquee Group, a leading provider of financial modeling training, consulting and accreditation.

Over the last 20 years, Ian has taught thousands of business professionals and university students around the world. Ian is passionate about teaching and brings a hands-on, interactive approach to every course. 

Ian teaches at Queen’s University in Canada and is a recipient of the “Instructor of the Year” award in the Master of Finance program at the Smith School of Business. Previously, Ian spent a number of years in the Investment Banking departments at Citigroup and BMO Capital Markets. Ian completed his Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree with academic distinction from the University of Manitoba and has also attained the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. 

Continue reading →