Lately, tons of ppl have asked me how to get into FP&A.
โฌ๏ธHere's my two cents:
๐ญ. ๐๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
I know this is way easier said than done and it may not be an option for you. That said, if you can land any kind of actual on-the-job role that has exposure to the finance department, this will teach you more than any book or class (IMO).
๐ฎ. ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐
A lot of complexity goes into FP&A, but a great way to get "hands on training" is to build a budget of your own personal expenses
— are you covering rent?
— are you spending too much going out?
— what are some changes you can make to invest a little each month?
— how did last month's expenses compare to your budget?
Might sound silly but this is exactly the kind of "strategic thinking" that is needed in FP&A to manage a P&L.
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ
If you can afford to, I think taking 1-2 courses is helpful. There are a ton of amazing ones out there.
(โฌ๏ธ link below, ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ)
๐ฐ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ
Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management (Wiley Finance) is a favorite amongst FP&A professionals and is sitting on my night stand.
(โฌ๏ธ link below, ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ)
๐ฑ. ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ป
Start to fill your LinkedIn feed with FP&A professionals. You'll see the amazing content they post, who they interact with the most, and the resources they suggest.
There are so many great folks out there, but I'd start with:
Paul Barnhurst
Anders Liu-Lindberg
Christian Wattig
Tejas Parikh
Carl Seidman, CPA, CSP
~ ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ก ~
I genuinely think 1 & 2 — ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ — are the best things you can do, but I realize that's not an option for everyone.
At the very least, I hope this list serves as a starting point and helps point you in the right direction.
—Chris
––––
p.s. I post M-F @6:30am MST (usually)
I write about:
- M&A, FP&A, Financial Modeling
- Solopreneurship
Here are the courses I like:
Self study: https://www.wallstreetprep.com/fpa/
Active learning: https://maven.com/fpaprep/fpa-bootcamp?ss=true
(๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ)
Here's the book I mentioned:
https://amzn.to/37DMD4X
(๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ)
If and when the time is right, I offer refreshingly straightforward Financial Modeling Courses for FP&A and Private Equity Professionals that have been recognized all over the world. Check them out if you're interested (if not, that's cool too ๐). Just click here.