Business Planning & Analysis Navigate volatility and evolving challenges through the power of business partnership and financial planning and analytics to support long-term growth The future is difficult to predict. When coupled with market volatility, economic shifts, and evolving workforce dynamics, organizations must become even more strategic and agile to remain competitive. Protiviti's Business Planning & Analysis practice supports our clients through this accelerating pace of strategic decision making with real-time planning activities, leveraging analytics to provide meaningful insights to drive business performance.Navigating this challenging environment is a continuous journey, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Protiviti's Business Planning & Analysis team:Customizes solutions to enable meaningful strategic, analytical and financial insights to drive critical business decisions.Designs scalable and agile processes supported by technology, automation and advanced analytics.Cultivates a culture of cross-functional collaboration and alignment across our clients' organizations. 2024 Global Finance Trends Survey Explore key findings from our finance survey on CFO transformations and global trends, emphasizing tech's role in strategic growth and security. Read more How We’re Helping Our Clients We deliver a wide range of capabilities to support your organization's unique finance needs and beyond: graph BP&A Execution Support & Analytics Our customized solutions enable meaningful strategic, analytical and financial insights to drive critical business decisions and timely identification of key business risks and opportunities. Pro Tools Gear BP&A Transformation We design fit for purpose, scalable and agile processes supported by technology and automation, as well as cultivating a culture of cross-functional business partnership across the organization. We also develop enhanced reporting enabling greater transparency of key business drivers, spend, and investments. Pro Digital Hightech Technology Enablement Our customized solutions enable more accurate and frequent financial reporting and financial projections leveraging meaningful analytical insights enabled by technology. We ensure integrity and governance of data used for planning, reporting, analytics and business decision support. Transaction Support We advise and guide our clients through significant transactions including exit events, such as IPOs and M&A, as well as post-M&A integration support. Playbook: Drive Results & Navigate Uncertainty How to Build an Effective Business Planning & Analysis Function Read the Playbook Our Business Planning & Analysis Approach The next generation of financial planning is business planning & analysis (BP&A). BP&A is an enterprise-wide collaborative effort to develop meaningful strategic, analytical, and financial insights to drive critical business decisions in an agile environment. To establish a successful BP&A function, agility, and cross-functional collaboration, coupled with the ability to source data and intelligence from across the business, are critical elements to deliver financial and business insights to drive decisions and navigate uncertainty.Strategic Planning and ForecastingStrategic Planning | Annual Budgeting and Forecasting | Capital & Cost ManagementOrganizations that have strong capabilities in the planning and forecasting areas are able to drive key decision, manage financial health and shareholder expectations while mitigating risks and navigating marketplace volatility. Reporting and AnalyticsEnterprise-Wide Executive Dashboards | Advanced Analytics | Key Metrics & KPIs | Strategic Decision SupportTraditional planning approaches are being augmented with ongoing advanced analytics, requiring an agile finance function with deep analytical capabilities in financial planning and risk management. Business PartneringCross-Functional Collaboration Organizational DesignWell-defined roles and responsibilities are more important than ever to avoid duplicative efforts and inefficiencies. Optimization of activities across the organization is necessary to drive accurate and timely reporting and analytics. Leadership Kerry Buchar Kerry is a Managing Director in Chicago with experience in accounting and finance transformation. She advises clients across industries on financial planning and analysis, strategic reporting, target operating model design, process optimization and shared services.  ... Learn More Tim Bulman Tim is a Managing Director in Metro DC and leads business transformation programs to improve performance at global and mid-market enterprises. He teams with our TC practice to deliver business-led, technology enabled solutions based on leading practices and technologies ... Learn More Andrea Vardaro Thomas Andrea is a Managing Director in New York with expertise in strategic finance, financial planning and analysis, and reporting. She has more than 20 years of industry experience in various finance and accounting roles including divisional strategic finance, FP&A, ... Learn More Featured insights BLOG FP&A — A Double-Duty Mandate for the CFO Necessitates Mature Capabilities A double-duty mandate on the CFO has resulted from the extension of financial planning & analysis (FP&A) responsibilities to leaders throughout the enterprise, placing additional demands on finance leaders. High stakes: FP&A expansion... PODCAST Podcast | Transform: Assessing CFO and finance leader perspectives and priorities for the coming year – with Chris Wright and Nick Puetz A look at the top priorities for CFOs and finance leaders in the coming year — among them, security and privacy of data, financial and strategic planning and analysis, leadership, and enhanced data analytics — reveals a tale of transformation for... BLOG How M&D Companies Can Gauge their BP&A Capabilities and Prepare for Unknowns Business leaders in the manufacturing and distribution industries are facing relentless pressure to cut costs and reduce operational inefficiencies while maintaining the quality of output. This is elevating their focus on effective business planning... BLOG Leading the Drive for Profitability The big picture: Half of the top 10 priorities of CFOs and finance leaders indicate a need for greater agility in finance organizations, according to Protiviti’s 2023 Global Finance Trends Survey. Marketplace uncertainties and economic challenges... BLOG Integrated Business Planning: Navigating Volatility, Creating Resiliency The big picture: Challenging market conditions and volatility are driving the need for organizations to have greater resiliency, agility and flexibility to maximize profit while reducing risk. Between the lines: FP&A, profitability, reporting... WHITEPAPER Business Planning & Analysis Is the Next Generation of Financial Planning As finance leaders collaborate with their business partners to adjust plans in the face of economic headwinds, they should take a moment to reflect on the state of their financial planning capabilities: Are financial plans adequately linked to... Button Button Featured client stories Technology Transforms Non-Profit’s Financial Processes Learn how a well-known non-profit revolutionized its financial processes through strategic technology integration. This case study explores the benefits of enhanced financial reporting, improved internal controls, and streamlined operations in a non... Driving to Order-to-Cash Optimization and Accounts Receivable Transformation This U.S.-based client, a subsidiary of a global water treatment company, offers water-as-a-service solutions to over half of the Fortune 500 companies across North America. Finance Transformation Sets Course for Future Success A U.S.-based global skincare company was unable to provide timely financial reporting and performance analytics to its key stakeholders and private equity sponsor. Protiviti partnered with the company’s CFO, VP of Finance, Controller, and key... Organizational Changes Drive Seamless Transformation of Back-Office Processes to Propel Business Strategy Protiviti partnered with leading technology company to assess, redesign, and standardize procurement, accounting, and finance functions. The company’s overall goal was to eliminate manual and disparate back-office processes to create capacity for... Multinational Consumer Products Company Modernizes FP&A Globally with SAP Analytics Cloud This U.S.-based client is a multi-national consumer products company that has been in business for more than 150 years and now has more than 40,000 employees in 80 countries around the globe. Button Button