Welcome to FP&A Prep

Why I’m teaching FP&A to finance teams and business leaders

I was excited to start my career, fresh out of college at Procter & Gamble, a large multinational company. 

But I also felt overwhelmed. 

I realized I had a lot to learn that they didn’t teach in college, like presenting a sea of numbers in front of people who know them much better than I did. Whenever I made a mistake, and a number I presented was wrong, people realized it immediately. I didn’t understand how they did it. I spent all this time creating the reports and couldn’t see the mistake until it was too late. I felt I could never get to a point where I could present confidently, without fear of showing slides that had errors.

One evening, as usual, I was one of the last people still at their desk working head down on a large spreadsheet when Ralf, the Head of Sales and most senior executive in my office, came over to my desk. 

For a second, I was shocked.

Did I forget to send him something? If he comes to me instead of my boss, it must be urgent. Will I be able to pull it off without the help of my colleagues who have already left? Or did he find another mistake in the report I sent him earlier today?

As soon as he started talking, I knew it wasn’t about anything I needed to do for him. He was friendly and relaxed. He started by asking me if I was doing anything for the weekend.

He said, “Look, I appreciate that you care so much about getting this right. Just keep in mind that it’s a process: When you step out of your comfort zone, you will see that it grows. Ok?” 

I could only nod and say thank you as a response, not immediately understanding what he was trying to say. After a little while, long after he had left, it sank in. 

Many things are difficult at first. But if I keep doing those hard things that are just outside my comfort zone, they would soon appear to be easier and much less stressful. 

I kept thinking about his words a lot, and to my amazement, I realized that he was absolutely right. Things that were challenging the week before felt a little bit easier. I would go back to this principle again and again over the years, the core of what Dr. Carol Dweck calls Growth Mindset. 

But it wasn’t just these insights themselves that stuck with me. 

What deeply impressed me was that a few encouraging words, spoken at the right time with the right empathetic attitude, can greatly impact how motivated, productive, and fulfilled someone can feel at work. From then on, I developed a passion for learning how to lead people and becoming a mentor myself, hoping that someday I could have a positive impact on others as Ralf did on me. 

I worked hard and returned to school to get an MBA specializing in Leadership while working full-time at Unilever. And I tried to step outside of my comfort zone whenever I could. Whenever I felt my learning curve flatten, I asked to move to a new role within the same company. And it paid off. 

The leadership team at Unilever recognized my efforts and promoted me three times within four years. As a result, I had the chance to lead and mentor over 20 direct reports.

Over the years, I realized what I enjoy most about leading Finance teams is this: helping my team develop their skills. It’s so rewarding to see their eyes light up when they understand how they can use a new concept or tool.

So, I thought maybe there was a way I could reach more people over the internet.

Now, I’m thrilled to pass on what I learned about building your FP&A skills via my course FP&A Bootcamp.

And, wow, was I surprised by the positive impact it had. More than 100 students have taken the course, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

I can’t wait for the next course to start and see more eyes light up.