How to say “no” as FP&A Business Partner
Image by Gemma Evans via Unsplash
FP&A roles can get quite busy at times. Imagine, your CFO has a last-minute question to prep for tomorrow’s investor meeting.
Your Marketing business partner is following up on the scorecard you owe her and on top of everything, your Excel workbook seems to just gotten corrupted.
Right as you realize you need to rebuild the entire model, your sales business partner Slacks you asking if you can help with an Excel formula that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to.
What do you do?
You need to learn to say no gracefully.
That’s a skill that needs to be practiced to be mastered. And unfortunately, it’s one that many - especially highly motivated - FP&A analysts lack.
Here is what you should do:
#1 Pause and reflect
Whenever you feel stressed by too many requests, take a step back to reassess your priorities. What would happen if you said no to the request of your business partner? In comparison, what happens if you say yes but then you are late for your CFO’s deadline?
#2 Ask questions
Find out how important the request is to the person that asked you for it. Would it put them in a bad spot if you say no? Or perhaps it’s less urgent than you thought?
Do this to find quick wins and evaluate potential damage in your relationship with the task-giver.
#3 Say “no” gracefully
Don’t simply say “I have too much on my plate, I can’t help you.” Give some context, so the other person understands where you are coming from.
Explain in detail why the other tasks can’t be delayed. That way, you avoid them thinking you don’t value their ask.
#4 Offer support
If you can’t do what they ask for, can you help them quickly in a different way? For example, instead of doing the work yourself, you could point them to someone else that can.
If that’s not an option, tell them when you have time to do their task in the future.
That way, you show you care about helping your colleagues while at the same time preventing stress and potential burnout.
If you’d like to learn more about FP&A, I offer help in three ways:
1️⃣ Subscribe to my free newsletter “FP&A Tuesday” here.
2️⃣ Listen to 75 bite-sized mini lessons and get FP&A advice on the go.
3️⃣ Join my live online course FP&A Bootcamp to master FP&A in two weeks.
