Financial Planning & Analysis

CTP/CCM & FPAC Credits Reporting

If you submitted evaluations for sessions attended at AFP 2023 your CTP/CCM and/or FPAC credits will be uploaded to your recertification record by 12/31/2023.  If you did not submit evaluations for the sessions you attended, please self-report the qualifying credits to your recertification record.

CPE Credits Request (CPAs)

If you did not previously submit a CPE Credits Request for sessions attended, please email your request to [email protected] referencing the Session Title and Session CPE Code (provided at the end of the session).  A CPE confirmation will be emailed to you once the CPE Code is verified.

Scenario-Based Planning:  Tactical Steps for Achieving Strategic Outcomes

Scenario-based planning adds significant value to many companies, but only a few have 'cracked the code' as it relates to adopting and deriving material value. The Oliver Wyman 2022 CFO survey has shown a rise in the adoption of advanced planning techniques by firms, particularly scenario-based planning. As businesses seek to better understand the link between their performance and macro-economic factors, and to identify and mitigate future risks, companies are taking action to implement these capabilities. To help others achieve superior decision-making, this session shares insights into the foundational elements for success as well as the key tactical steps needed to bring about the adoption of scenario-based planning and other advanced planning capabilities. 

Speakers: 

John Thompson, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Victor Valencia, CTP, Head of Finance, Amazon

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Tales from the Transformation Trenches:  How to be a Success Statistic

Many digital transformation efforts fail, with 70%-85% not reaching their ROI targets or being abandoned altogether. As financial practitioners are often held accountable for these initiatives, it's important to understand what success looks like and how to achieve it. In this session, experienced transformation practitioners share 10 tactics that empower success in any digital transformation. Topics covered include the impact of process mapping, communication, and change management on ROI, as well as planning techniques and methodologies to avoid negative impacts on the practitioner's profile, driving your digital transformation to success. 

Speakers: 

Robert Zondag, CTP, Senior Manager, Wipfli LLP
Sarah Grooms, CTP, SVP, Special Initiatives, Wintrust Financial Corporation

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Living with AI

Speakers: 

Jenny Kim, Co-Founder & CEO, Cooper
Andrew Laferla, Product Director - Profitability and Cost Management, Alithya
Ashok Manthena, Founder, ChatFin
Gagan Sivia, Director of Finance and Analytics & Faculty of Finance and Analytics, Azure Properties Group & BCIT

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study IT

Delivering Actionable Insights:  Converting Analysis to Action

Speakers: 

John Baule, CEO and Co-founder, FutureView Systems
Keith Haas, Chief Financial Officer, FutureView Systems
Madison Bates, SVP of Financial Reporting and Chief Accounting Officer, Wunderkind

Automation and AI: How Finance can Save Time, Cut Costs, and Drive Better Decisions

The phrase, “Everything that should be automated, will be automated” has several important implications for the Finance function. First, it compels us to empower our team by taking advantage of the current wave of low code / no code tools and AI solutions. Second, it changes the role that people play in an automated world and how we live our careers. And third, it will reshape the role Finance plays within the enterprise. A veteran of finance in Silicon Valley and the head of performance analytics discuss prerequisites for success, how to quantify the business value of adopting automation technology, and how the role of the financial professional needs to evolve to keep pace.

Speakers: 

Kat Orekhova, CEO, Vareto
Walter Harris, SVP, Performance Measurement and Business Analysis, AARP

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Solving Business Problems Through Financial Analysis 

Financial Analysis is an essential tactical tool to resolve key business challenges linked to profitability, liquidity and performance management, but its strategic use remains undervalued despite its proven effectiveness in handling complex business issues! Using real-world business cases, speakers explore key financial analysis techniques and practical implementation frameworks to manage growth and operations under numerous constraints ranging from cash flow to talent management. This session aims to reinvigorate appreciation for the strategic use of financial analysis by showcasing how it can improve financial health and business performance, enhance their impact and influence, and promote financial analysis within the organization.

Speakers: 

Wassia Kamon, VP of Finance and Corporate Controller, Low Income Investment Fund
Oana Labes, Founder & President, Financiario

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Building a World-Class FP&A Team 

To ensure that FP&A teams thrive in today's rapidly changing business environment, it's important to match team talent with business needs. This session provides practical guidance, via a four-step framework, to create a world-class FP&A team that can make an instrumental impact on organizational performance. First, conduct a comprehensive review of the business's requirements and your team's skills. Second, match team resources to business needs. Third, recruit and hire where needed using best practices. Finally, implement a development plan that is engrained in the culture and ensures a continuous feedback loop. The pace of change in the world is changing the skills FP&A teams need to thrive. Learn how to prepare your team to thrive in this informative session.

Speakers: 

Paul Barnhurst, FPAC, Founder, The FP&A Guy
Andrew Childress, Former Director of FP&A, Accupac
Ron Monteiro, Owner/President, Kict, Inc. 

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Dynamic Planning, Forecasting and Analytics at the Speed of Business

At CarMax, unprecedented economic changes from 2020 through 2022 resulted in temporary store closures and cash preservation which led to an explosion of demand and inventory buildup. Uncertainty with rising interest rates and recession winds demanded superior planning capabilities to rapidly forecast future performance. Seizing this opportunity, CarMax redesigned its planning processes and EPM platform by optimizing the level of detail, harmonizing processes across the annual plan, enabling a driver-based rolling forecast process, and eliminating offline models. Learn how CarMax reduced cycle times, enabled on-demand forecasts and robust scenario analysis, increased forecast accuracy, and delivered real-time analytics.

Speakers: 

Jared Ireland, Senior Manager of FP&A, CarMax
Philip Peck, Vice President, Finance Transformation & Advisory Services, Peloton Consulting Group

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

How Sustainability Programs Could (and Should) Transform FP&A

Embracing sustainability is crucial for businesses seeking investment, customers and talent retention. Reporting on sustainability or ESG is now commonplace, with 86% of the S&P 500 and 96% of Global 250 companies doing so. Sustainability programs offer opportunities for risk management, operational decisions, and long-term financial health, making CFOs accountable for sustainability data accuracy, investments, and programmatic returns. This session provides a practical guide for navigating the changing landscape and language of sustainability/ESG reporting, handling data challenges, and identifying business and career opportunities.

Speakers: 

Zsolt Badics, Principal & Founder, Tensor Research LLC
Ann-Grete Tan, Principal, Tensor Research LLC

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

Go Outside and Play (to Win):  Take an Outside-In View of Your Organization to Create Value

FP&A professionals rely on internal data to plan and operate the business; however, external stakeholders can only access information provided to them or publicly available data, giving them a limited view of the company. It is important for both public and private companies to learn to think about their organization from an outside-in perspective to understand different views of company value and ensure alignment between internal metrics and external expectations. In this session, two highly experienced finance and investor relations practitioners provide practical advice on how to leverage outside-in thinking to gain alignment across business leaders, internal networks and data platforms, ultimately allowing companies to operate from the inside-out.

Speakers: 

Michael High, FPAC, Vice President, Finance, Parkland Corporation
Dirk Lever, VP Capital Markets, IR and FP&A, Parkland Corporation

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

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Transitioning from Number Cruncher to Strategic Partner

When making the transition from individual contributor to people leader and strategic partner we are increasingly asked to sit at the epicenter of decision-making, distilling alternatives to a common language of dollars and cents that considers the full financial statement impact of tactical choices. This discussion explores the way our individual value propositions change as we make the leap to leadership, and how we need to work differently to grow our influence in the organization.

Speakers: 

Alyssa Cox, Founder, Blue Swift Consulting
Alina Traistaru, Director of Finance, Realm IDx

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study PD

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Achieving Automation and Agility Using Low Code/No Code Technologies

Technology that can easily handle, combine, and merge various large data sets and connections will empower FP&A professionals to build and iterate through models, creating more value for the business and giving analysts back valuable time to analyze the data rather than compiling it. The emergence of low-code/no-code technologies for planning, data manipulation and dashboarding has opened new possibilities for FP&A teams. This reduces the dependency on IT and allows Finance to flex with the variability of the business cycle to achieve a more nimble, agile, and powerful Finance function. Attend this session to better understand the role of low-code/no-code technologies in the FP&A functions.

Speakers: 

Laura Bast, Consultant, Capitalize Analytics
Chas Edelberger, Senior Revenue Analyst, BrightView Health
Macon Graves, Financial Analyst II, BrightView Health

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study IT

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The Impact Loop: Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Finance Transformation

Future-looking finance teams need to stay abreast of the latest transformation practices to maximize their impact within their organization, which can include driving cost savings, increasing the speed and accuracy of business insights, improving decision-making, and helping to steer company strategy. It can be challenging for finance leaders and teams to understand what opportunities exist without a framework and a benchmark. This session provides attendees with an actionable framework for driving finance transformation, as well as actionable steps to improve efficiency, unlock capacity, and grow the business. From Microsoft's and Chick-Fil-A's transformation journeys, finance and treasury practitioners gain valuable insights they can apply within their own organizations.

Speakers: 

Matt Burton, Director, Financial Solutions Lab, Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Jesse Todd, Director, Cross-Industry Finance Transformation, Microsoft

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study BMO

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Essentials of Financial Statement Modeling for Better Business Planning

To make informed financial decisions, organizations must examine their income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows holistically to have a clear picture of their financial position.  Given their interrelationships, there is a formulaic process for developing and extrapolating essential data.  First, the income statement and balance sheet are projected using a percentage of sales approach in conjunction with an estimate for revenue growth rate.  The statement of cash flows is then developed from the income statement and balance sheet projections to better understand the organization’s liquidity.  This session reviews the projections and connections among these statements and emphasizes the modeling assumptions that should be carefully questioned before interpreting and budgeting with the model output.

Speakers: 

Matthew Hill, CTP, FPAC, PhD, Assistant Professor of Finance, Arkansas State University

APPROVED CREDITS:  CTP/CCM  1.2 | FPAC 1.2 | CPE 1.2 | CPE Field of Study FIN

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