Gartner: Future of finance extends FP&A to include operational planning

Is your organisation prepared for the extended role of finance for the future?

In 2023, Gartner refreshed their Future of Finance research to gain insights into how finance and IT planning participants are navigating the Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A) market as it matures. The study aimed to test Gartner's theory that by 2024, the majority of enterprises would integrate or align Finance Planning & Analysis (FP&A) with at least one other operational planning area. Additionally, the research identified the top areas of consideration.

The survey reveals that finance teams are well-equipped to lead enterprise planning initiatives. A number of other key findings also came out of the research:

• Even with the rise of integrated financial planning (IFP) and integrated business planning (IBP), Excel and business intelligence (BI) remain widely used tools in the business intelligence landscape.
• xP&A is still in its early stages, and not many users currently opt for a single vendor to source their FP&A and key operational planning applications.
• Multisystem integration and the use of disparate technologies and planning systems have led to data inconsistencies between finance and operational plans, which continue to hinder finance transformation efforts.
• Emerging technologies, including xP&A, will complement and improve popular enterprise planning approaches.

Looking ahead to 2024, the majority of businesses are expected to integrate or align FP&A with various operational planning areas, including sales and operational planning, workforce planning, sales planning, and IT planning.

And with the help of innovative technologies like xP&A, traditional enterprise planning approaches can be enhanced and improved. By expanding their responsibilities beyond finance, CFO's can lead the way in promoting collaborative, enterprise-wide planning efforts.

Download the Gartner 'Future of Finance' report below to learn more