Turn finance into the team that drives growth.
Most finance teams report the results, explain the variances, and update the forecast. The best ones use that forecast to tell the business where to reinvest next. I'll show you the system I've run from startups to the Fortune 100, and help you install it in your team.
Free FP&A Maturity Scorecard · 23 questions · Under 10 minutes
Three parts. One system that pays for itself.
The FP&A OS sets the standard. The FP&A Flywheel sets the monthly rhythm. Finance-Led Growth turns the forecast into reinvestment decisions. Here's what each looks like for a sample company.
Know exactly where your team stands
The FP&A OS scores your finance function on six pillars, from Ad Hoc to World-Class. You don't fix all six at once. You find the one holding the others back and move it up a level.
- Six pillars, from reporting to talent to data and tools
- Five levels, each with a named constraint and a next step
- Start with the free Scorecard in under 10 minutes
1 Ad Hoc · 2 Standardized · 3 Partnering · 4 Strategic · 5 World-Class. Click a pillar for detail.
Forecasting
Level 2 · StandardizedA monthly rhythm that ends in decisions
The FP&A Flywheel is the month your team runs: results out right after close, three to five things worth investigating, root cause, an updated full-year forecast, and an executive review that ends in decisions. Here's the email that starts it.
- Finance explains the month first, so finance sets the tone
- Three to five priorities, never fifty
- Every finding feeds the forecast or a decision
Team, the short version: revenue beat plan, margin slipped, and the full-year outlook looks ahead of our commitment. We'll confirm it in the reforecast.
Revenue hit $34.2M, 4% above plan. New enterprise customers drove most of it.
Gross margin came in 1.6 points below plan, mostly from implementation hours running over.
Is the implementation overrun a one-month spike or a trend?
Which channel brought in the new customers, and can it take more spend?
Does the full-year surplus hold once we reforecast?
Hold implementation pricing until we confirm the root cause
Decision at the reviewPre-approve up to $1.5M more in the top channel if the reforecast holds
Funded from full-year surplusFull reforecast and recommendations at the review. — Jordan
September flash.pdfReinvest the surplus, every month
Finance-Led Growth is why the forecast exists. When the reforecast shows you're running ahead of your full-year commitment, finance lays out where that money earns the most, side by side, before anyone commits a dollar. The next reforecast measures what it returned.
- Surplus measured against the full-year commitment, not one month
- Payback and return compared before you commit
- Grow aggressively without missing the number
Why all three: without the Standard, the monthly rhythm never gets better. Without the Rhythm, the Standard is a book on a shelf. Without the Return, the forecast is busywork.
Your team works hard. The business still asks "so what?"
Most CFOs already have strong people. What holds the team back is the system around them, and the CFO ends up carrying the extra weight.
"The month runs us. We don't run the month."
Building and fixing reports and chasing ad hoc requests fill the calendar. Proactive analysis waits until next month, again.
"Our forecast is a number, not a tool."
The team updates it every month, and nothing changes because of it.
"I hear about issues after the decision is made."
By the time a problem reaches your desk, the business has already moved.
"Finance gets treated like a service desk."
Reporting lands on time and changes nothing, so the business asks finance for numbers, not advice.
Proven from startups to the Fortune 100.
Most advisors bring a maturity model or a monthly process. I bring both, plus the reason to run them: a forecast that funds the next decision.
I'm Brett Hampson. For 14 years I've led finance at Allstate and Farmers Insurance, at software companies including a PE-backed one, and as a fractional CFO for startups. The concepts are the same at every size. The details change, and that's what we work out together.
I wrote the system down in The FP&A OS, which 500+ finance leaders have bought. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and work with finance teams anywhere.
Start with your score. Commit one step at a time.
FP&A Maturity Scorecard
23 questions across the six pillars. See where your team sits from Ad Hoc to World-Class, and which pillar to work on first. Take it now.
The FP&A Diagnostic
An outside view of the one to three areas you choose, the root causes holding them back, and a 90-day roadmap your team can start the next week. Money-back guarantee. Learn more.
The 90-Day Install
Real work, not just advice. I roll up my sleeves with your team and build what your roadmap calls for. For some teams that's the full system, running in 90 days. For others it's one critical rebuild, done right. The scope and the promise come out of your Diagnostic, and the Diagnostic fee is credited toward it.
Ongoing support
For teams that want me in the room after the Install, at two levels: an advisory seat in your monthly rhythm and reinvestment reviews, or hands-on as your fractional FP&A leader. Scoped and priced at the end of the Install.
Common questions
Who is this for?
CFOs and finance leaders who want their team to be proactive, at any size. I've run this system as a fractional CFO for startups and inside the Fortune 100. The concepts are the same; the details change, and the Diagnostic is where we work those out for your company.
What is the FP&A Maturity Scorecard?
A free 23-question assessment across the six pillars of the FP&A OS: reporting, analysis, forecasting, consulting, talent, and data and tools. It takes under 10 minutes and shows where your team sits from Ad Hoc to World-Class, with next steps for each pillar.
What is Finance-Led Growth?
It's what the monthly forecast is for. When the full-year reforecast shows you're ahead of your commitment, finance identifies the in-year moves that return the most, such as marketing by channel or region, pricing, or sales capacity, and brings them to the executive team. The next reforecast measures what they returned. If you're behind, the same process finds where to create surplus first.
Do we need new software?
Usually not to start. Software makes the work faster; it doesn't decide what the work is. I don't sell software and I'm not paid by vendors. If a tool would help, I'll say so and explain why.
How much of my team's time does it take?
The Diagnostic needs a kickoff, a readout, and short interviews. In the Install I do the heavy lifting alongside your team, inside your real monthly cycle, so the new way of working replaces old work rather than piling on top of it.
What does it cost?
The Scorecard is free. The Diagnostic is $5,000, fixed. The 90-Day Install starts at $35,000, scoped from your Diagnostic, and the Diagnostic fee is credited toward it. Ongoing support is scoped at the end of the Install. Never hourly, and every engagement comes with the same promise: you're satisfied, or I keep working until you are.
Do you work with companies outside Cincinnati?
Yes. I'm based in Cincinnati and work with finance teams anywhere. Most of the work happens over video.
Start with your score.
23 questions. Under 10 minutes. Free, with results right away. Already know where you want to improve? Apply for the Diagnostic.
Rather just talk? Email me at brett@forecastingperformance.com. I read and answer every email myself.