Roadmap Creation for Finance

The way we get hired is changing. But the way we get promoted is changing even faster. -AI is accelerating. -Financial reporting is evolving. -Communication is differentiating. The professionals who will lead in 2026 won’t be the most technical. They will be the most integrative. Here’s what I see emerging from the latest #SkillsOnTheRise signals: We are moving toward a new executive standard a Hybrid Skill Stack. 1️⃣ AI for Business AI is no longer a side project. It is a capital allocation decision. Leaders must understand: -Where AI creates measurable value -How to link it to ROI and risk-adjusted returns -How to govern it responsibly The competitive edge is not building models. It is knowing where models belong. 2️⃣ AI-Augmented Financial Reporting Financial reporting is shifting from historical documentation to decision intelligence. We are entering an era of: -Continuous analysis -AI-assisted anomaly detection -Predictive financial insights -Real-time performance signaling The future CFO will not just report numbers. They will interpret AI-generated signals and convert them into strategic direction. Reporting is becoming proactive, not reactive. 3️⃣ Executive Communication & Stakeholder Alignment Here is the uncomfortable truth: Technical excellence gets you noticed. Executive communication gets you promoted. You can be exceptional technically. But if you cannot translate data into clarity, you will hit a career ceiling. Influence is the multiplier. Boards do not promote spreadsheets. They promote leaders who can align people around insight. The 2026 Leadership Equation AI Literacy + Financial Intelligence + Strategic Communication = Executive Impact The winners of the next cycle will not be “AI experts” or “finance experts.” They will be translators between technology, capital, and people. That is the real hybrid advantage. #SkillsOnTheRise

The finance world isn't what it used to be. And honestly? That's a good thing. I've been mentoring finance professionals and students at FCP Consulting for years now, and the conversations have completely shifted. Five years ago, we talked about Excel models and financial statements. Today? We're talking about AI, ESG, and cybersecurity threats. Here's what's actually changing on the ground: 1. AI isn't coming. It's here: The analysts I work with are already using automation for risk analysis. The question isn't "should we adopt AI?" It's "how fast can we upskill our teams?" 2. ESG isn't a buzzword anymore: It's in boardrooms. It's in RFPs. It's in investor calls. If you're still treating sustainability as a side project, you're already behind. 3. Real-time data is the new normal: Static annual forecasts? They're relics. Leaders need agile frameworks that respond to market shifts as they happen not months later. 4. Your team doesn't look like it did in 2019: Hybrid work. Remote collaboration. Cross-functional skills. The finance talent of tomorrow needs to be digital-first, analytical, and adaptable. 5. And trust? It's everything: With digital finance expanding, one security breach can destroy decades of credibility. Cybersecurity isn't IT's problem, it's a leadership priority. The finance leaders who win in this decade won't be the ones with the best spreadsheets. They'll be the ones who can lead through transformation, build resilient teams, and earn trust in an increasingly complex world. What trends are you seeing in your corner of finance? Drop a comment I'd love to hear what's keeping you up at night. ----- Jeetain Kumar, FMVA® Founder, FCP Consulting Helping students break into finance and consulting PS: If you want to start your career in finance, check the link in the comments to book a 1:1 session with me #finance #investment #leadership #careers #tech

Long-term vision and short-term actions: This is where the connection between Strategy and Tactics becomes pivotal. How does the Rolling Forecast connects with the Budget? How to tie everything with the Strategy and make sure the organization remains in the right track? ➡️ Long-Range Planning (LRP): This is our strategic roadmap. It outlines the company's long-term goals and the strategies to achieve them, typically over a 3-5 year horizon. LRP sets the stage for where we want to go, defining our ambitions and key strategic initiatives. ➡️ Budgeting: This is our annual financial plan. Budgets translate the long-term strategy into specific financial targets and resource allocations for the upcoming fiscal year. It's a detailed expression of the first year of our LRP, ensuring that our short-term actions are aligned with our long-term goals. ➡️ Forecasting: While budgets are static, forecasts are dynamic. Regular forecasting allows us to update our financial expectations based on real-time data and changing market conditions. It's the feedback loop that keeps our plans relevant and responsive, bridging the gap between the fixed budget and the ever-evolving reality. ➡️ Operating Plans: These are the actionable steps we take to execute our budget and achieve our strategic objectives. Operating plans break down the budget into detailed, department-level actions and milestones, ensuring that every team knows their role in the broader strategy. Together, these elements form a cohesive framework that drives both strategic alignment and operational excellence. LRP provides the vision, budgeting offers the financial structure, forecasting ensures adaptability, and operating plans deliver execution. Are you connecting your strategy to your tactics? Are you measuring what matters?

We obsess over optimizing our work performance often at the expense of other parts of our life like health, wealth relationships, etc., What if we could give the same care to other parts of our lives? What if you could give the same care to your finances that you give to your career? What if you could do even just one of the things below in 2025? Even tackling just one of these steps in 2025 could make a world of difference. 🔍 Audit & Align 1️⃣ Max out your employer 401(k) match (free money). 2️⃣ Plan IRA contributions ($7,000 limit for 2025; $8,000 if 50+). 3️⃣ Explore a backdoor Roth IRA if you exceed income limits. 4️⃣ Review your insurance coverage—life, health, home, auto. 💼 Get Organized 5️⃣ Rebalance your investment portfolio to match your goals. 6️⃣ Pull your credit report to spot issues before they escalate. 7️⃣ Review your 2024 spending and create a budget that works for you. 8️⃣ Plan for major 2025 expenses like vacations, tuition, or home improvements. 📈 Automate & Educate 9️⃣ Set up automated transfers for an emergency fund, investments, savings or HSA contributions, if eligible. 📚Educate Yourself 🔟 Read even one book on personal finance this year: 📚 The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel 📚I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi 📚The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life by J L Collins 📚 Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early): How Far Would You Go For Financial Freedom? by Scott Rieckens and Mr Money Mustache 💡 Pro Tip: Block just 30 mins every week to do something good for your finances and you will see the power of compounding accelerate your financial success.

In 2030, Finance will look like a Product function Because let’s be honest: Too many finance teams still operate like it’s 1995. · One annual budget. · A sea of Excel sheets. · A process that punishes iteration instead of rewarding it. But product teams? → They test. → They learn. → They ship. → They improve. They don’t wait until year-end to find out what went wrong. That’s the mindset we need to bring into finance. In 2030, the best finance functions will look more like product teams than cost centers: 1. Roadmaps instead of static plans Strategic OKRs that flex with business shifts—not fixed budgets that break under pressure. 2. Experiments instead of assumptions Want to enter a new market? Price differently? Model it, test it, learn fast. Stop waiting for “certainty.” 3. Feedback loops instead of month-end surprises Real-time signals on margin compression, burn rate drift, or revenue anomalies—surfaced before they show up in the board pack. 4. User-centric design Finance outputs that speak human. No one should need a decoder ring to understand your forecast. 5. Actionable metrics Not vanity KPIs. Real levers that connect data to decisions to impact. This is where we’re headed. Because finance isn’t about control anymore. It’s about velocity, clarity, and adaptability. The CFOs who win in 2030 will build teams that think in sprints, learn like scientists, and operate like product leaders. Let’s stop being the department of “no” and start being the engine of “how.” ______ 👋 I’m Jaume Montané, CFO at Dost — where we’re helping finance teams move faster, think smarter, and scale without burning out. #CFO #FinanceLeadership #FPandA #FinanceTransformation #DigitalCFO #ProductThinking #AgileFinance #AIinFinance #Dost

New KPMG data just dropped on the UK hiring market. And buried inside it is a signal every senior finance leader should pay attention to. 55% of UK financial firms plan to increase headcount in 2026 after one of the worst hiring years since 2008. But the recovery is almost entirely concentrated in one area. 52% directing recruitment into tech and AI. 57% hiring at board level say AI skills are their single biggest focus. Apprenticeships? Dropped from 20% priority to just 4% in four months. The market is not recovering evenly. It is recovering around a very specific profile. I had a conversation recently with a Deputy CFO overseeing a £1.5 billion division. His entire focus right now is not the P&L. It is how to build AI into the fabric of the business operationally, commercially, strategically. That is what a high-value CFO looks like in 2026. Because we are moving from using AI as a tool to finance leaders running teams of AI agents. Automated workflows replacing what previously required three or four headcount. CFOs sitting at the intersection of commercial strategy, financial insight and AI deployment. The boardroom question is no longer just what have you delivered. It is can you architect the finance function of the future. That is not a tech hire. That is you with a sharper toolkit and a bigger seat at the table. The senior finance leaders who will move fastest are not the ones who know AI the best. They are the ones who can marry deep commercial and strategic experience with the ability to deploy and lead with AI-driven insight. As we discussed on yesterdays FCP call. We need to lean in to AI even more as senior finance leaders. Agree/disagree?

I am going to say something that might be uncomfortable. The majority of CFOs who claim to be "monitoring the AI situation" are already lagging behind. In 2022, finance teams that adopted cloud-based reporting tools outpaced their peers. In 2025 the same thing is happening again. And in 2026 — the gap will be visible to everyone. — 01 — They will close faster. The average finance team spends between 5 and 10 business days on month-end close. Finance teams with embedded AI workflows are already doing it in 2 to 3. This is a structural advantage that compounds every single month. By 2026 a 5-day close will feel as outdated as a paper ledger. — 02 — They will report better. These days, the majority of financial reports inform leadership of the events. The best financial reports tell leadership what to do next. AI-trained finance teams are generating reports with automated anomaly detection, predictive flags, and narrative insights that once took hours of a senior analyst's time. By 2026 a report without forward-looking AI insight will look like a report with missing pages. — 03 — They will attract better talent. The best finance professionals entering the market in 2025 and 2026 are actively choosing employers based on one question: 'Will this role help me develop AI skills or hold me back from them?' Finance teams with AI training programmes will win that competition every single time. The ones without will wonder why their best candidates keep choosing competitors. — 04 — They will do more with less. Every CFO I speak to is being asked to deliver more with the same headcount or fewer resources. AI-trained finance teams are the only ones who can actually say yes to that ask without burning their people out in the process. By 2026 — the finance teams that haven't trained in AI will be trying to compete with half the output at double the cost. — 05 — They will be trusted more. Boards and leadership teams are increasingly asking their CFOs: 'What is your AI strategy for the finance function?' The CFOs who have an answer—a real one, not a vague one are already gaining more credibility and more influence in the boardroom. The ones who don't have an answer yet are quietly losing ground to the ones who do. — The gap between AI-ready finance teams and everyone else is not going to close by itself. It is going to widen. Every quarter. Until it becomes impossible to ignore. The question is not whether your finance team needs AI training. It is whether you start now or explain later why you waited. The teams investing today will be the ones others benchmark against in 2026. Which side of that benchmark do you want to be on? ♻️ Repost this for every CFO and Finance Director in your network. This is the conversation they need to be having right now.

Most startup financial models are beautiful lies. I’ve reviewed hundreds of early-stage models. And the pattern is clear: → CAC magically drops over time → Churn is “estimated” but never tracked → LTV isn’t calculated or worse, inflated → Headcount costs are wildly optimistic → There’s a “Misc” tab with $1.2M in it Why does this happen? Because founders treat models like investor theatre. Built to impress. Not to operate. The cost? → You raise capital with zero visibility on runway → You overhire and miss your margin targets → You make roadmap bets you can't actually afford → And worst of all? You realize too late that the business model doesn’t work Your model isn’t a pitch prop. It’s your decision engine. A good one should answer: → What happens if CAC jumps 25% next quarter? → Can we delay the next hire and still hit targets? → What’s real runway after expansion churn? If you can’t get those answers, you don’t have a model. You have a spreadsheet in a blazer. Here’s how to build one that actually works: 1/ Start with a clear purpose → What decisions should this model help you make? Hiring plan, pricing strategy, runway clarity? Be specific from day one. 2/ Ground it in real systems → Pull actuals from your CRM, accounting, and payroll. Your model is only as useful as the data it’s built on. 3/ Link your core financials → P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow should speak to each other. If they don’t, your forecast can’t be trusted. 4/ Segment revenue realistically → Break revenue down by product, customer type, or geography. Model retention, expansion, and churn by cohort — not hope. 5/ Reflect costs with accuracy → Include real team ramp times, founder comp, tech debt, and overlooked ops costs. This is where most risk hides. 6/ Run scenarios, add sensitivity → Best case, worst case, base case. Play with CAC, churn, and pricing levers. Your model should answer “what if?” 7/ Use and update it regularly → If your model isn’t revisited monthly, it’s already outdated. It should evolve with your business — not collect dust post-fundraise. Bottom line? If your model looks polished but doesn’t drive decisions.. Rebuild it. Your business depends on it. PS: Curious, what’s the one metric you check first when you open your model? ——— Need help making the numbers make sense? I’m Mariya. Fractional CFO for SaaS startups. I help founders get clear on what the numbers are really saying. 📩 DM me if your model doesn’t match your reality.

The finance job is rapidly changing.  By 2030, Gartner predicts one-third of enterprise apps will embed autonomous AI agents, making 15% of decisions on their own.  That’s not automation. That’s a new model for how decisions get made.  For finance, this means less number-crunching and more orchestration. Leaders won’t just manage numbers. They’ll manage the systems that generate them.  Tomorrow’s finance leaders will need:   • Critical thinking to validate AI-led decisions.   • Systems fluency to understand and audit intelligent workflows.   • Influence across teams to lead through complexity, not just compliance.  At Stacks, we see this shift every day, finance teams moving from reconciling data to designing workflows. The job isn’t about doing the work anymore. It’s about shaping how the work gets done.  How are you preparing for this shift in your own role or team?  

Over the past 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of managing finance teams of over 100 professionals across multiple countries. One thing has become very clear: the future of finance demands a skill set that transcends traditional number-crunching. Here’s what I’ve learned: 1. **Embrace Technological Advancements:** From AI to automation, tools that once seemed futuristic are now the norm. Embrace them to move from reactive bean-counting to proactive value creation. 2. **Cultivate a Strategic Outlook:** Today’s finance leaders don’t just track performance; they shape it. Get involved in cross-functional teams, understand the business at a deeper level, and champion decisions that move the needle. 3. **Tell Compelling Stories:** Data is the foundation, but storytelling brings it to life. Your ability to translate complex insights into action points will set you apart—and earn you a seat at the leadership table. 4. **Commit to Lifelong Learning:** In a world where regulations change overnight and fintech disrupts whole industries, staying curious and adaptable is your superpower. 5. **Forge Resilience:** Markets exhibit abrupt shifts, particularly in dynamic economies like Nigeria's. Rather than viewing volatility as an obstacle, perceive it as a chance to innovate, pivot, and fortify your resilience. 6. **Lead with a Purpose:** Profit matters, but so does impact. Real leaders focus on building sustainable, ethical, and inclusive growth that serves both the organization and the community. As we navigate the future of finance : - Which skill do you anticipate will define the forthcoming finance era? - How do you equip yourself to adapt and flourish in this evolving path?