Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management: (Wiley Finance)

Critical insights for savvy financial analysts Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is the essential desk reference for CFOs, FP&A professionals, investment banking professionals, and equity research analysts. With thought-provoking discussion and refreshing perspective, this book provides insightful reference for critical areas that directly impact an organization’s effectiveness. From budgeting and forecasting, analysis, and performance management, to financial communication, metrics, and benchmarking, these insights delve into the cornerstones of business and value drivers. Dashboards, graphs, and other visual aids illustrate complex concepts and provide reference at a glance, while the author’s experience as a CFO, educator, and general manager leads to comprehensive and practical analytical techniques for real world application. Financial analysts are under constant pressure to perform at higher and higher levels within the realm of this consistently challenging function. Though areas ripe for improvement abound, true resources are scarce—until now. This book provides real-world guidance for analysts ready to: Assess performance of FP&A function and develop improvement program Improve planning and forecasting with new and provocative thinking Step up your game with leading edge analytical tools and practical solutions Plan, analyze and improve critical business and value drivers Build analytical capability and effective presentation of financial information Effectively evaluate capital investments in uncertain times The most effective analysts are those who are constantly striving for improvement, always seeking new solutions, and forever in pursuit of enlightening resources with real, useful information. Packed with examples, practical solutions, models, and novel approaches, Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Management is an invaluable addition to the analyst’s professional library. Access to a website with many of the tools introduced are included with the purchase of the book.

Table of Contents:
Preface xv About the Website xix 1 Financial Planning & Analysis and Business Performance Management 1 The Problem with Traditional Measurement Systems 1 Objectives of Financial Analysis and Performance Management 3 Preview of the Book 6 Summary 9 Part One Fundamentals and Key FP&A Capabilities 2 Fundamentals of Finance 13 Basics of Accounting and Financial Statements 13 Financial Ratios and Indicators 19 Summary 42 3 Key Analytical Tools and Concepts 43 Basic Statistical Tools 43 The Business Model 59 Summary 69 4 Developing Predictive and Analytical Models 71 What Is a Financial Model? 71 Summary 81 Appendix: Illustrative Model 81 5 Building Analytical Capability 89 For the Individual 90 For the Organization 94 Summary 108 6 Communicating and Presenting Financial Information 109 Laying the Foundation for Success 110 Developing Effective Presentations and Reports 117 Delivering the Presentation 120 Data Visualization and Presentation: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words 121 Summary 134 Part Two Performance Management 7 Business Performance Management 137 What Is Business Performance Management? 138 Developing or Enhancing BPM in an Organization 144 Summary 155 8 Dashboards and Key Performance Indicators 157 Objectives of Dashboards and Key Performance Indicators 157 Selecting Appropriate Performance Measures and Key Performance Indicators 160 Creating Performance Dashboards 166 Sample Dashboards for Selected Industries 175 Summary 175 9 Institutionalizing Performance Management 179 Gaining Traction 179 Integrating Business Performance Management with Other Management Processes 183 Avoiding Common Mistakes 189 Summary 191 10 Measuring and DrivingWhat’s Important:Innovation, Agility, and Human Capital 193 Innovation 194 Measuring and Driving Business Agility 204 Human Capital Management 214 HCM Dashboard 226 Summary 226 11 The External View: Benchmarking Performance and Competitive Analysis 227 Analysis of Markets, Customers, and Competitors 228 Benchmarking to Evaluate Performance 232 Using Benchmarks to Set Enterprise Goals for Performance and Value Creation 242 Summary 243 Part Three Business Projections and Plans 12 Business Projections and Plans: Introduction and Best Practices 247 Overview of Business Planning and Projections 248 Best Practices in Projecting Future Financial Results 252 Summary 266 13 Budgets, Operating Plans, and Forecasts 267 The Budgeting Process 267 The Operating Plan 272 Business Forecasts and Outlooks 277 Summary 301 14 Long-Term Projections 303 Unique Challenges in Estimating Long-Term Performance 304 Applications of Long-Term Projections 305 Developing Long-Term Projections 307 Presentation of Long-Term Projections 319 Summary 325 Part Four Planning and Analysis for Critical Business and Value Drivers 15 Revenue and Gross Margins 329 Revenue Growth: Key Drivers 330 Key Performance Measures: Revenue Growth 343 Revenue Dashboard 351 Gross Margins and Relative Pricing Strength 351 Measures of Relative Pricing Strength 356 Summary 359 16 Operating Expenses and Effectiveness 361 Drivers of Operating Effectiveness 362 Key Performance Indicators: Operating Effectiveness 365 Tools for Assessing and Improving Operating Effectivenss 382 Summary 387 17 Capital Management and Cash Flow:Working Capital 389 Critical Success Factors 391 Operating Capital Management 393 Understanding the Dynamics of Operating Capital 394 Unleashing the Value Trapped in Operating Capital 396 Accounts Receivable 398 Key Performance Indicators for the Revenue Process and Accounts Receivable 401 Inventories 410 Summary 420 18 Capital Management and Cash Flow:Long-Term Assets 421 Capital Intensity 421 Tools for Improving the Management of Long-Term Capital 424 Projecting Capital Investments and Depreciation 428 Key Performance Indicators for Capital Intensity 431 Intangible Assets 433 Key Performance Indicators: Goodwill and Intangible Assets 434 Excess Cash Balances 436 Long-Term Capital Dashboard 437 Summary 439 19 Risk, Uncertainty, and the Cost of Capital 441 The Time Value of Money 441 The Cost of Capital 449 Performance Measures 458 Summary 461 Part Five Valuation and Capital Investment Decisions 20 Capital Investment Decisions: Introduction and Key Concepts 465 The Capital Investment Process 466 Evaluating the Economic Merits of Capital Investments 469 Illustrations 478 Summary 484 21 Capital Investment Decisions: Advanced Topics 485 Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty in Capital Investment Decisions 485 Presenting Capital Investment Decisions 499 Capital Budgeting and Rationing 500 Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Capital Investment Decision Process 502 Summary 505 22 Business Valuation and Value Drivers 507 Estimating the Value of a Business by Discounting Future Cash Flows 508 Estimating the Value of Firms by Using the Valuation of Similar Firms: Multiples of Revenues, Earnings, and Related Measures 517 Building Shareholder Value in a Multiples Framework 521 Integrated Valuation Summary for Roberts Manufacturing Company 525 Value Drivers 528 Summary 533 23 Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions 535 The Acquisition Challenge 535 Key Elements in Valuing an Acquisition 537 Methods and Metrics for Valuing an Acquisition 539 Common Mistakes in M&A 554 Best Practices and Critical Success Factors 557 Understanding Seller Best Practices 560 Key Performance Indicators for M&A 562 Dashboards for M&A 564 Summary 564 Part Six Summary 24 Summary and Where to from Here? 569 Key Takeaways 569 Where to from Here? 572 Glossary 575 Acknowledgments 585 About the Author 587 Index 589

About the Author :
JACK ALEXANDER is an experienced CFO and operating executive turned consultant, author, and educator. As the founder of Jack Alexander & Associates, LLC, he provides advice to businesses across a wide range of financial and operating areas, with a focus and passion on Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Performance Management (PM). The firm also offers customized training and workshops on FP&A. He is a frequent speaker on FP&A and PM. He is the author of Performance Dashboards and Analysis for Value Creation and Financial Planning and Analysis and Performance Management, both from Wiley.