| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Finance and Accounts |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Financial Officer |
| Direct reports | FP&A Manager, FP&A Analyst |
| Experience | 10+ years in FP&A with 3 to 4 years leading analysts |
Head of FP&A job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Head of FP&A
Department: Finance and Accounts
Reports to: Chief Financial Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Head of FP&A leads financial planning and analysis for the company. They own the annual budget, rolling forecasts, management reporting and the analysis behind big decisions. The role connects finance to the business, turning plans into numbers and results into insight for the CFO and business heads. A good Head of FP&A builds forecasts the business believes, explains variances clearly and helps leaders see where margin, cost and cash are heading. They lead FP&A managers and analysts.
Key responsibilities
- Own the annual budget and rolling forecast process and set the calendar and templates for every department.
- Build and maintain the company financial model for revenue, cost, margin and cash.
- Deliver the monthly management pack with variance analysis against budget and forecast.
- Lead business case reviews for new products, capex and pricing decisions.
- Analyse profitability by product, customer, region and channel and flag where margin is leaking.
- Track key drivers and build scenarios so leaders can see the effect of demand and cost changes.
- Partner with department heads to hold spend to plan and find savings.
- Set and monitor the operating metrics that link business activity to financial results.
- Present clear insight and recommendations to the CFO and leadership team.
- Build FP&A managers and analysts and raise the standard of reporting.
Requirements
- MBA in Finance, CA or CFA
- Strong modelling and analysis skills
- Advanced Excel and a BI tool
- 10+ years in FP&A with 3 to 4 years leading analysts
KRAs and KPIs for a Head of FP&A
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Forecast accuracy | Rolling forecast within 5 percent of actual revenue and profit each quarter |
| Reporting timeliness | Management pack delivered within the agreed days after close every month |
| Budget cycle | Annual budget completed and approved by the board before the year starts |
| Insight quality | Every major variance explained with a driver and an action agreed with the owner |
| Decision support | Business cases delivered within the agreed turnaround for every request |
| Margin visibility | Profitability by product and customer refreshed and shared each month |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Advanced Excel, Power BI, Anaplan, SAP, Financial modelling.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: AVP Finance, Vice President Finance, Chief Financial Officer
Interview questions for a Head of FP&A
- How do you build a forecast the business will actually trust?
- Walk me through how you analyse a drop in gross margin.
- How do you run a budget process so departments own their numbers?
- How do you decide which metrics belong in the monthly pack?
- Describe a business case you built and how the decision turned out.
- How do you tell a hard story to leadership without hiding the numbers?
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What does a Head of FP&A do?
A Head of FP&A leads financial planning and analysis. They own the budget, rolling forecasts and management reporting, build the company financial model, analyse profitability and variances, and support big decisions with business cases. They report to the CFO, partner with business heads and lead the FP&A managers and analysts.
What is the difference between FP&A and accounting?
Accounting records what has already happened and produces the statutory books. FP&A looks forward: it builds budgets and forecasts, explains why results differ from plan and helps leaders decide what to do next. Accounting is about accuracy and compliance; FP&A is about analysis and decisions.
What qualifications does a Head of FP&A need?
Most Head of FP&A roles ask for an MBA in Finance, a CA or a CFA, with strong financial modelling and analysis skills. Advanced Excel and a business intelligence tool are expected. Experience running a budget cycle, building forecasts and partnering with the business matters most.