r/FPandA

For context, I have 5 YOE with: 1 YOE as an accounting FA at my first company, 2 YOE FP&A SFA current company, 2 YOE FP&A Manager with 1 direct report.

My company gives very low internal promotion raises (I got 8%) and they pay lower in general compared to the market so I already started relatively lower as a SFA. So I am very much making market level SFA pay as a Manager. My current team and department has always been rough (lots of turnover) but it’s been really bad for the last year especially due to the industry declining. My bosses really like me and make it very clear it won’t be long until I likely get a Senior Manager position but I really don’t think I want that for the stress and another low internal raise.

Been applying for jobs but the FP&A market isn’t great and I’m trying to avoid companies that I know will be very stressful and long hours. But a lot of companies I’m interested in tend to just promote internally as it’s cheaper. So the manager jobs on the market tend to be the more demanding ones. I saw some higher paying SFA jobs and decided to take a shot. Today got a SFA offer for a company that’s mid size and smaller than my current one and the pay is 13% higher than my current base with a similar bonus percentage. The job is only one day in office compared to my current four days. In general, the company has a good reputation and everyone I interviewed was very nice and pleasant. I have an old coworker who works in the same department and he can vouch that it’s a good environment.

Looking to get opinions if this is a good move to make. I feel like I would personally be ok with it since I’m relatively still young in my career and became a manager quite early. I actually like doing analyst work (I do a lot anyways in my current role while on top of being a people manager). My old coworker emphasized that there is definitely room to grow and this isn’t a company where often you find someone getting stuck as a SFA (unless they want to).

Some people tell me this doesn’t make sense and that it would hurt my career progression but honestly I’m not trying to climb the corporate ladder like crazy. Based off some Directors I know, I wouldn’t want that lifestyle as they always need to be available and barely take any time off. I think ideally I want a comfortable paying manager or senior manager role as my goal.

I’m a Financial Analyst who moved to the U.S. from West Asia, and I’ve been here for about 8 years. I still have a noticeable accent, which I’m fully aware of, but it’s not like I’m hard to understand. It’s just… an accent.

I recently joined a new company, and I’ve noticed that my manager occasionally jokes about my accent saying she doesn’t understand me, calling me a “transplant,” etc. It’s not just me either. She’s made similar comments about a Polish coworker (who has a New York accent now) and even an Italian colleague. So it seems like a pattern with anyone who has an accent and not originally from Texas.

The thing is, I don’t feel deeply offended, but I also don’t love it. In the 8 years I’ve lived in the U.S., no one has really made jokes about my accent before, at least not repeatedly like this.

I’m kind of torn between just brushing it off since it’s not a huge deal to me and the jokes are not only towards me, or setting a boundary so it doesn’t keep happening.

Would you address it, or just let it go?

Hi all,

I’m a Data Scientist at a finance company preparing for a FAANG FP&A + Data role. While I work extensively with financial statements, this role emphasizes P&L forecasting, Long Range Planning (LRP), and AOP.

I really really need this job. I’d love to learn how professionals approach this in real-world settings:

P&L:

1. How do you forecast each P&L line given different drivers across 4–5 business units?

2. Do you use data science techniques (time series), or is it primarily driver-based modeling?

3. At what level do you forecast (line item, BU, or consolidated)?

4. Do you forecast bottom-up (BU to company) or top-down and allocate?

Scenario Analysis:

5. For key drivers, do you rely on Base/Bull/Bear scenarios or use more robust methods like Monte Carlo simulations?

6. If using scenarios, how do you decide which drivers to sensitize and by how much?

Other:

7. How do you forecast, especially LRP, with limited historical data (e.g., new products or markets)?

8. How do you incorporate and attribute macro variables (rates, inflation, FX) into forecasts?

9. How do you establish and maintain a single source of truth across business units, especially if their BU metrics are calculated differently from global metrics?

I was asked about variance analysis and forecasting approaches in the first round. What additional topics or case styles should I expect next?

I would appreciate any advice or insight I can get. Thank you!

It felt really uncomfortable, and I got anxious and ended up messing everything up. I had just one minute per question and couldn’t finish properly. I left some answers incomplete. I’ve asked the recruiter to reschedule the interview for Monday.

Would HireVue still share my incomplete recorded interview with the recruiter?

I’ve been chatting with a bunch of FP&A folks lately, and I’m trying to nail down what actually eats up the most time (and sanity). From what I’ve gathered, it usually boils down to two main headaches:

1. Data colletion: Spending way too long just gathering, cleaning, and structuring data from 5 different sources before you can even start the actual modeling. It’s like 80% prep and 20% actual analysis.
2. "Idiot-proofing" the model: I’ve heard this a lot from the consulting side - spending hours stress-testing everything because you know the end-user is going to find some creative way to break the model the moment they touch it.

Does this match your experience? Or is there something even worse that I’m missing?

Never thought i'd be in this position. I have two amazing offers and I am just unable to rank them. Both the roles are good and terms of the offer and are almost identical.

Offer 1:

Finance Business Partner - FP&A and Commercial - this is for a PE backed manufacturing company that was carved out of a large FMCG that I have previously worked for. I fit into the team and the role quite well. Final stage interview was basically a lunch with the team.

Offer 2:

FP&A Manager for a soft/energy drinks manufacturer. Listed business, healthy financials and work culture as if its family owned. Final stage interview included meeting with the director and a walk around the factory which is quite impressive. This is not a typical FP&A role. It's more balance sheet/cashflow/M&A/investor relations focused which is bit out of my comfort zone but good opportunity to learn and grow in this company and role. Most of my experience has been with P&L management.

Desperately need some wise words here!

What the title asks. Is FP&A worth it for a career change? I currently work on a supply chain team as an analyst and been with the company for 6+ years. I see openings at companies such as Vanguard for SFA FP&A for similar salaries. At my current job the VP loves me, but kinda have burnout and see climbing the ladder a slower pace than anticipated, not to mention random layoffs and re-orgs that happen from time to time.

With grad school soon in Masters in Finance, is it worth transitioning into this role? Is the career trajectory worthwhile as an FP&A, especially at companies like Vanguard?

For context we are mostly WFH and 1 day a month in the office. He always wears shirts both at home and in the office. But he always has the top button and the next one undone

I think it looks unprofessional and he would be much smarter with it done up. How to call him out on it?