Financial Planning & Analysis

Within: 7 – Finance & Risk

FP&A governs the enterprise planning cycle, financial forecasting, budget management, variance analysis, and management reporting. It connects strategic intent to financial resource allocation and performance measurement.

Stable Identifier

UBPR-FIN-740

Process Owner

FP&A Director

Accountable: CFO

Representative Process

Annual Budget Cycle

Expanded Description

Financial Planning & Analysis is the workstream through which enterprises translate strategic objectives into financial plans, track performance against those plans, and provide analytical insight to support decisions. FP&A operates across planning cycles — strategic, annual, and rolling — and coordinates with all value streams to consolidate enterprise-wide financial views.

Scope

Annual budget process, rolling forecast cycles, management reporting, variance analysis, scenario planning, and business-performance commentary.

Inputs

Strategic direction and priorities from STR
Revenue forecasts from COM
Cost inputs from OPR, SUP, PPL
Capital requirements from SVC and INN
Actuals from Financial Accounting (700)

Outputs

Approved annual budget
Rolling forecast updates
Management performance reports
Variance commentary and analysis
Scenario and sensitivity models
Decision support packages

Outcomes

Enterprise has financially grounded operating plans
Leadership has timely visibility of performance against plan
Variance drivers are understood and acted upon
Financial resources are allocated to highest-value priorities
Scenario visibility supports informed decision-making

Key Decisions

Approve annual budget allocations by business unit
Release revised forecast to leadership
Escalate material variance for executive review
Approve scenario assumptions for board presentation
Sign off on reforecast methodology changes

Data Objects

Budget planForecast modelActuals ledger extractVariance reportManagement packScenario modelKPI dashboardCommentary templateHeadcount plan

Applications & Systems

Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform
ERP financial module
Business intelligence and reporting tools
Spreadsheet-based models (common variation)
Planning and forecasting SaaS tools

Business Rules

Budget submissions require business-unit head approval before consolidation
Forecasts must be updated at minimum quarterly
Variances exceeding defined thresholds require written commentary
Scenario assumptions must be documented with source and date
Management reports must distinguish actuals, budget, and forecast clearly

Dependencies

Upstream

STR-100 Corporate Strategy

STR-120 Portfolio Management

COM-500 Sales Management

OPR-400 Production Planning

Downstream

FIN-700 Financial Accounting

STR-150 Enterprise Performance Steering

FIN-760 Risk & Internal Controls

Finance & Risk View Day-in-Life Process

Expanded Description