FP&A guides for finance controllers

Practical, plain-English guides to consolidation, planning, reporting and the monthly close — written for the person who actually has to produce the numbers.

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Consolidation

Group structures, eliminations and currency — the mechanics of turning several sets of books into one.

Glossary
What Is Intercompany Elimination?
Definition, worked examples, and why the group cannot count business it did with itself.
Guide
What Is Multi-Entity Consolidation? A Plain-English Guide
The whole consolidation cycle explained without the jargon.
Guide
Intercompany Eliminations: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to identify, match and post eliminations across a group.
Guide
How to Consolidate Group Financials Across Multiple Currencies
Closing rate, average rate, and where translation differences land.
Comparison
Best Multi-Entity Consolidation Software
What to look for when entities sit on different accounting systems.
Guide
Xero Multi-Entity Consolidation
Consolidating several Xero organisations into one group view.

Planning and budgeting

Building a budget the board will sign off, and keeping it alive after they do.

Guide
How to Build a Budget vs Actual Report
Structure, thresholds, and the commentary that makes the variance useful.
Guide
How to Build a Cash Flow Forecast
Direct and indirect methods, and how to keep the forecast current.
Guide
How to Build a 3-Way Budget
Linking P&L, balance sheet and cash flow so they stay reconciled.
Guide
How to Build a Revenue Projection Model Boards Trust
Driver-based revenue modelling with assumptions you can defend.
Guide
How to Build Investor-Grade Projections
Documenting assumptions so diligence does not stall.
Analysis
Continuous Forecasting vs Static Budgets
When a rolling forecast beats an annual budget, and when it does not.
Guide
Scenario Planning With Connected Financial Models
Modelling hiring, expansion and financing without breaking the model.

Reporting

Board packs, investor updates and the monthly cycle that produces them.

Glossary
What Is Variance Analysis?
Definition, volume vs price variances, and sensible thresholds.
Guide
What Is a Board Pack? A Complete Guide
What goes in, what stays out, and what boards actually read.
Guide
How to Build a Board Pack from Xero in Under an Hour
From trial balance to board-ready financial section.
Guide
How to Write Variance Analysis Commentary
Turning a number into an explanation the board can act on.
Guide
How to Write a Financial Health Assessment
Framing liquidity, runway and covenant headroom for a board.
Guide
How to Automate Investor Updates
A repeatable monthly investor pack that does not eat a week.
Template
Investor Update Template
What every investor update should include, section by section.
Guide
The FC's Guide to KPI Dashboards That Actually Get Used
Choosing metrics people look at more than once.

Practice and controls

The operating side of the job — close, controls, and where AI genuinely helps.

Checklist
Month-End Close Checklist for Finance Controllers
A working checklist for a clean, repeatable close.
Guide
How to Set Up Role-Based Access Controls
Access by entity and GL account, and why the default should be read-only.
Guide
Financial Anomaly Detection: The FC's Complete Guide
Catching the things a variance report does not surface.
Guide
How to Automate Financial Commentary with AI
What automates cleanly, and what still needs your judgement.
Guide
How to Set Up Post-Funding Finance in 30 Days
The reporting and governance stack a new board expects.
Guide
The FC's First 90 Days
Where to start when you inherit someone else's reporting.

See Planir with your own data

Bring your live accounting data. Leave with a budget the Budget Agent built.

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