New Program: Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Professional

Today, corporate finance professionals are increasingly being called upon to play a critical role in their organization’s decision-making process and long-term growth. As the amount of data available keeps growing, the ability to connect meaningful financial data to business growth and present it to all stakeholders becomes even more important. As a result, individuals who are able to transform data into actionable knowledge are in high demand. Knowing this, we are excited to introduce our newest certificate training program – Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Professional.

We caught up with Chris Grier, who’s been tapped to instruct the new course, to learn more about what we can expect and who can benefit from it. Here’s what he had to say:

Briefly discuss your credentials and background and how it relates to instructing this course.
I earned my Finance degree from Kennesaw State and then went on to earn my Executive MBA from UGA. I have led Field and Corporate FP&A teams and am currently the head of Business Intelligence and Analytics at Arby’s Restaurant Group. I am passionate about analytics and am excited to share my education and experience with others who share my passion and want to play a part in the evolution of Financial Planning & Analysis.

Give us an overview of the program. What can students expect to learn?
This program will help set yourself apart from other corporate finance professionals. In this class, you’ll learn the latest best practices for analyzing trends, building forecasts and creating financial models. Not only will this course enhance your skills to transform your organization’s data into relevant, actionable recommendations, it will prepare you for AFP’s new Certified Corporate FP&A Professional™ credential exam. To sit for AFP’s FP&A Certification exam you must meet AFP’s requirements which can be found on their website.

Each student will demonstrate the abilities as follows:
Financial Acumen

• Gathering and Interpreting Information
• Understanding Financial Concepts and Communicating/Coordinating Work with Other Professionals

Financial Analysis

• Analyzing Information
• Building Financial Projections
• Using Technology/Software

Who is the ideal student for this course?
Finance professionals who want to grow their FP&A skills and become a Certified Corporate FP&A Professional to advance their careers, as well as all business professionals who want to learn how to transform their organization’s data into relevant, actionable information.

What job fields/industries does this knowledge/skill set translate to?
All business professionals who work with corporate data in all industries.

Where do you see the future of FP&A going?
The days of building presentations that simply just report numbers are gone. Organizations need individuals that can collect, cleanse, analyze and ultimately provide actionable insight on data from all business segments. This is the future of FP&A.