FP&A automation and AI
Give your finance team back the week they spend assembling numbers
Most FP&A teams lose the first week of every month to collecting, copying and checking data, then present the results with no time left to explain them. We map how your cycle actually runs, find the parts that are repetitive and error prone, and automate those with Power BI, Python, SQL and AI workflows where they are safe to use. This is usually delivered alongside an FP&A or strategy engagement, because that is when the pain is obvious. It is also available on its own for FP&A teams that already know where the time goes.
What this usually sounds like when you call
- “Close finishes on day eight and the board pack goes out on day twelve.”
- “Two analysts spend three days a month copying the same numbers into the same template.”
- “Every month someone finds a broken link and we reissue the pack.”
- “We have Power BI. Nobody uses it because it does not tie to the ledger.”
- “We are asked for an extra cut of the data and it takes a week.”
The report is rarely the problem. The problem is the twenty steps before the report, most of which are undocumented and live in one person’s habits.
What we build
A map of your FP&A cycle. Every step from ledger close to board pack, with who does it, how long it takes and where it breaks. This takes about a week and is usually the first time anyone has seen the whole cycle written down.
Automated data preparation. SQL or Python to extract and reshape the data that is currently moved by hand. It runs the same way every month, and it fails loudly rather than producing a quietly wrong number.
Power BI reporting that ties to the ledger. Built on a proper model rather than a pile of spreadsheets, with the reconciliation to source visible inside the report. If a number cannot be traced back to the ledger, it does not go in.
AI workflows where they are safe. Commentary drafting, variance explanation, document extraction from things like bank statements and supplier contracts, and categorising transactions. We use AI where a wrong answer is caught by a human before it matters, and we do not use it where a wrong answer flows straight into a number someone relies on. We tell you plainly which is which.
Documentation and a runbook. How each piece works, how to change it, and what to do when it breaks at 7am on reporting day.
This is FP&A work: planning, forecasting, management reporting and analysis. We do not build statutory or financial reporting processes, and we do not touch anything that feeds the audited accounts.
How it is built with your team
Automation fails when it becomes a black box that only the consultant understands. So we build in your environment, with your licences, and with an analyst from your team beside us.
That analyst does not need to be a developer. They need to know the cycle and be willing to learn. We teach enough Power BI and enough SQL or Python for them to maintain and extend what we build. Where a piece needs skills your team will not have, we simplify it until they can own it, or we leave that step manual and say why.
What you are left with
- The Power BI files, the queries and the scripts, in your repository or your file store.
- Plain documentation for each piece, written for a finance person rather than an engineer.
- A runbook for the monthly cycle, with the order of steps and the checks at each one.
- A short list of what we deliberately left manual, and why.
- Training sessions with your team, recorded.
Everything runs on tools you already pay for. We do not introduce a product of our own and there is nothing to renew.
When to call us
Your close is fine but the pack is late. That gap is nearly always data assembly, and it is the easiest thing to fix.
One person is the process. If reporting stops when someone takes leave, the process lives in a head rather than in a system.
You are already building a cash flow or strategy model with us. The data plumbing needed for those models is most of the work, so automating the monthly cycle at the same time costs far less than doing it separately.
Your team is spending its time on assembly instead of analysis. You hired analysts to explain the business. Most of them are doing data entry.
Common questions about FP&A automation
What should an FP&A team automate first?
The data assembly step, which is normally the extract, copy and reconcile work before any analysis starts. It takes the most hours, it is the most error prone, and it needs no change to how anyone makes decisions. Automating report design first is a common mistake, because a faster report built on hand-assembled data still waits for the hand assembly.
Do we need to change our accounting system?
No. We build on top of what you have. Power BI, Python and SQL all read from the systems you already run, and the aim is to remove the manual steps between those systems and your reporting rather than replace the systems themselves. If your data genuinely cannot be extracted, we will tell you, but that is rare.
Is it safe to use AI in financial reporting?
For some tasks, yes. Drafting commentary, explaining variances, extracting data from documents and categorising transactions are all reasonable uses, because a person reviews the output before it matters. We do not use AI to calculate numbers that flow into reporting without a check. Every AI step we build has a named human reviewer and a record of what was changed.
What if nobody on our team can code?
That is the normal starting point. We build the automated parts so they run without anyone touching code, and we teach one person enough to maintain them. Power BI covers most of what a finance team needs. Where a Python or SQL step is required, we keep it small, document it in plain language and show your analyst how to rerun it.
How long does it take and what does it cost us in team time?
The cycle map takes about a week. A first automated piece usually lands two to four weeks after that. Expect one or two days a week from an analyst on your side during the build. Doing it alongside an FP&A or strategy engagement is cheaper, because the data work is shared between the two.
Will this put finance jobs at risk?
In our experience it moves the work rather than removing it. The teams we have done this with kept the same headcount and spent it on analysis, forecasting and answering questions from the business instead of on assembly. If your plan is to cut headcount, say so at the start, because it changes what is worth building and how the team will respond to it.
Can you automate statutory reporting or the audit pack?
No. We work on FP&A: planning, forecasting, management reporting and analysis. Statutory and financial reporting has different control and assurance requirements and should be handled by people who specialise in it. We are careful not to build anything that feeds the audited accounts without your auditor's involvement.
Tell us where the month goes
Describe your monthly cycle in a few lines, including how long the pack takes after close. We will tell you which part we would automate first.
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