FP&A Guides

Practical Guides for Finance Teams

In-depth guides for UK finance teams. From building your first budget to scaling an FP&A function — written by practitioners, not marketers.

Guide

The Complete Guide to FP&A

A comprehensive introduction to Financial Planning & Analysis covering the planning cycle, core processes, team structure, career paths, and the tools landscape. Whether you are building an FP&A function from scratch or looking to modernise an existing one, this guide has you covered.

12 min read
Guide

How to Build a Rolling Forecast

A practical guide to moving from static annual budgets to continuous rolling forecasts. Covers why rolling forecasts outperform static budgets, how to design one, selecting the right drivers, establishing update cadence, and avoiding the most common pitfalls.

10 min read
Guide

The Budget Season Playbook

A step-by-step playbook for running an efficient budget season. Includes a 12-week calendar, guidance on assumption setting, template distribution, submission tracking, consolidation, review cycles, and getting board approval.

11 min read
Guide

Scenario Planning Guide for Finance Teams

A practical guide to scenario planning for finance teams. Covers when scenarios add value, how many to build, designing base/best/worst cases, stress testing assumptions, communicating to leadership, and maintaining scenarios over time.

10 min read
Guide

Variance Analysis Guide

A comprehensive guide to variance analysis for finance teams. Covers the different types of variance, how to calculate them, setting materiality thresholds, conducting root cause analysis, structuring variance reports, and converting analysis into action plans.

11 min read
Guide

Financial Modelling Best Practices

A guide to building financial models that are robust, auditable, and maintainable. Covers model architecture, separation of inputs/calculations/outputs, formula consistency, error checking, documentation practices, and version control.

11 min read
Guide

Board Reporting Guide for Finance

A practical guide to producing board-ready financial reports. Covers what boards actually want to see, how to structure reports, selecting the right KPIs, visualisation dos and don'ts, writing effective narratives, and the most common mistakes finance teams make.

10 min read
Guide

Cash Flow Forecasting Guide

A practical guide to cash flow forecasting for finance teams. Covers the difference between direct and indirect methods, building a 13-week cash forecast, monthly and quarterly horizons, AR/AP assumptions, scenario overlays, and treasury integration.

10 min read
Guide

Headcount Planning Guide

A comprehensive guide to headcount planning for UK finance teams. Covers all workforce cost components (salary, employer NI, pension, benefits), organisational structure modelling, hire timing and ramp periods, backfill planning, contractor vs FTE decisions, and HR data integration.

10 min read
Guide

Moving from Excel to FP&A Software

A practical guide to migrating from spreadsheet-based planning to dedicated FP&A software. Covers when to make the move, readiness assessment, vendor evaluation criteria, data migration strategy, change management, parallel running, and measuring success.

11 min read
Guide🇪🇺

IFRS Budgeting Guide for European Finance Teams

A comprehensive guide to building budgets and forecasts that align with IFRS reporting requirements. Covers the key standards that affect planning -- IFRS 15 (revenue), IFRS 16 (leases), IFRS 9 (financial instruments), and IAS 21 (foreign currency) -- with practical implementation guidance for FP&A teams at European companies.

14 min read
Guide🇪🇺

Multi-Currency Planning Guide

A practical guide to managing multiple currencies in financial planning and analysis. Covers structuring multi-currency budgets, choosing exchange rate assumptions, separating operational and FX variances, hedging strategies, and reporting best practices. Written for European finance teams operating across the eurozone and non-euro EU currencies.

12 min read
Guide🇺🇸

Getting Started with FP&A in the US

A comprehensive introduction to FP&A for US-based finance teams. Covers the unique regulatory landscape (SEC, FASB, IRS, state regulators), key accounting standards that shape planning (ASC 606, ASC 842, ASC 718), multi-state tax complexity, tool selection, and building an FP&A team in the US market.

14 min read
Guide🇺🇸

SOX Compliance Guide for FP&A Teams

A practical, step-by-step guide to achieving and maintaining SOX compliance in your FP&A processes. Covers the specific SOX requirements that affect financial planning, how to design and document internal controls, preparing for auditor testing, common SOX findings in FP&A, and building a compliance-first culture without sacrificing agility.

12 min read

Put these guides into practice with Grove FP

Every guide on this page can be implemented in Grove FP. Build budgets, run scenarios, and produce board packs — all in one platform.