Financial Forecasting In Projects

This Power BI visual is underrated — but it’s SO useful 👇 Ever wanted to compare actuals and budgets without flipping between charts? Here’s how this one works: ✅ The first part of the year shows actuals ✅ The rest of the year shows budgets ✅ You choose the cut-off month using a slicer No complex visuals. No extra pages. Just one clean table that gives you a full-year view in seconds. 📌 Perfect for: – Sales tracking – Budget vs. performance – Monthly business reviews You also get a clear visual break between actuals and budgets using conditional formatting, so even non-technical folks can understand it in a glance. 🎥 I’ve made a complete step-by-step video on how to build this in Power BI — from data model tweaks to final formatting. Watch it here → https://lnkd.in/gZ5iqjMk #PowerBI #Budgeting #ActualsVsBudget #RollingForecast #DAX #DataViz

₹77,080 Crores allocated by the Government of India for startups and manufacturing in 2025. Yet most founders are still chasing VC money. I work with startups daily, and it surprises me how many don't even know these schemes exist. Here's what's available right now The Big Picture: → Deep Tech & Startup Fund: ₹30,000 Cr → MSME Budget Outlay: ₹23,168 Cr → Startup India Fund of Funds: ₹10,000 Cr → PLI Electronics & IT: ₹9,000 Cr → PLI Auto Components: ₹2,819 Cr → PLI Textiles: ₹1,148 Cr → Startup India Seed Fund: ₹945 Cr This is just the major allocations - there's more buried in smaller schemes. Let me break down what you can actually access based on your stage [1] For Early Stage Startups: 👉🏼 Startup India Seed Fund: Up to ₹50L per startup 👉🏼 SAMRIDH Scheme: Up to ₹40L grants 👉🏼 Atal Innovation Mission: Up to ₹15L for prototypes Most founders think these are too small. But remember, this is non-dilutive capital that can get you to revenue stage. [2] For Revenue Stage Companies: 👉🏼 CGTMSE: Up to ₹2 Cr collateral-free loans 👉🏼 Stand-Up India: ₹10L to ₹1 Cr for SC/ST/Women entrepreneurs 👉🏼 Multiplier Grants: Up to ₹10 Cr for R&D projects This is where it gets interesting. Revenue-stage companies have the best shot at accessing larger amounts. [3] For Manufacturing: 👉🏼 PLI schemes across 14+ sectors 👉🏼 Significant incentives for domestic production 👉🏼 Focus on electronics, auto, textiles If you're in manufacturing, you're literally sitting on a goldmine of incentives. The challenge? Most founders don't know how to navigate the application process. Here's where to start: - Startup India Portal [https://lnkd.in/gBdAH52D] - myScheme Portal [myscheme.gov.in] - SIDBI Portal [sidbi.in] - AIM Portal [aim.gov.in] - MeitY Startup Hub [msh.meity.gov.in] What you actually need: ✓ DPIIT registration for startups ✓ Proper documentation ✓ Clear business plan ✓ Compliance records ✓ Incubator partnerships (for some schemes) I've seen founders spend months preparing pitch decks for VCs, but won't spend a week getting their documentation ready for government schemes. The reality is Government funding is often cheaper, comes with less dilution, and has better terms than VC money. But it requires patience and proper documentation. #startupfunding #manufacturing #debtfunding

Your Cost Plus 5% is often Cost Minus 15.3% What? You set a clear Cost Plus 5% policy. Your documentation looks perfect. The benchmark supports it (LVAS, anyone?). Your finance team nodded during the presentation. Six months later, you check the actuals. Surprise - your margin is negative. Your Cost Plus 5% became Cost Minus 15.3%. Why? Possible implementation gaps: 1. Your cost base calculation is wrong. Finance includes items that shouldn't be there. Or excludes costs that should be included. Result? The "cost" isn't actually your cost. 2. Your ERP can't handle transfer pricing. Manual processes create errors. Excel sheets get outdated. Prices stay unchanged while costs increase. 3. Currency fluctuations eat the margin. That 5% markup disappears when exchange rates move against the tested party. 4. Time lags between budgeting, cost updates and price adjustments compound the problem. Your prices reflect last year's costs while you face this year's inflation. 5. Volume changes affect your unit costs. Fixed cost allocation per unit changes dramatically when volumes drop. Fix this: ↳ Map your cost components precisely ↳ Build clear cost base calculation rules ↳ Create monthly monitoring processes ↳ Implement automated price updates ↳ Account for currency effects ↳ Track volume impacts Or, better, make sure your finance team does it. Want to test your implementation? Pick 5 random transactions. Calculate the actual margin. Compare it to your policy. How close are you to that target?

Here are some realistic KPIs that project managers can actually track : 1. Schedule Management 🔹 Average Delay Per Milestone – Instead of just tracking whether a project is on time or not, measure how many days/weeks each milestone is getting delayed. 🔹 Number of Change Requests Affecting the Schedule – Count how many changes impacted the original timeline. If the number is high, the planning phase needs improvement. 🔹 Planned vs. Actual Work Hours – Compare how many hours were planned per task vs. actual hours logged. 2. Cost Management 🔹 Budget Creep Per Phase – Instead of just tracking overall budget variance, break it down per phase to catch overruns early. 🔹 Cost to Complete Remaining Work – Forecast how much more is needed to finish the project, based on real-time spending trends. 🔹 % of Work Completed vs. % of Budget Spent – If 50% of the budget is spent but only 30% of work is completed, there's a financial risk. 3. Quality & Delivery 🔹 Number of Rework Cycles – How many times did a deliverable go back for corrections? High numbers indicate poor initial quality. 🔹 Number of Late Defect Reports – If defects are found late in the project (e.g., during UAT instead of development), it increases risk. 🔹 First Pass Acceptance Rate – Measures how often stakeholders approve deliverables on the first submission. 4. Resource & Team Management 🔹 Average Workload per Team Member – Tracks who is overloaded vs. underloaded to ensure fair distribution. 🔹 Unplanned Leaves Per Month – A rise in unplanned leaves might indicate burnout or dissatisfaction. 🔹 Number of Internal Conflicts Logged – Measures how often team members escalate conflicts affecting productivity. 5. Risk & Issue Management 🔹 % of Risks That Turned into Actual Issues – Helps evaluate how well risks are being identified and mitigated. 🔹 Resolution Time for High-Priority Issues – Tracks how quickly critical issues get fixed. 🔹 Escalation Rate to Senior Management – If too many issues are getting escalated, it means the PM or team lacks decision-making authority. 6. Stakeholder & Client Satisfaction 🔹 Number of Unanswered Client Queries – If clients are waiting too long for responses, it could lead to dissatisfaction. 🔹 Client Revisions Per Deliverable – High revision cycles mean expectations were not aligned from the start. 🔹 Frequency of Executive Status Updates – If stakeholders are always asking for updates, the communication process might be weak. 7. Agile Scrum-Specific KPIs 🔹 Story Points Completed vs. Committed – If a team commits to 50 points per sprint but completes only 30, they are overestimating capacity. 🔹 Sprint Goal Success Rate – Tracks how many sprints successfully met their goal without major spillovers. 🔹 Number of Bugs Found in Production – Helps measure the effectiveness of testing. PS: Forget CPI and SPI - I just check time, budget, and happiness. Simple and effective! 😊

New client? The first model I build is 𝙣𝙤𝙩 a Three Statement Model... Instead, it's a 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁. ~~~ 📌𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻: grab a personal cash flow template here 👉 https://lnkd.in/edmwgYCv ~~~ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴? 13 weeks, 4 weeks, 7 weeks? Doesn't matter. I just need a general sense of what cash will do in the short term. When will I collect payments? Can I pay vendors? Can I make payroll? 𝗔 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 What drives me nuts about these forecasts? They have become so overly "professionalized" that no one understands them. I just want to know: "What will my bank account look like next week?" "How about two weeks from now?" Enough of the fluff. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 Open a spreadsheet and whip this thing together. You build it like this: 1. Stuff that comes in -- minus -- 2. Stuff that goes out = What you have left. (repeat for next week) (💡pro tip: don't forget to add "float" to your beginning balance = checks that have been cut but not yet cashed) 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 In the example image I'm focused on three things: 1. Mapping out the past 2. Making thoughtful estimates about the future 3. Figuring out if I have shortfall (so I can do something about it 𝙣𝙤𝙬) 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 💡𝘗𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘱 1: have unknowns? Just build a line called "unknowns" to make things conservative. 💡𝘗𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘱 2: forecast expenses early, receipts late (again, make it conservative) 💡𝘗𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘱 3: 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 The best way to practice? Start with your own life: + paycheck in - expenses out Build a short forecast, maybe 4 weeks at most. How'd you do? If you were even 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 close, you have the raw skills to do this analysis at the business level. 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥 1. Map out history 2. Make conservative estimates about the future 3. Make a plan now ~~~ 👋 Hey, I'm Chris Reilly, and I teach Financial Modeling based on real Private Equity and FP&A experience. 📌 See Financial Modeling Courses 👉 https://lnkd.in/eG_uVhsE

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Let’s stop pretending surprises are the problem. In my work as a PM coach and AI strategist, I see the same silent cost killers across industries and domains. If you're serious about preventing budget blowouts—start here 👇 𝟭. 𝗩𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 ↳ If the goals aren’t clear, neither are the numbers. 👉 Clarity isn't optional. It's the foundation of budget integrity. 𝟮. 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ “Best-case scenario” isn’t a budget. It’s a trap. 👉 Historical data + pessimism + AI = your best shot at accuracy. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 ↳ Integration. Training. Stakeholder churn. Rework. 👉 Out of sight ≠ , out of scope. Name them. Cost them. 𝟰. 𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 ↳ The scope will change. Budget should too. 👉 Add a formal change reserve—or prepare for firefighting. 𝟱. 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ↳ Risks are registered. But are they costed? 👉 Great PMs budget for risk like CFOs budget for downturns. 🔁 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦: 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 ↳ “Finance owns the numbers.” “PM owns the plan.” 👉 Translation: No one owns the result. Fix that first. 💡 Budget overruns aren’t fate. They’re friction. And with modern tools—especially AI—we can now identify and mitigate cost drivers before they escalate. Curious how? That’s what I coach. 👇 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 💬 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. ♻️ Repost to help PMs control costs without killing team morale. 💾 Save this post for later—it’s your quick checklist for budget sanity. ➕ And follow Markus Kopko ✨ for more. #projectmanagement #budgetcontrol #pmcoach

Climate scenario analysis 101 🌍 A great resource from MSCI outlines the fundamentals of climate scenario analysis and how it supports decision making in finance and business. Scenario analysis provides a structured way to evaluate how climate risk and transition pathways may influence markets, portfolios, and corporate strategies. For companies, this is increasingly relevant. Climate change is driving shifts in policy, technology, and consumer demand, and businesses need tools that test strategies across multiple possible outcomes. MSCI describes four types of scenarios. Fully narrative scenarios are qualitative frameworks that help map potential risk pathways and identify emerging issues in the early stages of analysis. Quantified narrative scenarios combine narratives with numerical estimates. They allow organizations to assign data to possible futures, creating an entry point to quantify risks before moving to more complex models. Model driven scenarios are developed with integrated assessment models that merge economic, energy, land use, and climate systems. These scenarios are widely applied by regulators and investors for stress testing and forecasting. Probabilistic scenarios introduce probability distributions to reflect uncertainty across multiple futures. This approach is useful for assessing financial risk exposure and for stress testing under varying climate conditions. Each scenario type has clear strengths and limitations. Narrative approaches are flexible and cost effective, while model based and probabilistic approaches provide more detail and credibility but require technical expertise and resources. MSCI proposes a progressive method that combines different types of scenarios. Organizations can begin with narratives, advance through quantification, refine insights with models, and ultimately integrate scenario analysis into strategy and governance. For business leaders, the implications are significant. Scenario analysis helps evaluate exposure to transition and physical risks, assess regulatory impacts, and identify opportunities emerging in a low carbon economy. It also strengthens strategic foresight. By translating complex climate science into structured outputs, it enables boards and executives to take informed decisions on risk and resilience. As expectations on sustainability rise, climate scenario analysis is becoming an essential capability for companies seeking to manage uncertainty and position themselves for long term competitiveness. Source: MSCI #sustainability #business #sustainable #esg

NPV vs. IRR. Which measure to use to evaluate a project? You should probably use both, but what are the benefits and drawbacks of each? 𝘕𝘗𝘝 = 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 NPV is a financial metric that calculates the present value of cash flows generated by an investment by discounting them to the present time. It compares the present value of cash flows and provides a measure of the profitability of an investment. 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗣𝗩 Time value of money: NPV reflects the time value of money by discounting future cash flows. Absolute measure of profitability: NPV provides a dollar amount representing an investment's net benefit. Considers all cash flows: NPV considers positive and negative cash flows throughout the investment's life. 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗣𝗩 Relies on discount rate estimation: NPV requires estimating the appropriate discount rate, which can be subjective. Sensitivity to cash flow estimates: NPV is sensitive to the accuracy of cash flow projections. Difficult to interpret in isolation: NPV alone does not provide insight into the rate of return on investment. 𝘐𝘙𝘙 = 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 IRR is the discount rate that makes the present value of an investment's cash inflows equal to the present value of its cash outflows. It represents the rate of return at which the NPV of an investment becomes zero. 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗥𝗥 Rate of return measure: IRR provides the rate of return generated by an investment, which can be compared with, for example, hurdle rates. Simplicity: IRR is a single percentage figure easily understood and compared across different investments. Considers timing of cash flows: IRR considers the timing of cash flows, giving insights into capital utilization. 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗥𝗥 Multiple IRR problem: In certain situations, an investment may have multiple IRRs, making it difficult to interpret the results. Reinvestment rate assumption: IRR assumes that cash inflows are reinvested at the calculated IRR. Doesn't consider project size: IRR does not account for the scale of investment. How are you using NPV and IRR? Are there cases where you would only use one of them? And do you have anything to add to the benefits and drawbacks? ————— 🧑💼 I'm a partner at Business Partnering Institute 🆘 Need immediate help in your finance team, call us! 🤝 We help increase the influence of your finance team 🔔 To see more content, hit the bell on my profile 🧑🎓 Enroll in our LinkedIn course: https://bit.ly/4a5fB9l 📻 #FinanceMaster podcast: https://bit.ly/3NLSt73 📺 Follow us on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4bSBut6 📢 Join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/3WWGOrc 📄 Check out all our templates and cheat sheets here: https://lnkd.in/eC_zuCU4

A comprehensive guide for FP&A 📈 Most companies think basic reporting and budgeting is enough. They're wrong. 🤓 Every month I meet with companies who don't understand why they're missing their targets, why their cash flow doesn't match their P&L, or why their forecasts are off by 50%. Want to know what you actually need to succeed in FP&A? Let me break it down for you 👇 ➡️ CORE FP&A FUNCTIONS It all starts with three main pillars that every business needs to master... OK...first up is Budgeting & Forecasting. Annual budgets aren't enough anymore. When the market shifts, your annual budget becomes useless by March. You need rolling 13-week cash flow forecasts, updated weekly, tracking every major cash movement. Your forecasts should be built on your actual sales pipeline, not wishful thinking. Next up...Financial Analysis. This is where you spot issues BEFORE they wreck your P&L. When you see a 10% variance in cost centers, you investigate immediately. When revenue per customer starts dropping, you run cohort analysis. When gross margins decline, you dive into product-level profitability. Then there's Management Reporting. Forget 50-page report decks. Focus on what drives decisions: customer acquisition costs against lifetime value, working capital efficiency, and real unit economics by product line. ➡️ YOUR TECH STACK Financial Software: The backbone of your operations - where every transaction gets recorded, every invoice gets processed, and every financial record lives. From SAP, Oracle, to NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics. Planning Software: Your command center for forecasting, budgeting, and strategic planning. Tools like Anaplan, Workday, and Oracle handle the heavy lifting. Data Analysis Tools: Where the real number-crunching happens. Advanced Excel, Power Query, and SQL databases transform raw data into actionable insights. ➡️ BEST PRACTICES Want to know what separates good FP&A from GREAT FP&A? Start with daily bank recs and weekly balance sheet reviews. Track every variance over 5%. Keep one master forecast file with clear naming conventions. Document every major assumption. Automate the basics: bank feeds, intercompany recs, and allocation entries. This gives you time for what matters - analysis that drives decisions. ➡️ STRATEGIC IMPACT This is where FP&A proves its worth: calculating IRR on every major investment, tracking payback periods, analyzing customer cohort profitability, and maintaining those razor-sharp contribution margins. ➡️ FUTURE TRENDS AI isn't just hype anymore. It's catching anomalies in transactions and predicting cash flows. Real-time reporting means tracking sales against forecasts as they happen. And cloud integration? That's syncing your data across systems 24/7. === That's my take on what makes FP&A truly powerful. What's your biggest FP&A challenge? Drop it in the comments below 👇

Most small businesses default to two forecasting methods: top-down or bottom-up. But they both share the same problem. The "why" behind performance isn't explained. These approaches are easy to model and are used all the time. But they can easily fail as companies grow larger and more driver based. (1) Top-down forecasting Many companies favor top-down because it's simple and aligned with strategic goals. But the biggest drawback is it's often completely disconnected from an operational reality. I use it for high-level financial forecasting and hardly ever for operational planning. • Leadership sets growth or margin targets • The P&L is segmented into business units • These targets cascade down the statements • Line-items are forecast on high-level assumptions (2) Bottom-up forecasting Bottom-up forecasting is based upon detailed inputs such as sales to customers, sales by SKU, hiring plans by individual versus job category or department, expense budgets, etc. The benefit of bottoms-up is it's detailed and grounded in operations. But it's usually time-consuming, fragmented, and hard to roll up consistently. • Individual contributors come up with their numbers • They share it with an accountant or financial analyst • The accounting/finance person puts it into a model • The model is updated constantly with new details (3) Driver-based forecasting Rather than come up with high-level assumptions that don't tie into operations, or granular detail that doesn't separate signal from noise, driver-based combines the best of both. In this example for a professional staffing company, we can tie future revenue to placements per recruiter, contract duration, markup percentage, bill rates, and recruiter headcount. This allows FP&A the ability to flex operating assumptions, test them, and quickly see what can be done on the ground to influence. Differences between the 3 methods matter: Top-down may set revenue at $50 million based upon an 8% growth rate. We can ask "how do we increase growth?" Bottoms-up may set revenue at $50 million based upon a monthly forecast of 200 customers. We can ask "what do we expect from each customer?" Driver-based planning may arrive at the same $50 million but ask "what operational levers can we press to truly move revenue and margin?" The result is forecasts that are faster, more explainable and easier to update. 💡 If you want to explore next-level modeling techniques, join live with 200+ people for Advanced FP&A: Financial Modeling with Dynamic Excel Session 2. https://lnkd.in/emi2xFdZ