Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Checklist

Export the last 24 months of trial balance from NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or QBO at the cost-center / department level. Tie the export to the locked period balances — pulling from an unlocked period is a common reason the baseline shifts mid-budget.

Send each department head a pre-populated template with prior-year actuals, current-year run-rate, and headcount roll-forward. Lock formula cells; only inputs should be editable. Set a hard return date.

Walk each department head through their submission: headcount additions, T&E assumptions, software renewals, one-time project costs. Flag any line growing >15% YoY for written justification.

Roll department submissions into the consolidated P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow in Vena, Cube, or the master Excel model. Reconcile total headcount to HRIS; reconcile total revenue to the sales-ops bookings forecast.

Only triggered if the CFO/CEO returned the budget for revisions. Document each change with a written rationale and re-circulate to affected department heads before resubmitting for sign-off.

Confirm the controller has hard-closed the prior period in the GL. Pull the locked trial balance into the forecast model. Forecasting on top of unposted AJEs is the most common reason the next forecast revision swings.

Update pipeline-weighted bookings from Salesforce, churn rate from CS, and ARR roll-forward. Tie net-new ARR to the rep-level forecast. For SaaS, recompute deferred revenue waterfall.

Three scenarios: base case (current pipeline at historical close rates), upside (+15% on net-new), downside (−20% net-new with churn elevated 200 bps). Each must show runway in months and minimum cash position.

Distribute the locked forecast deck via the company drive with version stamp. Note any material changes from the prior version in a one-page change-log so the audit committee can trace the trajectory.

Pull the BvA at the department × natural-account level, current month and YTD. Confirm the budget version tied to the GL is the board-approved version, not a working draft.

Apply the standard threshold: any line >$25K and >10% variance. Adjust the threshold for revenue lines (use 5%). Auto-highlight in the model so reviewers focus on the real outliers.

Triggered only when material variances exist. For each flagged line, document: timing vs. permanent, controllable vs. non-controllable, one-time vs. recurring. Get the explanation from the budget owner in writing — not a verbal hallway answer.

Top five favorable, top five unfavorable, with one-sentence explanations and the YTD trajectory. Avoid generic phrases like 'timing differences' — name the specific contract, hire, or vendor that drove the swing.

Update the standard set: ARR, NRR, gross margin, CAC payback, magic number, burn multiple, runway. Pull from the source of record (CRM, billing system, GL) — not a stale extract. Reconcile dashboard ARR to GL revenue × 12.

Use the most recent OPEXEngine, KeyBanc SaaS Survey, or SaaS Capital benchmarks for your revenue band. Cite the source and vintage; benchmarks more than 18 months old are misleading in this rate environment.

For each KPI flashing red, propose a specific intervention with a named owner and a 30/60/90-day checkpoint. 'Improve sales efficiency' is not an action; 'reduce SDR ramp from 6 to 4 months via revised onboarding' is.

Update the 3-year LRP with current trajectory and refreshed market assumptions. Keep the LRP separate from the operating budget — collapsing them is the most common reason strategic decisions get made on tactical numbers.

Test the LRP against the levers leadership actually controls: pricing, hiring pace, sales coverage, R&D mix. Show the EBITDA and cash-runway impact of a +/− 10% move on each.

Map each strategic initiative to an explicit capital ask — headcount, capex, M&A reserve. Initiatives without a funded line don't appear on the next BvA, which is how strategy and execution diverge.