The Top 20 Most Awesome FP&A Influencers

The term “influencer” might conjure up an image of an Instagram teen, perfect lives, or the CEO of a large startup company. But some of today’s modern tastemakers instead talk about the perfect Excel financial model, business partnering, cash flows, modeling, forecasts and mastering the month end close. 

Cameron Janke, former VP FP&A at HealthEquity, says his career received a boost after discovering FP&A leaders who post regularly online. He says: “It made me realize other people were having the same issues as me and were seeing the same things.” The best influencers in FP&A understand the daily struggles, empathize with their audience, and provide practical advice and best practices.

To come up with this list, we used nominations and original reporting to find individuals with a track record of providing consistent value which appeals to both finance professionals and a wider audience. So, without further ado, here are the top 20 FP&A influencers you need to follow if you work in FP&A.

Scroll down to read the full list, which is in alphabetical order by last name.

Aliyyah Abdullah

Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Aliyya began studying management, she describes as “closer to psychology”. Aliyya only shifted careers to finance when a friend told her about an opportunity. Her content niche is experiences working with SMEs and providing insights into supply chain value. Her experience has been built over the past 15 years in finance in the food and beverage industry, most recently at Universal Foods Limited. This is reflected in her posts. Being a leading finance expert in a country of 1.4 million people, Aliyya gets to perform a number of roles (including FP&A). Recent posts include an insight that “value creation doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction in cost -it can take the form of problem-solving, analyzing make, buy, or partner decisions, investing in technology and resources, and monitoring performance.”

Paul Barnhurst

Paul Barnhurst has created a brand, The FP&A Guy, and boy does he live up to that name. Every day Paul posts actionable tips and advice from his career and daily learnings about FP&A. This ranges from budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, financial modeling, report building, and business partnering. Paul is a Finance Professional with 12+ years of finance and FP&A experience, having worked in several industries, including the US government, travel services, finance, automotive, Cyber Security, Ecommerce. He recently launched his own business called The FP&A Guy providing  FP&A consulting services for small and midsized companies, FP&A Training, and FP&A content creation. He is also the host of the popular podcast FP&A Today. Every week an FP&A leader is brought to discuss some of the biggest stories and challenges in their field with Paul adding many of his own insights and learnings from his own experience in the role over the years.

Nicolas Boucher

Boucher is a great source on a complete range of topics including getty ready for your first job as an FP&A entrepreneur. He also hands out cool Excel tips. On top of all that, he has an online course “Become a high-performing finance professional” for anyone interested in improving either soft or technical skills whether it’s learning how to analyze variances better and translating business events into financials to simplify your reporting.

Christian Frantz Hansen

If you want the latest updates and news in finance and FP&A, Christian posts much of the latest research around finance trends, always with his own FPA spin. 

Christian has extensive experience with finance transformation and business process optimization in large, international businesses. He has worked with General Motors, Novo Nordisk, and Lego Group. Part of his rich experience in FP&A has been training and chronicling the learning journey for 500 Finance Business Partners at Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company.

Soufyan Hamid

Soufyan provides storytelling masterclasses for anyone wanting to advance into the C-suite positions and provides answers on many of the presentation questions we were afraid to ask. You should check his LinkedIn for different tips like how to deal with difficult questions , how to deploy storytelling for your dashboards and he even gets to the specifics of color coordinating your Powerpoint.  Soufyan also provides a weekly review of the 5 top FP&A LinkedIn posts – so you never have to miss great FP&A content – often from many of the growing variety of FP&A influencers we could not fit on this list.

Brian Kalish

Brian provides consulting, advisory and assessment services to companies in the areas of Treasury and Financial Planning and Analysis. Drawing from his weekly engagements with top-tier FP&A leaders, Brian has also written nearly 150 LinkedIn articles focused on FP&A- ranging from predictive analytics to AI and the shifting mindsets around technology. For a taster see 4 Changes FP&A Teams Need to Make Now to Future Proof Forecasting.

Bryan Lapidus

Bryan is a Director of FP&A at the Association for Finance Professionals (AFP) a professional society committed to advancing the success of treasury and finance members and their organizations.

Bryan is a renowned FP&A leader with over 20 years of experience developing and growing companies and program initiatives. Just some of the things he posts about regularly including finance passports-the importance of finance leaders piling up a wide range of skills on their resumes and the the importance of keeping skills up to date with top FP&A courses (one of which is provided by the AFP). A true tastemaker, he also develops the trend-setting content at the AFP’s Annual Conference which provides insights and talking points for the rest of the year.

If you follow finance media outlets, journalists seek his opinion regularly whether it’s about the effects of the war in Eastern Europe on finance teams or how to increase revenues during a recession. 

Anders Liu-Lindberg

  • Followers on LinkedIn: 90K
  • Based: Copenhagen, Denmark

Anders is the co-founder of the Business Partnering Institute and owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn. Many people who didn’t know the ins and outs of FP&A find themselves eagerly anticipating his daily posts. This prolific content master (#financemaster) publishes his thoughts in two weekly newsletters collectively attracting 140,000 subscribers. Anders is the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner” and along with Datarails created the top 10 Trends for FP&A in 2022, and Top 10 Excel influencers video (mixing serious on-trend FP&A and pop culture references…you should just watch them).

Asif Masani

Asif shares his own experience as a FP&A Manager, Coursera, on his Youtube channel with explanatory videos about all the basics . Asif has passed 10k subscribers for his newsletter FP&A Professionals – and advises many other potential FP&A influencers to get involved in thought leadership. In his current role with Coursera, he’s responsible for planning, budgeting and forecasting for India and APAC. Meanwhile, his LinkedIn channel is a treasure trove for FP&A entrepreneurs, on how to nail your first interview to the Excel Bible – a must read for any FP&A starting out or seeking to pick up some new ideas. He even shares current slang FP&A leaders use in their meetings and for posterity has revealed his Excel love story. 

Larysa Melnychuk

Larysa is the Merlin of FP&A. As founder of FP&A Trends Larysa has an FP&A Board in almost all major cities around the world, her personal FP&A knights of the round table. FP&A Trends is powerhouse of inspiration from blogs, articles, webinars and even a newsroom while “FP&A CLUB”, a LinkedIn group, provides insights and quick answers to any questions you may have.

Many will know her from the slick webinars FP&A Trends produces on best practices, trends, and a diverse range of corporate financial advice on topics from Managing Profitability in Uncertain Times to the Future of Business Modeling. When you have created an FP&A empire voicing your opinion could be discouraged. But the Ukrainian-born Larysa has used her influence to decry the war in Eastern Europe and raise awareness of the plight of citizens. 

Darryl Morrissy

After years of  working in global companies ( including oil giants BP and Shell) this financial and scenario modeling expert took a “career break”. But he didn’t stray far from data,  entering the world of sports analytics, building a predictive model in Excel for Australian horse racing using a range of statistical techniques. If that wasn’t cool enough, now as Director at Advanced Analysis Training, he performs a mission to “educate people in how to improve critical thinking, data analysis and building Excel models for scenario evaluation”

His daily LinkedIn content covers includes tips on career (Morrissy warns against three cardinal sins: not defining the problem, not thinking strategically, and not being able to persuade others). Other great posts include the personality you need as an analyst, to whether Excel is dead (yikes, we hope not). In one popular post he highlights the perils of confirmation bias in our forecasts.

Stephen Newland

The Director of FP&A at GrowthLab has a simple aim with his daily posts: “I make business finance simple & actionable”. This includes advice revolving around FP&A’s ability to truly deliver economic benefits. This includes simple instant wins: analyzing “subscription creep” (when an employee signs up for a service and leaves the company) instantly cutting out $30,000 immediately at his company. This sits alongside thoughtful posts on down-turn era cost-cutting including the unquantifiable effects of cutting headcount.

Anna Oblakova

Russian-born Anna Oblakova has held FP&A roles for more than 15 years primarily in the banking sector. As Head of  FP&A at Moscow-based Bank ZENIT she transformed the function of financial planning and analysis (from nothing) to a business partnership model focused on creating value, and leading a team of 10 to strategic excellence. Now based in France, the FP&A Manager of Sodastream produces posts which which include common misconceptions about the field, improving your FP&A function or how not to fall into fear over you budget and annual reporting. She is  runs the website, FPANDA club where incredible resources including her FP&A Maturity Model – a free tool involving answering questions to rate your company’s FP&A game.

Chris Ortega

If you’re looking for someone who’s always authentic and honest, coupled with great finance resources and advice, Chris Ortega is a great follow. Chris’s posts acknowledge not only professional tips in the field, but also how to improve yourself as a leader. Besides being an expert boxer, he is the CEO of Fresh FP&A – a full-service company that provides accounting, finance and FP&A. If you’ve been acquainted already it’s probably because you’ve seen him as one of the speakers on the many different conferences he attends across the US about accounting and finance. Chris also advocates time and again the importance of inclusion and diversity in finance and FP&A. 

Chris Reilly

Chris could really help you out with his pretty neat courses for financial modeling. His specialty is being able to get “into the weeds” of a project with his experience in corporate finance, consulting, and private equity. Chris has the ability to explain even the most painstaking lessons in finance in an easy-to-learn format including mastering the learning curve for stockpiling new finance skills. Chris has truly mastered the platform – mentioning in one post that “nearly all my new business this year is from LinkedIn.”

Carl Seidman

Carl run’s his own financial advisory firm advising Fortune 500 companies on FP&A and provides daily lessons from the field. This includes for instance a post on the fact that the biggest mindshifts FP&A Teams should make is is towards”anticipation“. Interesting fact: a gifted public speaker, when aged 32, Carl left behind a six-figure corporate consulting job, and decided to travel the world. This formed the basis of a “first retirement” a phrase which he coined which formed the basis of a wildly popular TedX Talk (519,000 views and counting!) His biggest advice to FP&A professionals is to “do the reps” of public speaking to see “magic” and career advancement.

Kathy Svetina 

Kathy is a Fractional CFO. A factional CFO is a finance leader who provides a range of financial expertise to startups and fast-growing companies who are not yet able to justify a full-time CFO. However what makes Kathy even more interesting is she only serves women-owned businesses. This is part of her lifelong career goal to get more women into executive roles. Her posts talk in detail about the challenges and opportunities working with companies which see $1M to $10M in annual sales, and  the FP&A challenges of companies facing “growing pains”. She provides insights and tips on FP&A in small businesses that are always must-reads.

Terrell A Turner

Followers on LinkedIn: 10.1K
Based in: Charlotte Metro
Follow Terrell on LinkedIn

Though a little more finance and accounting in scope, Terrell is a prolific content creator who also tackles how FP&A can ignite businesses. His specific niche is simplifying Accounting & Finance For Law Firms & Agencies. In this sector, Terrell has redesigned and established the financial controls systems for more than 20 law firms. He hosts 5(!) podcasts including Law and Finance, The Finance and Accounting Show. He provides crisp clips of highlights  on topics including moving from an accountant to FP&A, to hot button issues such as inflation. 

Christian Wattig

Like any good FP&A expert, Christian loves numbering things and creating lists, but as an FP&A pro you probably already understood that remaining organized with your daily tasks and creating lists is a must! Christian posts almost daily on his Linkedin “lists” of his tips, each concentrating on different subjects whether it’s on how to master Data Science as a FP&A Analyst or how to master Forecasting as an Accountant. As well as his much-loved posts on LinkedIn, many also know Christian for creating and running the top-rated “FP&A Bootcamp” where you not only learn the essentials needed to start your career, but you also get to hear from someone with over a decade of experience at companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Squarespace. There are no introductions or philosophical discussions – every minute is full of advice you can implement immediately. In a collaboration with Paul Barnhurst, Christian also created “The FP&A Community” – a place to share notes with fellow corporate Finance and Accounting professionals about all things FP&A. They have a monthly zoom conference, and while not everyone is accepted (a 4 years experience of corporate Finance & Accounting is needed – “prestigious”), this community could absolutely be your new Scooby and the Gang.

Muhammad Zeeshan Taqi

Based in Dubai, Muhammad is an FP&A Consultant and Start-Up Expert whose posts cover analytics, finance transformation, and finance business partnering. His newsletter, Finance Transformation Times goes out to 11,500 subscribers. Some of Muhammad’s most popular posts include Startup Metrics: Key Performance Indicators and Problem-Solving Mindsets for FP&A Professionals. Muhammad provides a fascinating insight into the finance ins-and-outs in Asia, Middle East & Europe

Who did we miss? Get in touch with us to let us know which FP&A influencers you follow?