Pillar 2
Planning, forecasting, variance analysis, KPI design, and the operating rhythm of finance.
Pillar 2 covers the core competencies of an FP&A leader: building the annual plan, running rolling forecasts, designing KPIs that connect operations to strategy, decomposing variances at driver level, and reporting management results to executives and boards. Each module is complete in itself — read what serves you, in any order. The other pillars (treasury, accounting, M&A, capital allocation, tax, transformation) stand on their own and are built for the role you actually do.
Wave 1 · Live
Full modules: narrative, interactive visuals, templates, and CFO-style quiz.
13
modules
Long-range plan structure, board-grade narrative, and the link to capital allocation.
Top-down vs bottom-up, calendar, governance, and ownership of the plan.
Cadence, anchor periods, calibration, and forecast accuracy as KPI.
Build a clean, drivers-up 3-statement model. Reusable template.
Best/base/worst, Monte Carlo, decision tree thinking, and presenting to boards.
Decompose variance with discipline. PVM, rate-efficiency, FX. Live PVM Bridge template.
Build a documented driver tree. Connect topline metrics to first-line manager KPIs.
Power BI semantic models, dashboard hierarchy, and the cadence of reporting.
When ZBB works, when it does not, and how to design a credible ZBB program.
When ABC reveals truth — cost drivers, allocation, and pricing impact.
Multi-dimensional profitability, true cost-to-serve, and decisions.
How finance partners with commercial / ops / HR. Cadence, deliverables, scorecard.
True economics by customer/SKU/channel. Decisions on pricing, mix, and exit.
Wave 2 · In authoring
Coming weeks. Subscribe to be notified when each goes live.
2
modules
Building in public. Modules launch in waves. Wave 1 (live): variance analysis, KPI design, and driver-based modeling. Wave 2 (in authoring): rolling forecasts, scenarios, and management reporting. Suggest a topic or share feedback at lealrolando@gmail.com.
Where to next?