Power Play Finance 🏒 Forecasting Like a Pro

If you like sports, you might say James Suh has one of the best jobs in the world. 

As CFO of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, he’s watched the team go from zero to Stanley Cup finals heroes in just a year –– and while you might not think of “finance team” when you think “winning sports team,” there’s a lot of overlap.

James’s experiences give finance leaders a solid inside look at what goes into finance operations for a sports team: strategic planning, growth trajectories, and the importance of knowing your market (just to name a few). The best insight to help your organization predict revenue reliably—

Know Your Organization’s History

In many industries, unpredictable market conditions make forecasting revenue with absolute certainty difficult. It’s the same for sports teams, so their finance leaders have learned to build a winning strategy without a guaranteed trophy.

The key? A solid historical data-based forecast.

By drawing on data from months and years past, your finance team can come up with forecasts that will ensure company operations stay under control without worrying about falling into the red. 

Getting granular with your budget –– and adjusting it often –– will ensure that the forecast stays fluid while keeping everyone in line with what’s fiscally possible.

Get Ready for the Long Game

In sports, everything is cyclical –– meaning that every investment must be made with the long game in mind. 

Whether you’re stepping into a new leadership role or looking for ways to revolutionize how your team plays (smarter, not harder, is a good rule of thumb), here are three things to keep in mind as you prepare to make smart investments for your organization’s long-term potential:

Build a monthly reporting cadence. If you’re not closing your end-of-month books regularly, something needs to change. Updating leadership on numbers and keeping an eye on those above-mentioned forecasts will be impossible without monthly reports.

Don’t always choose the short-term investment. Even if investments seem like they’ll do well in the short term, if there are no long-term benefits for the company, it may be worth reconsidering the validity of the choice. Sure, quick wins have their place, but staying the course often pays more.

Involve the entire company in your strategy. Taking a holistic approach to strategy and planning is a whole-company job –– and while finance leaders should spearhead the conversation, they shouldn’t be the only ones. Work with the rest of your organization’s leadership team to create plans and goals for the next five years (and beyond), then build your financial strategies accordingly.

Whether you’re a finance professional and a sports fan or just one or the other, you won’t want to miss our insightful conversation on forecasting, investing, and celebrating the big wins on the latest episode of The CFO Show.

In case you missed it…

The decision to take a company from private to public cannot be made overnight. A company with this path in mind needs to be prepared well in advance for this major step. Even if your company, like many, is waiting for a more favorable market, the time to prepare is now. Donna Dellomo, former EVP and CFO at Lovesac, offers valuable takeaways, whether your company is going public in a month or thinking about it as part of a five-year plan.

What’s next…

Embarking on the journey as a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is both thrilling and challenging. We delve into the essential elements of the "New CFO Checklist" during the crucial initial 90 days with Tom Seegmiller, CFO of Texada Software.