The 7 Top FP&A Trends To Watch in 2025

Expanding demands are pushing financial planning & analysis (FP&A) teams in 2025 to embrace new technologies, adopt agile practices and become more embedded within the broader organizational strategy. With the demands on FP&A teams always changing—shifting global economic policies and all—it's important to be always ready to pivot.

To help guide FP&A teams through these changes, we’ve gathered insights from some industry experts on what will change for FP&A teams in 2025:

• Dominic DiBernardo is a Partner & CPM Practice Lead at Citrin Cooperman, an accounting firm serving clients’ business needs.

• Chris Harman is the founder of Candura—experts in planning and reporting for finance and operations.

• Rogier Louter is a Lead Consultant at Finext, a consultancy firm that helps organizations optimize their financial functions.

Their perspectives on the evolving market landscape highlight key trends that will shape the future of FP&A, from leveraging AI for automation to fostering cross-functional collaboration. 

With their insights in mind, let’s explore seven key trends and shifts shaping the future of FP&A. We’ll also look at how teams can adapt to thrive—not just survive—amid an evolving business environment.

1. AI and Automation Are Creating an FP&A Transformation

FP&A teams increasingly turn to automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to transform workflows and drive efficiency. In 2025, the focus will shift from traditional, manual data processing to integrated, tech-driven workflows that reduce errors, save time and improve decision making. 

Financial planning solutions allow teams to eliminate repetitive tasks such as data collection and reporting, freeing up resources for more strategic work. AI takes this a step further by enabling predictive analytics, scenario modeling and faster insights through conversational AI.

Although some may worry that AI will replace FP&A jobs, its true value lies in enhancing people's efficiency and enabling more strategic decision making. However, to fully realize AI’s potential, companies must first establish a strong technological foundation—digitizing and centralizing key processes to ensure uninterrupted workflows and maximize impact.

Dominic sees a growing focus on identifying how FP&A teams can prepare themselves to successfully bring AI into their operations:

"FP&A teams will prioritize seamless integration of systems to streamline processes while simultaneously feeling pressured to figure out how to leverage AI in their business. The technology has been there, but the explosion of AI and its potential has exposed how far behind many companies are when it comes to the fundamental technology stack." 

- Dominic DiBernardo, Partner & CPM Practice Lead at Citrin Cooperman

Chris agrees, emphasizing the importance of leveraging AI and automation to improve efficiency in FP&A:

“Leveraging AI and integrated systems will be a top priority in 2025 to move away from time-consuming manual data collection and reporting. The goal will be to improve speed, accuracy and efficiency to respond to risks and opportunities faster with smart insights.”

- Chris Harman, Founder and Director, Candura

This transformation is also reshaping reporting practices, as Rogier points out:

"We also expect FP&A teams to leverage dashboarding solutions more and more to support the business. For example, while many operations teams were already using PowerBI from Microsoft for all their reporting, finance teams often lagged a bit behind and still did a lot of traditional Excel-based reports. We now see a shift towards more automated reporting and dashboarding, simply because the business demands more insight."

- Rogier Louter, Lead Consultant, Finext

Recent data supports these changes: 

• A recent PYMNTS report found that finance departments investing in GenAI are experiencing positive results. A surprising 71% reported increased productivity and 54% found it enhances data-driven decision making.

• A Workday survey of finance, IT, and HR teams found that two-thirds of respondents have seen increased productivity and operational efficiency as a result of AI and ML implementation.

With such tangible benefits on the horizon, businesses that fail to adopt the best AI tools and automation technologies risk falling behind more agile competitors. 

2. Proactive Forecasting Is Leading to Smarter Financial Planning

FP&A teams are moving beyond reactive responses and embracing a more proactive approach to forecasting. This evolution is driven by the need for more effective navigation of volatile markets, influenced by factors such as geopolitical instability, supply chain disruptions and rapidly changing consumer behavior.

To achieve this, FP&A teams are turning to real-time scenarios and harnessing the power of predictive analytics for their financial planning needs. Leveraging advanced technologies and sophisticated data analysis is helping FP&A professionals:

• Conduct more strategic data harvesting: Gather and analyze data from diverse sources to identify key trends, anticipate potential risks and opportunities and inform more accurate forecasts.

• Establish a "single source of truth": Integrate data from various systems across the organization to create a unified and reliable data foundation. This fosters seamless collaboration and alignment between FP&A and other departments, ensuring strategic decisions are informed by a shared understanding of the overall business.

• Embrace real-time scenario planning: Develop and continuously update multiple scenarios to assess potential outcomes under different conditions. This enables swift responses to unforeseen events and empowers leadership to make informed decisions despite uncertainty.

Chris predicts this evolution will see FP&A teams focusing not just on reporting, but on anticipating future needs and opportunities: 

"FP&A will focus more on proactive insights through predictive analysis in 2025, identifying what drives business performance and guiding leadership on where to act next." 

- Chris Harman, Founder and Director, Candura

The benefits of these forward-thinking analytics are significant. Research from McKinsey shows that predictive analytics helped a manufacturer reduce inventory and obsolescence by 20–40% while boosting sales by 5% through improved forecasting and proactive demand management.

By shifting from reactive to proactive forecasting, FP&A teams can play a crucial role in helping their organization anticipate challenges, seize opportunities and achieve sustainable growth in an uncertain economy.

3. Organizations Are Strengthening Their Resilience and Agility Through FP&A

Resilience and agility have become critical for organizations striving to thrive amid unpredictability, from policy shifts and tax changes to supply chain disruptions and economic volatility. 

FP&A teams are central to this dual effort, helping businesses prepare for challenges and quickly adapt when disruptions occur. By embedding agility into their financial strategies, organizations are better positioned to mitigate risks while maintaining long-term growth objectives.

Unlike traditional, reactive approaches, resilient and agile organizations rely on FP&A to develop proactive, dynamic strategies. This includes producing more frequent financial reporting, stress-testing financial plans, identifying vulnerabilities and building contingency strategies that can be activated swiftly in response to unexpected events.

Key elements of this resilience and agility-enhancing approach include:

• Embedding risk scenarios into financial plans: FP&A teams integrate potential disruptions— economic downturns, geopolitical shifts or regulatory changes—into their models. This helps prepare their organizations with actionable strategies to minimize negative impacts and remain agile.

• Ensuring resource flexibility: Dynamic financial models allow FP&A teams to quickly allocate resources, whether capital, labor or inventory, where it’s needed most. This flexibility ensures that organizations can maintain operational continuity even when facing volatility.

Chris emphasizes the critical role FP&A plays in fostering organizational agility:

“2025 is expected to remain fast moving and unpredictable from geopolitical events and market disruptions. FP&A teams will need to lead efforts to improve organizational agility—pivot quickly, allocate resources effectively and make real-time decisions driven by data.”

- Chris Harman, Founder and Director, Candura

The importance of this agility is backed by data. According to Accenture, agile FP&A teams can reduce planning time by 80%, improve forecasting accuracy by up to 95% and save 12 hours per week for more strategic tasks.

The evolving role of FP&A extends beyond simply ensuring the business’s survival. It’s about creating a strategic advantage. 

By embedding resilience and agility into financial strategies, organizations can swiftly adapt to changing circumstances, recover more effectively and capitalize on opportunities even amid disruption.

4. FP&A Teams Are Becoming Valued Strategic Business Partners

In 2025, FP&A teams are redefining their role, moving from data providers to trusted strategic advisors. This evolution is driven by the increasing need for actionable insights that go beyond traditional reporting to inform business decisions. “FP&A teams will evolve into strategically embedded business partners this year,” Dominic DiBernardo says. 

As to the broader expectations now placed on FP&A teams, here’s how Chris unpacks them:

“FP&A is no longer just about budgeting and forecasting—the role has become far more strategic. In 2025, expectations on FP&A teams will intensify as they are asked to provide clear, actionable insights that drive business decisions. Specifically, deeper engagement with key stakeholders, explaining what the numbers mean, not just reporting on them and enhancing their approach with cutting-edge technologies.”

- Chris Harman, Founder and Director, Candura

Statistics show that to deepen their impact, FP&A teams need to deliver more than just numbers:

• An Oracle study found that 72% of business leaders feel most data is only useful to IT or data science teams, but 94% believe the right data and insights are key to making better finance decisions.

FP&A teams are the conduit for interpreting that data in meaningful ways, providing leadership with clear recommendations on where to act next. To achieve this, teams are enhancing their capabilities with advanced analytics, data visualization tools and predictive models. 

FP&A professionals can significantly elevate their impact by creating and embracing partnerships with other departments in the company, helping the business anticipate challenges, unlock new opportunities and achieve long-term resilience.

5. Organizations Are Investing in Better Solutions and Team Upskilling

One of the most pressing priorities for many FP&A teams this year is equipping staff with the right skills and solutions to succeed in a rapidly evolving business environment. The integration of AI, business automation and predictive analytics has transformed how teams conduct financial analysis.

To remain competitive, companies must invest in both advanced technology and workforce upskilling, as Dominic explains:

“We are quickly moving into an ‘up or out’ situation where companies are not only going to need to make the technology investments and investments in talent upskilling, but they are also going to have to make some hard decisions to make sure they have the right people on the bus and that they are in the right seat."

- Dominic DiBernardo, Partner & CPM Practice Lead at Citrin Cooperman

The shift is also influencing hiring practices. Rogier highlights this trend:

"Since FP&A is becoming more and more data-driven, we expect that more FP&A teams will start hiring more people with a data background to complement the more traditional controller profiles."

- Rogier Louter, Lead Consultant, Finext

This evolution underscores the importance of building smarter teams by combining data expertise with advanced technology. As reliance on AI and automation becomes the norm, one of the biggest FP&A challenges will be finding skilled professionals who can maximize the potential of this technology:

• According to the 2024 Deloitte CFO Signals report, 48% of CFOs cite generative AI adoption—specifically the lack of GenAI talent and execution risks—as one of their top three internal challenges, while 47% also highlight talent concerns such as hiring and retention as key internal threats.

Investing in technology alone isn’t enough. To fully leverage AI and data analytics, businesses must also focus on headcount planning—ensuring they have the right talent in place while fostering employee engagement and skill development. Providing employees with opportunities to expand their data expertise not only helps retain top talent, but also strengthens the organization’s ability to drive growth:

• Organizations that provide employees with access to training for AI-driven data analytics solutions are more likely to see over 10% annual revenue growth compared to those that restrict data access, as noted in a report from the Harvard Business Review.

Building smarter teams means combining the right mix of technology with a focus on talent development. 

6. Financial and Operational Strategies Are Becoming Aligned Through Better Collaboration

FP&A teams are moving beyond traditional silos and working more closely with other departments to create a unified approach to business planning. They help align financial and operational strategies by leveraging integrated reporting and analytics, ensuring the whole organization is working toward the same goals.

By effectively sharing financial insights, FP&A can help other departments, such as marketing, operations and IT, make more informed decisions. This approach also allows for fine-tuned financial strategies to directly support and enhance operational objectives.

By improving communication across departments, companies can unlock opportunities and act swiftly on challenges while maintaining a cohesive strategy. 

For example, closer collaboration between finance and  IT can accelerate technology adoption and finance transformation, while engagement with marketing teams can provide deeper insights into revenue forecasting and customer acquisition strategies.

Chris discusses the shift FP&A teams should expect as they move beyond traditional roles to become key drivers of strategic alignment with other departments:

“2025 will see FP&A teams transition from being data reporters to thought leaders, working closely with other departments to align financial plans with the wider business.”

- Chris Harman, Founder and Director, Candura

Dominic provides further insight into the growing strategic role of FP&A, stressing that finance should be seen as a core business partner rather than a support function:

“The office of finance of the 21st century should be seen as the hub of business intelligence and make the final transition from overhead to a strategic partner.”

- Dominic DiBernardo, Partner & CPM Practice Lead at Citrin Cooperman

Organizations with strong cross-functional collaboration report higher levels of efficiency, innovation and resilience, research finds: 

• According to a joint study from Airtable and Forrester, organizations that improve cross-functional collaboration and alignment can save up to 12 hours a week while avoiding the revenue losses experienced by 31% of companies due to silos, inaccurate data and broken processes. 

As business operations become more complex, FP&A teams have a unique opportunity to position themselves as indispensable partners in achieving company-wide success.

7. FP&A Teams Are Incorporating ESG Data To Deliver Financial and Strategic Success

As environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors become critical to stakeholders—including investors, employees and customers—FP&A teams are taking a leading role in aligning sustainability goals with financial strategies. 

For FP&A teams, this means integrating sustainability metrics into forecasts, developing cost-effective strategies for ESG compliance and measuring the ROI of green initiatives.

This focus on environmental and social impact is increasingly backed by compelling ESG statistics:

• According to McKinsey, nearly half (43%) of businesses report seeing financial benefits from their ESG initiatives, though the full impact often requires time to materialize.

• Another McKinsey study shows that purpose-driven brands increase their value at more than twice the rate of those focused purely on profit.

Regulatory shifts are further amplifying the focus on sustainability, particularly in regions such as the European Union, where mandatory sustainability reporting is becoming the norm under initiatives including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). 

As Rogier explains, this shift is not just about compliance—it's about adapting to meet new regulatory demands:

"Larger companies, at least in Europe, are going to focus much more on CSRD-related reporting in 2025 because they are forced to. This has an impact on their data, systems and overall focus."

- Rogier Louter, Lead Consultant, Finext

Forward-thinking FP&A teams are preparing for new sustainability reporting requirements by integrating ESG considerations into their financial strategies. Rather than simply following a trend, they are building systems now to ensure compliance, align with stakeholder expectations and drive long-term financial results.

Empowering Finance Teams To Lead the Future of  FP&A

These seven FP&A trends highlight the evolving demands on finance teams in 2025. These shifts call for FP&A professionals to move beyond traditional roles, driving innovation, agility and strategic partnerships across their organizations.

By proactively adopting these trends, FP&A teams can remain competitive and deliver greater value. Vena’s integrated planning solutions empower teams to confidently navigate these changes, streamline processes, unlock insights and drive smarter, more sustainable financial strategies.