Simon O'Hara, Head of FP&A at CMO Group PLC is a qualified certified accountant and family man who has a strong background in FP&A in the retail sector. He has worked with some very notable brand names from within both the PE and Corporate sector. He provides us with his insight into FP&A, where he can add value and what excites him about the role.

Tell us about your current role

I currently head up the financial planning analysis function at CMO Group PLC, the UK largest online-only retailer of building materials. I joined CMO in September 2023, in newly created role to build out the FP&A and business partnering function of the business.

Prior to joining CMO I have worked across high street retail PLCs and PE backed SMEs, with the majority my career focussed within the commercial finance areas of the business. Whilst the industry and size of business has varied, the objectives often remain the same, to ensure the business has full visibility of the opportunities and challenges it faces and to support and be part of the decision-making centres of the business.

I see the role as a key bridge between the financial accounting functions of the business and the wider operational teams. A key skill required to become a successful FP&A specialist is to be able to converse and influence all areas and seniority within the business. Communicating complex financial information to members of the team with varying levels of financial literacy. Often most FP&A managers have come from a business partnering background and enjoy understanding the key drivers and challenges within the business – not only financial, to help the business achieve their stated objectives.

Within my first year in role, the key objectives were to flesh out the budgetary, forecasting and control processes of the business. Being a new position within the organisation I had a relative blank canvas, so the majority of my first 12 months was spent building the financial models, reporting packs and data analysis tools to help support the c-suites understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the business. Building relationships across all areas of the business has been a key goal of mine to understand what drives the business forward, get to know the people!

When I started my career there was little in the way of business partnering and dedicated FP&A functions. The role was often undertaken by the management accounting and financial reporting areas of the business. As businesses seek to better understand their performance and take a proactive forward-looking view on the financials, the attractiveness of having a dedicated function within finance has seen more and more businesses embrace a strong FP&A function.

What attracted you to become an FP&A specialist?

Like most people my career has evolved over time. When I graduated with an accounting and finance degree, I decided that the more traditional practice route into a finance career was not something I wished to pursue. I wanted to learn all aspects of the finance function to see where I best fit, I quickly realised my skill set lay with utilising my finance background to help facilitate and be part of the decision-making process within other departments. I enjoyed the problem-solving and wider business interaction that comes on the operational side of the business and believe strongly that high functioning teams are those that incorporate many different skill sets and personality types. This led me down the business partnering route and the natural progression into FP&A that this presents.

In the future I would like to continue to evolve as a finance professional. Ideally, I would like to continue to move forward within commercial finance, potentially moving into a Finance Director or Head of Commercial Finance position. The main benefit of heading up the FP&A function is that you are involved in every aspect of the business. The broad exposure you have with full review of P&L, balance sheet and cashflows means you gain an invaluable understanding of how the business operates. This exposure really gives you the tools to move across multiple areas of any business, not just the finance function.

Whilst most finance functions look retrospectively at the past performance of the business, a strong FP&A function will always be looking forward on how to improve business performance over the short, medium and long term. Whilst it is important for all finance professionals to understand the reporting requirements of the business and the need to adhere to the guidance set out by the regulatory bodies, the FP&A function should be focussed on continually improving business performance as opposed to just the standard reporting cycles.

The role is continually evolving, and whilst I do not have a crystal ball its fair to say technology advancements are moving at an ever-increasing pace, with more and more tools available to the finance professional. The industry is going to continue seeing a shift away from data collation and analytics to interpretation of the data provided through the systems in place at your place of work. The role of a commercial finance professional will be to ensure that the data is accurate and reliable, then using your own business knowledge and insight to help interpret the data and feed back to the wider business to facilitate sound decision making.

What would be your advice to anyone considering a career in FP&A?

A career within FP&A is extremely rewarding, if you enjoy fast paced environments, problem solving, meeting and interacting with new people and being part of the decision-making process then it is a fulfilling career within finance.

The main piece of advice I would give to anybody looking to enter a FP&A or similar commercial finance career it would be to embrace change. I think most people within any industry would say that the last 4 years has been especially difficult from a planning perspective, with multiple macro-economic events (Covid, the cost-of-living crisis) disrupting every aspect of our lives, not just our professional lives. Whilst living through these events often makes them feel unique, the truth is that the environment a business operates within is constantly changing. The value of the FP&A function is to help identify and take advantage of any opportunities the market may present and shelter the business from any negative shocks it may face.

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