In this special edition of The Finance Fix, I'm excited to feature Suresh Bala, a veteran in planning, reporting, and analytics. With a track record of innovation at companies like Adaptive Insights and Workday Adaptive Planning, he now joins us at Cube as Chief Product and Technology Officer.

Suresh's expertise offers a fresh perspective on the challenges and opportunities in finance today. In this exclusive Q&A, we'll uncover new insights with Suresh on key skills, the latest trends, and effective leadership, all aimed at boosting our impact in the finance world.

Happy planning,
Christina

CTO for CFOs: Q&A with Suresh Bala

What do you think are the significant opportunities and obstacles facing finance leaders today?

There's a notable trend towards the demand for more accessible and powerful planning tools among finance teams. Many are looking for ways to streamline their processes without sacrificing depth or flexibility. This is where the industry sees a substantial gap—the need for tools that are intuitive yet capable of handling complex financial planning and analysis.

The key opportunity lies in addressing this gap effectively. Finance leaders are in a unique position to drive change within their organizations by advocating for and adopting solutions that enhance their strategic capabilities. Yes, it's about finding a new tool, but it's more so about creating a culture of innovation and efficiency that can impact the bottom line.

On the flip side, the broader economic environment poses a challenge. Uncertainty, be it from potential recessions or market fluctuations, requires finance leaders to be even more agile and forward-thinking. The ability to adapt to changing conditions, anticipate risks, and plan accordingly is more critical than ever, and robust planning and analysis tools can provide the insights needed to navigate these uncertainties.

With your extensive experience in the FP&A space, what industry trends should finance pros be aware of?

There are several key trends to watch. First, extended planning and analysis (XP&A) emphasize the need for planning across all organizational functions, not just finance. 

Sales, for example, has to do sales planning. They're trying to come up with how many sales people they need, what kind of quota they should carry, and what kind of territories they should be covering. Similarly, marketing needs to do its marketing planning. HR needs to do workforce planning. IT needs to do its own planning. So the reality is that every functional area in an organization needs to be able to plan.

The ideal solution is to support all the different planning use cases and then bring them together in a holistic way. I think the next generation of planning applications and how they really meet the needs of the broader organization, even beyond finance, is one trend to look out for.

Second, distributed planning has become more relevant, especially post-pandemic, necessitating tools that facilitate asynchronous collaboration. Finance leaders are asking themselves how to coordinate and orchestrate this kind of a distributed planning process to come up with a holistic, company-wide financial plan.

Lastly, AI and ML technologies are increasingly important for improving forecasting accuracy and decision-making. At the end of the day, planning is about forecasting. It's about predicting the future in many ways. It's fair to argue that tools like AI and ML will help you predict that better, and as a result, make better business decisions.

What inspired you to join Cube?

In joining Cube, I was immediately drawn to the core thesis that resonated deeply with my own experiences. Finance professionals essentially grow up on Excel. They love it, and for good reason. Excel's ability to compactly present large volumes of data and complex amounts of information is unparalleled, but it falters with multiple users and complex flows. 

The Cube philosophy, as Christina introduced to me, proposes not abandoning Excel but enhancing it. It suggests preserving the Excel front end, providing a powerful engine behind the scenes for data calculation and analysis. This approach mirrored an idea I harbored since 2013—an Excel-centric planning solution that never came to fruition until now.

My role at Cube is driven by three priorities: creating products that are easy to use, flexible, and fast. The goal is to offer a solution where finance teams don't just cope with Excel's limitations, but thrive—leveraging a system that delivers insights at the speed of thought. This vision aligns perfectly with my belief in Cube's potential to redefine planning solutions, grounding our efforts in the real-world demands of finance professionals.

What other content would you like to see from us?

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Essential reads: How to plan for success

1. How to find a competitive edge through XP&A

This insightful blog on xP&A dives into the nuances of extending traditional FP&A beyond finance departments. It's worth a read, especially if you're exploring ways to enhance strategic planning processes.

2. The all-in-one financial planning calendar

If you're looking to come up with a holistic, company-wide financial plan, I highly recommend checking out this financial planning calendar template. It's packed with valuable tips on organizing the planning process effectively to boost efficiency and ensure success.