Chart a path to growth with scenario planning

The COVID-19 crisis has shown us that business leaders can’t place their bets on one outcome. Instead, they’ve had to ask, “Will there be fundamental changes to our business model, and to our customers’ expectations?” “What new opportunities will arise?” “How can we position ourselves for recovery and growth?”

Boards and other stakeholders are looking to the CFO and finance team to help provide answers, and to make tough decisions that will have a lasting impact. Enter scenario planning, a tool that gives finance the agility to visualize multiple “what-if” scenarios, and assess how to best respond to each one. This strategic planning method integrates cash-flow and business forecasting, so organizations can balance short-term needs with long-term priorities.

“After 10 years of positive economic conditions, a lot of organizations had deprioritized or shifted focus away from the overall discipline of strategic planning. A lot of organizations are now starting to shift back toward strategic planning, so it’s creating a renaissance of this capability.” —Scott Leshinski, Managing Director, Huron Consulting

If you’d like to read more about how scenario planning can help, click to download the full report below.

The CFO’s Scenario Planning Starter Kit

How can finance plan accurately in a time when business models, the economy, and technology are undergoing rapid change? What happens when outlier events hit, and your organization isn’t prepared?

Forward-thinking CFOs and their teams are using scenario planning to eliminate some of the guesswork, and to be more prepared in times of uncertainty. You can, too, using these best practices and first steps.