The Reporting-Week Survival Plan (PDF Guide for FP&A)

The books close on BD5 and the pack still goes out on BD10. The gap isn't the analysis. It's waiting on accounting, rebuilding the same pack, chasing owners for the "why" and rewriting notes after review. This guide closes that gap, one step at a time.

The 10 steps

1. Map your current reporting cycle and find the critical path
2. Agree the handoff with accounting: preliminary numbers early, final on a set day
3. Set a reporting calendar in business days, from close to send
4. Standardize the pack, and cut the pages nobody reads
5. Decide what needs explaining, with written $ and % thresholds
6. Get the "why" from owners without chasing, with word-for-word emails
7. Write commentary people read: the one-sentence formula and before/after rewrites
8. Use AI as your first-draft writer, with guardrails
9. Send a one-page summary leadership reads on a phone
10. Review once, then hold a 15-minute retro

Also inside: a self-check that shows where your cycle breaks down, one worked example company followed from BD10 to BD7, ideas for SaaS, services, manufacturing and nonprofit commentary, the most common reporting-week killers and how to defuse them, and the monthly routine and commentary standard on one page each.

Every step ends with a short "Your Output" checklist, so you know when you're done.

Format: PDF, 18 pages. Stamped with your email at purchase.

Want the Excel toolkit and AI prompts too? The Reporting-Week Kit has all three.