A CFO's Guide to Business Planning for the Year Ahead
A practical guide for Founders
Many founders start the year with ambition, revenue targets, hiring plans, and growth ideas. CFO-level planning turns that ambition into a structured, achievable plan.
Here’s how CFOs actually approach business planning, and what you can do to replicate it.
How to Create the Ultimate Business Plan using CFO-Level Expertise:
What Is Your Current Position?
What Are Your Goals For The Year?
Build a Simple 12-Month Financial Plan
Forecast Cashflow (Not Just Profit)
Identify Your Profit Drivers
Create Monthly Management Reports To Monitor Progress
Review and Adjust (This Is the Secret)
Step 1: What Is Your Current Position?
Before planning forward, you need an honest view of where the business stands today.
A CFO would start by pulling together:
Last 12 months’ profit & loss account
Monthly fixed costs
Break-even position
Current cash balance
Action
Write down:
Your average monthly profit
Your monthly cash spend
Your break-even point
If these numbers aren’t clear, planning will be guesswork.
Step 2: What Are Your Goals For The Year?
Instead of setting vague goals like “grow” or “do better”, make sure they’re quantifiable.
Some ideas might be:
X new clients
Net profit margin increase to Y%
Z new team members.
Step 3: Build a Simple 12-Month Financial Plan
You don’t need complex spreadsheets, but you do need structure.
A CFO plan includes:
Monthly revenue targets
Gross profit margin (%age)
Fixed overheads
Capital expenditure
Action:
Create a 12-month plan showing:
Revenue per month
Costs per month
Expected profit
This immediately highlights pressure points and risk periods.
Step 4: Forecast Cashflow (Not Just Profit)
This is where many plans fail.
CFOs always forecast:
When cash comes in
When cash goes out
How growth impacts cash
Action
For each month, note:
Expected cash received
Expected cash paid out
Closing cash balance
Then, stress-test it:
What if revenue is 10% lower?
What if clients pay 10 days late?
Step 5: Identify Your Profit Drivers
Not all revenue is good revenue.
CFOs analyse:
Profit by service type
Profit by sector
Action
Ask:
Which activities deliver the strongest margins?
Which drain time but add little value?
What should you do more of, or less of, this year?
This often unlocks profit growth without extra resource.
Step 6: Create Monthly Management Reports To Monitor Progress
Plans only work if they’re monitored.
A CFO will track:
Revenue vs plan
Profit vs plan
Cash flow vs forecast
5 to 8 key performance indicators
Action
Set a monthly management meeting agenda:
Review actuals vs plan
Review cash forecast
Review outstanding debtors
Identify actions, not just numbers
Step 7: Review and Adjust (This Is the Secret)
CFO-level planning isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being responsive.
Plans should evolve as:
Markets change
Costs shift
Opportunities arise
Action
Commit to:
Monthly reviews
Quarterly re-forecasts
Adjusting decisions early
Final Thought
Strong planning doesn’t remove uncertainty, it reduces surprises.
If the steps above feel overwhelming or time-consuming, that’s exactly where CFO support adds the most value.
We offer a free 30-minute CFO Strategy Session to get started.