Fortune 500 to Startups: Multi-industry FP&A Leader Geetha Ramachandran
Jun 25, 2024
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Geetha Ramachandran, an FP&A change agent, discusses her career journey from big corporations to startups, focusing on transforming operations. She shares key achievements like reducing days of closing, establishing KPIs aligned with business goals, and addressing challenges at multinational companies. Geetha also talks about her approach at Triangle Home during COVID, lessons from two decades in business partnering, and the impact of AI on finance professionals.
Geetha emphasizes the importance of aligning KPIs with business goals to drive impactful strategies in FP&A departments.
She shares her insights on handling challenges while integrating multiple companies and restructuring finance teams in large corporations like Cummins.
Geetha discusses the shift from FP&A operations in Fortune 500 companies to startups, highlighting differences in approach and pace.
Her strategic approach at Triangle Home Fashions during COVID involved optimizing inventory levels to adapt to changing market demands.
Deep dives
Geetha Ramachandran's Background and Expertise in FPNA
Geetha Ramachandran, a seasoned finance director with over 15 years of strategic expertise in financial planning and analysis, has worked with Fortune 500 companies like Cummins and General Electric. She excels in driving profitability through business partnering, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic recommendations. Geetha's achievements include receiving prestigious awards and recognition for her contributions in finance.
Geetha Ramachandran's Career Journey and Strategic Approach
Starting as an auditor at PwC India, Geetha transitioned to finance, pursuing a master's degree in finance and excelling as an equity research analyst. She then led commercial finance roles at GE Healthcare and Cummins, gaining extensive exposure to operational intricacies and business dynamics. Geetha's strategic approach involves challenging the status quo, initiating process simplification, automation, and strategic planning to drive business performance.
Geetha Ramachandran's Experience in Chartered Accounting and Strategic Finance
Geetha's Chartered Accountant and master's degree in finance background equipped her with a strong foundation in accounting and financial planning. She highlighted the rigorous training and comprehensive nature of the Chartered Accountancy exam in India, emphasizing the importance of practical experience and theoretical knowledge. Geetha's commitment to continuous improvement and learning drives her success in strategic financial roles.
Geetha Ramachandran's Focus on KPIs and Strategic Planning
Geetha emphasizes aligning key performance indicators (KPIs) with organizational goals and focusing on critical business challenges to drive impactful strategies. She advocates for establishing a limited set of KPIs per department, aligning them with business drivers, and ensuring stakeholder buy-in to enhance KPI effectiveness. By prioritizing strategic planning, performance measurement, and collaboration, Geetha optimizes financial metrics and supports organizational growth.
Geetha Ramachandran's Insights on AI and Future Trends in FPNA
Geetha recognizes AI as a transformative force in financial planning and analysis (FPNA), streamlining processes, enhancing forecasting accuracy, and aiding decision-making. She emphasizes the importance of upskilling and change management in adopting AI tools to overcome challenges such as cost, data security, and governance. Geetha anticipates increasing reliance on generative AI, integrated into FPNA software, revolutionizing efficiency and strategic insights for financial professionals.
Geetha Ramachandran's Work-Life Balance and Quadrant Approach
Geetha discusses maintaining work-life balance by dividing her focus into work, family, health, and hobbies/social life quadrants. She highlights the importance of flexibility, seeking supportive work environments, choosing mentors and bosses wisely, and adopting an outcome-oriented approach to manage professional and personal responsibilities effectively. Geetha's quadrant strategy enables her to navigate career demands while prioritizing personal well-being and interests.
Geetha identifies pivot tables as her favorite Excel function for their efficiency in data analysis and visualization. She values the ability of pivot tables to swiftly dissect complex data sets, enabling focused analysis and decision-making. Geetha highlights pivot tables as a versatile tool for slicing and presenting data, enhancing reporting accuracy, and optimizing financial insights.
Geetha Ramachandran's Industry Insights and Expertise in FPNA Today Podcast
Geetha Ramachandran's industry insights and expertise in financial planning and analysis were showcased in the FPNA Today podcast. She shared valuable perspectives on career progression, industry-specific strategies, leveraging technology in finance, and achieving work-life balance. Geetha's comprehensive experience, strategic acumen, and commitment to excellence in FPNA were highlighted throughout the podcast episode.
Geetha Ramachandran is an FP&A change agent. She helped transform FP&A operations at GE Healthcare and Cummins (“When I walked into the FP&A at GE Healthcare, and I saw the close was eight days, my approach to things is usually I don’t take things just on face value or just because someone has been doing something a particular way).”
Geetha has since swapped supersized companies for startups, most recently leading FP&A at fast-growing businesses including SimpleTire. In her current role as Head of FP&A at New Jersey decor company, Triangle Home Fashions, she continues to propel FP&A as a “co-captain” in the business.
In this episode Geetha reveals:
Her career journey from PwC auditor to equity research to GE Healthcare
The CPA in India and why the pass rate is only 10%
Key FP&A achievements including shrinking number of days of closing from 8 days and spending more time on value added activities
How to better establish KPIs for departments aligned with business goals
Presenting KPIs for improving warehouse efficiency at Triangle Home Fashions (pick and pack time, average utilization, inventory turnover, SKUS meeting minimal sales threshold)
The challenges at multinational manufacturer, Cummins, integrating four companies and restructuring the finance team at a time of low morale
Doing FP&A at company as fast as Simple Tire vs more mature business
Her approach at Triangle Home with inventory levels purchased during COVID
