Annual Planning in SaaS: Using Benchmarks to Drive Better Decision-Making

In this episode of SaaS Conversations, Tori Danforth, Senior Director of FP&A at Relativity, shares how her team approaches annual planning at scale. From integrating long-range strategic goals to setting departmental targets and navigating trade-offs, Tori offers a detailed look into how benchmarking with external data strengthens both the planning process and cross-functional alignment.

We cover:

• How to connect long-range strategy to annual financial planning

• The role of finance business partners in driving bottom-up alignment

• Using benchmark data to inform investment decisions and trade-offs

• Key metrics and frameworks for plan validation

• Evolving planning processes while maintaining flexibility and trust

• Practical approaches to embedding external data into internal workflows

For finance and operations leaders navigating today’s environment, this conversation offers actionable insights on how to use benchmarking to build better plans and ultimately achieve better outcomes.