AI is flooding finance with promises of speed, precision, and automation — but the reality inside FP&A looks very different. This episode cuts through the hype and dives into the uncomfortable truth: AI doesn’t repair financial systems. It reveals them. When companies announce “AI-powered forecasting,” FP&A teams know what really happens next. The machine ingests legacy logic, inconsistent drivers, timing drift, and half-defined categories—and amplifies every flaw.

Executives celebrate innovation. Controllers still clean spreadsheets manually. FP&A becomes the buffer between expectation and reality.

This episode breaks down why AI struggles inside messy finance environments, what it exposes first, and how teams can prepare before the technology multiplies their blind spots. No buzzwords. No corporate spin. Just an honest look at AI’s impact on forecasting, logic structure, and the day-to-day work of FP&A.

If you’ve ever heard “AI will fix this” and felt a knot in your stomach, this is the episode that finally explains why.

When the spreadsheet says “stable” but the business doesn’t, FP&A enters its most uncomfortable—and most important—territory. In this episode of FP&A Daily, Sarah Schlott breaks down the quiet tension every finance operator knows too well: the numbers look calm, the dashboards look clean, but the lived reality of the business is shifting under your feet. This isn’t a miss. It’s drift. The subtle, early signals that appear long before a variance ever hits a deck.

Sarah unpacks why Q1 exposes this more than any other time of year, how models fall out of sync with real operations, and why the best FP&A teams don’t wait for data to “prove” what instinct already knows. You’ll learn how to read operator noise as early-warning data, how to spot misalignment before it becomes narrative, and how to keep your model awake when the world moves faster than your logic.

If your numbers say “fine” but something in your gut says otherwise—this is the episode you needed.

When markets turn erratic, the numbers don’t just shift — they speak.

In this episode of FP&A Daily, Sarah Schlott explores how volatility exposes the truthfulness of your systems. She unpacks why most models don’t fail dramatically — they decay quietly — and why “stability” in finance often disguises brittleness. Through lived experience and sharp analogies, she reveals how to design FP&A architecture that bends without breaking, how to turn chaos into clarity, and how to build forecasts that listen when the market starts shouting.

Because in the end, volatility doesn’t destroy systems. It reveals who built them to last.

In this episode of FP&A Daily, Sarah Schlott shares the quiet beginning of a finance transformation — when a growing company admits it’s outgrown its own systems. Through reflection, design, and deliberate discipline, she reveals how FP&A as a Service turns complexity into clarity. This isn’t about software or spectacle — it’s about the architecture of endurance, the patience to build slow, and the courage to rebuild finance as something living.

FP&A Daily is the show for people who live and breathe financial storytelling — not the kind with buzzwords and dashboards, but the kind forged under pressure. Hosted by Sarah Schlott, a fractional CFO, Excel engineer, and system-architect for high-growth companies, this podcast pulls the curtain back on what really happens inside FP&A when the numbers stop adding up and leadership starts asking why.

Every episode cuts through the noise that surrounds modern finance — the obsession with accuracy, the worship of precision, the theater of meetings where truth quietly loses to confidence. Sarah takes listeners inside the moments most teams never talk about: the late-night forecast rewrites, the cross-functional chaos, the heroic saves that go unnoticed, and the quiet breakdowns hidden behind perfect slides.

Through lived operator experience, not theory, FP&A Daily explores how financial planning & analysis actually works when you leave the textbooks and face the business in motion. You’ll learn how great operators design systems that self-audit, fail loud, and earn trust across leadership. How to turn models into mechanisms that think for themselves. And how to build an FP&A function that doesn’t just predict performance — it shapes it.

Sarah brings 18 years of experience designing adaptive forecasting systems, driver-based models, and Excel frameworks for SaaS, manufacturing, and private-equity-backed companies. But this isn’t a show about formulas — it’s about judgment. Each story is grounded in how analysts, finance directors, and CFOs make decisions when data, politics, and uncertainty collide.

Expect a mix of storytelling, frameworks, and philosophy:

• How to rebuild a broken forecast into a system of signal vs. noise.
• Why “business partnering” is more engineering than empathy.
• The hidden risks inside clean dashboards.
• How spreadsheet design reveals leadership culture.
• Why real analysts stress-test logic, not just numbers.

You’ll hear real-world post-mortems from budgets gone sideways, board decks that backfired, and models that taught entire companies what truth actually costs. Sarah’s calm, cinematic narration style turns each episode into a lived case study — one that blends finance, psychology, and system design into lessons you can act on immediately.

FP&A Daily challenges the sacred cows of corporate finance: accuracy worship, forecast theater, and the myth that control equals clarity. Instead, it invites operators to think like architects — building systems that stay honest when reality shifts.

Whether you’re a CFO, FP&A analyst, controller, founder, or investor, this podcast is your weekly reset button — reminding you that finance isn’t about getting the numbers perfect. It’s about building models and teams that stay truthful when things go off-script.

If you’ve ever felt the quiet tension between what your spreadsheet says and what your gut knows — this show is for you.

New episodes every week. Real stories. Real systems. Finance, without the filter.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of FP&A Daily, your compass in the vast and vibrant world of Finance, Planning, and Analysis. I'm Charlie McClain, thrilled to be your guide and companion on this journey through the intricacies of FP&A. Here, we aim to bridge the gap between complex financial concepts and practical, actionable insights. Whether you're a finance aficionado or a newcomer eager to learn, this podcast promises to be your go-to source for all things FP&A.

FP&A isn't just about numbers; it's the art and science of steering businesses towards growth and stability. From budgeting to forecasting, from strategic planning to analysis, we'll cover the essential topics that matter. Expect deep dives into financial modeling, cash flow management, and how economic trends impact corporate strategies. We'll also explore how innovation and technology are reshaping the FP&A landscape, making it more crucial than ever.

But that's not all – we're here to build a community. A space where ideas flow freely, questions are encouraged, and learning is continuous. With each episode, we'll bring you expert insights, success stories, and practical tips you can apply to your own financial journey or business strategy.

So mark your calendars for our flagship show on April 15th, 2024. It's set to be a game-changer, packed with enlightening content tailored for our FP&A Daily family. Join us as we make finance accessible, engaging, and, most importantly, impactful. Your adventure into the world of FP&A starts here, and we're excited to have you on this journey. Welcome to FP&A Daily – let's dive into the world of finance together and unlock the secrets to navigating business success.