Stop the Quarter End Fire Drill: 3 Proactive Tips from an FP&A Leader

It's 2 AM. I'm staring at spreadsheets, juggling numbers, and trying to make sense of unexpected variances that could derail forecasts. Sound familiar? As the resident storyteller of my organization's financial narrative, these midnight reconciliation sessions are more common than I'd like to admit.

It’s why quarter end close itself is not necessarily what keeps me up at night–it’s the blindspots that happen throughout the quarter and inevitably pop up at the worst time possible, leaving me to play detective.

And when you're constantly dealing with these financial surprises, you're forced to be more conservative with spend. That means you might be unnecessarily restricting investment that could help you outpace competitors.

Why Now Is the Time to Solve This Problem

Every quarter presents the same risk: you get blindsided by a contract renewal or expense uptick you didn't see coming. And worse, now you’re playing financial forensics, starting with an ocean of possibilities that you methodically narrow down. This isn't just annoying—it's time you could be spending on crafting that compelling board narrative, doing strategic planning, or, heaven forbid, sleeping. 

The pain doesn't fall equally either. When forecasts are off and cuts need to be made, G&A is often starved for investment. R&D might be protected as your lifeblood. But marketing? They usually take the hit, despite being active users of various tools and services.

And when you're constantly dealing with these financial surprises, you're forced to be more conservative with spend. That means you might be unnecessarily restricting investment that could help you outpace competitors.

After years in the FP&A seat, here’s some insights I’ve learned along the way to help other finance teams avoid this quarter end fire drill and get some sleep back:

1. The ABC of FP&A: Always Be Forecasting

As finance professionals, we should constantly be forecasting throughout the quarter–even at the contract level. I update our forecast two to three times a week—not structural changes, but tweaks to keep it accurate.

Without contract-specific insight and full spend visibility:

• We're forced to apply generic growth percentages rather than precise forecasts
• We’re having conversations that are too broad and foggy in certain spend areas
• We're constantly playing catch-up rather than looking ahead

When someone asks, "Is this in the budget?"—a question I get almost daily—I should be able to answer with confidence, not with "Well, I guess we assumed a 4% increase, but this renewal came in at 7%..."

2. When There’s a Problem, Bring a Solution

The stakes are high when surprises are brought to the CFO and board. The expectation is clear: don't just bring problems, bring problems and solutions.

For companies striving to achieve cashflow breakeven, these surprises directly impact runway calculations – potentially cutting months off projections that investors track closely. Today's spend surprises can undermine investor confidence during critical fundraising periods.

To maintain a proactive narrative of competent financial stewardship that keeps confidence (and investment) flowing, use reliable market intelligence:

• Comparative price benchmarks
• Potential savings opportunities
• Specific negotiation levers

By doing so, you'll have not just variances to explain, but concrete opportunities to offset them.

3. We're Not Paid to Push Data Around, So Modernize Your Process

Those 10-15 hours per quarter you spend trying to run down variances? They could be the difference between 80-hour weeks around quarter-end and something more reasonable.

Real talk: I'm not paid to be a procurement specialist. I'm paid to provide financial insight that drives growth. Every hour I spend hunting down contract details is an hour I'm not doing my actual job.

It's 2025. AI has transformed everything. Why are we still managing contracts and spend like it's 2005?

Modern spend management isn't just about avoiding surprises—it's about proactively turning contract data into strategic insight. Imagine:

• Seeing renewal obligations months in advance
• Understanding exactly how contract changes will impact departmental budgets
• Having specific, contract-by-contract forecasts
• Being able to answer "Is this in the budget?" with confidence
• Spending your time on analysis instead of data wrangling

Those 10-15 hours per quarter you spend trying to run down variances? They could be the difference between 80-hour weeks around quarter-end and something more reasonable.

But more importantly, automated spend management lets you pull insights into non-crunch periods rather than waiting until quarter-end when you're already slammed.

Your Choice: Pain or Progress

Someone once told me that people only change when the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of change. For many finance professionals, we've normalized the pain of manual processes—the late nights, the stress, the reactive scrambling.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

By modernizing how you manage spend, you can pull insights into non-crunch periods rather than waiting until quarter-end when you're already slammed. You can have insights pushed to you instead of having to remember to pull them.

The financial storytelling at the heart of our role becomes richer, more accurate, and actually enjoyable again. And maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to sleep through the night at quarter end close.