Head of FP&A

The Head of FP&A owns the story the business tells itself about its own future. Budget, forecast, long-range plan and the performance narrative to the board all sit in one function, and the credibility of that function rests on whether its numbers have been right before.

The job is less analytical than most people expect. Models are built by the team; the Head's contribution is deciding what the business should be planning towards, which assumptions are being allowed to survive unchallenged, and how to present a deteriorating outlook to a board that would prefer not to hear it.

In Singapore the seat exists in two shapes. In a regional headquarters it is the senior planning voice for Asia-Pacific, reporting into a regional CFO and negotiating constantly with a group function elsewhere. In a listed or PE-backed local group it is closer to the capital markets story, with guidance, covenants and investor expectations attached to the plan.

Where this sits: the top of the FP&A ladder, reached from FP&A Manager or Commercial Finance Manager. The natural onward moves are Finance Director and CFO, and the common lateral is Financial Controller or Head of Finance for candidates who need control depth before a CFO appointment.

• Own the entire planning architecture: annual budget, quarterly reforecasts, monthly performance review and the multi-year strategic plan.
• Set the assumption framework the business plans against — market growth, pricing, cost inflation, headcount and foreign exchange.
• Present performance, outlook and risk to the board, the regional CFO or the group function, with a single defensible view.
• Lead a team of managers and analysts, including structure, hiring, succession and capability development.
• Own forecast credibility as a metric, and intervene where submitters are systematically optimistic.
• Provide the financial evidence base for strategic decisions: market entry, portfolio changes, restructuring and major investment.
• Sponsor the planning technology roadmap and the data foundation beneath it.
• Partner with controllership, treasury and tax so the plan reflects cash, funding and effective tax reality rather than accounting profit alone.

• Twelve or more years of finance experience, including several years leading a planning function or a substantial regional FP&A team.
• A professional qualification is effectively expected: CA (Singapore), ACCA, CIMA or CFA.
• Proven experience presenting to a board, an audit committee or a group leadership team, not merely preparing the material for someone else.
• Regional or multi-market scope is standard for Singapore-based roles, which typically cover Asia-Pacific or Southeast Asia.
• Exposure to a transaction, restructuring, funding round or listing is a strong differentiator for the onward CFO route.
• Evidence of building a team, not just running one — succession is a question boards ask about the function itself.

• Lead with a call you made. Boards hire heads of FP&A for judgement; describe a forecast position you held against pressure and how it resolved.
• Explain your planning architecture. Cycle, cadence, assumption ownership and how top-down targets meet bottom-up submissions.
• Bring a forecast accuracy record. Quantified credibility is the most persuasive evidence available in this interview.
• Describe the team you built. Structure, hires, promotions and who succeeded you — succession is assessed at this level.
• Ask how the plan connects to capital. If planning does not influence investment or incentives, the role is reporting with a large team attached.