Howard Tunnicliffe: How FP&A Drives Revenue at The Economist

Howard Tunnicliffe studied chemistry originally. Once he realized he “wasn’t the greatest experimental chemist ever” he made a switch to finance.

It was during an audit contractor role at US tech company Dell in 2007 that his eyes were opened to an unseen part of finance: the “rockstars of FP&A”. He saw FP&A as a  place which joined “psychology” with the “nuts and bolts of how companies actually make money”. 

Howard is now Head of FP&A in the subscriptions business at The Economist. The newspaper dates from 1843 and is consumed by 1,185,000 of the most highly influential subscribers in the world.

In this practical and frank episode, Howard reveals the inside story of his career in  FP&A and how a revamped FP&A function has driven growth at The Economist. 

Howard talks with Paul about:

• How a relationship break up caused Howard to focus on soft skills that now define his career
• How the FP&A team are told to find analysis and insights which contribute to paying back their salaries up to five-times
• Moving core metrics from “volume” to “value” as a response to digitization of news 
• The importance of moving from hybrid roles to “centers of excellence” in finance 
• The key to successful business partnering with sales and marketing teams concentrating on drivers which bring sales
• How FP&A managed a pricing strategy that increased total revenue by 15% and customer lifetime value by 20% 
• Though “unglamorous”, how listening in finance is key to all good finance work
• Book recommendations to enhance soft skills that have transformed his career
• His favorite Excel function!

Book Recommendations from Howard 

• Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism,
• Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog
• Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

Howard’s Courses

Grab these courses offered by Howard Tunnicliffe  to improve your Soft Skills in Finance:

• Become a Confident Networker
• Leadership and Influencing

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Read the Blog and Full Program Transcript

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube

To suggest a great guest for the show, or if you would like to be the FP&A Leader being interviewed contact jonathan.m@datarails.com