FP&A · 5 min read
How to track business investment performance after approval
A five-step framework for CFOs and FP&A teams to connect approved business cases to actual results: Build, Evaluate, Prioritize, Approve, Track.
Why tracking breaks
Most organizations spend weeks building a case and then lose sight of it the moment it is approved. Six months later, nobody can connect performance back to the plan.
A five-step lifecycle
Build: turn an idea into a driver-based case. Evaluate: stress-test assumptions and model scenarios. Prioritize: compare return, risk and strategic fit across bets. Approve: capture sign-off and the success metrics that matter. Track: map actuals back to the original case.
Make the record continuous
The key is keeping one decision record from start to finish. When assumptions, owners, approvals and actuals live in the same place, Finance can see which bets are paying off and use that learning in the next decision.