THE INCREMENTAL PATHWAY / CFO

ADVANCED · sample brief and output

Illustrative. Adapted to your requirements.
Our 80/20 approach uses a shared structure, then tailors the priority, data, tools, controls and success measures. The balance varies with your needs; it is not a fixed scope or a promise of results.

Sample output: decision worksheet

Which response protects contribution with an acceptable volume downside?

Scenario	Contribution	Assumption
No action	£320,000	Freight £8; price £100
Recover price	£350,000	Price £103; volume unchanged
Volume downside	£339,500	Price £103; volume 9,700

Decision context

An illustrative 10,000 units at £100, product cost £60 and freight £5 generates £350,000 contribution. Freight at £8 reduces it to £320,000. A £3 price increase restores £350,000 only if volume holds; at 9,700 units, contribution is £339,500. The output is a choice with sensitivities, not just a faster report.

Build and check

Use permitted sources and record their date and owner.
Ask approved AI tools to propose the model or asset and explain its assumptions.
Review calculations, reasoning and evidence links against the original source.
Test an ordinary case, an exception and a missing-input case.
Record the reviewer, version and boundaries before use.

Handover

Excel: source register, assumptions, scenarios, contribution bridge and formula checks.
Treasury: 13-week cash forecast, minimum-buffer exceptions and action register.
IR: approved-fact register, narrative bridge and draft investor Q&A with source references.
Investment: incremental cash case, capacity allocation and benefit-owner register.

Conditions

Financial accuracy, source reconciliation and authorised disclosure remain release conditions. A saved hour is not automatically a cash saving.

Back to the CFO page

Your first pilot and scale decision

Illustrative scope: One business unit’s monthly performance review

Core team: FP&A lead + business partner + budget owner

Capacity goes into: Earlier margin decisions, with reconciled numbers

Scale gate: Finance validates full costs, cash timing and capacity actually redeployed. Treasury and IR can follow with their own acceptance criteria.

Connected ownership: Commercial and Operations owners agree the action; Finance tracks the realised benefit.

Agree scope, fees, participant effort, approved data and success thresholds before starting. Adapt by business unit and region; examples are not verified client results.