The Accidental FP&A Team: A Private Equity Tradition

The Beautiful Mess Behind Most First FP&A Teams

In many private equity-backed companies, the FP&A team doesn’t start with a vision. It starts with… survival.

It’s usually a few people spun out of accounting, a handful of legacy reports, and a CFO who just got asked for a 3-year forecast by the board, with nothing but last year’s actuals and a hopeful PowerPoint to start from.

Welcome to the world of accidental FP&A.

At Thamesbridge Consulting, we’ve seen it many times: a business growing fast, cash moving quickly, and a sense that someone—anyone—needs to "own the numbers."

So what happens?

You get a mix of:

• Accountants who were “good with Excel”

• Analysts with no context but great enthusiasm

• Budget owners Googling “what is a KPI”

• And reporting cycles built entirely on Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V

And yet, somehow, that group is now responsible for building forecasts, managing budgets, explaining variances, and partnering with business leaders to drive strategic decisions. Sound familiar?

If you’re one of these early hires, or the leader trying to guide this kind of team, this post is for you.

What to Do If You’ve Inherited (or Become) the Accidental FP&A Team

First of all: it’s okay.
There’s no judgment here, just reality. Most PE-backed companies start this way. But that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way.

Here are some key principles for turning that beautiful mess into a high-impact finance function:

📌 If You’re in the Seat (Without the Training):

• It’s okay not to know everything. You weren’t handed a playbook because one doesn’t exist—yet.

• Ask questions constantly. Great FP&A isn’t about spreadsheets, it’s about what the numbers mean.

• Talk to the business. You’re not just crunching data, you’re building trust. Partnering is the job.

• Focus on clarity, not complexity. A great forecast isn’t impressive, it’s useful.

• Find a mentor or guide. Even a few hours with someone experienced can unlock major clarity.

📌 If You’re Leading or Building the Team:

• Hire for curiosity and communication, not just technical skill. FP&A is about business sense as much as modeling.

• Make space for learning. Most people arrive with gaps, help them close them.

• Drive collaboration early. Don’t just report results after the fact, partner from the beginning.

• Be the advocate for structure, storytelling, and strategy. Your team isn’t just here to analyze, they’re here to align.

Bridging the Skill Gap: Why Outside Support Matters

Let’s be honest: hiring experienced FP&A talent is hard. Training them is even harder when timelines are short and expectations are high.

That’s where firms like Thamesbridge Consulting come in. We help companies:

• Build or restructure FP&A teams from the ground up

• Define roles, tools, and workflows that support growth

• Train existing team members on best practices, financial storytelling, and scalable modeling

• Serve as fractional leaders or advisors while you scale

Sometimes the gap isn’t talent, it’s time. And we bring both speed and structure to help you scale smarter, not just faster.

Want to Level Up Your Team? Start Here.

Whether you’re an “accidental analyst” or a CFO trying to build structure out of spreadsheets, these resources can help:

💡 FP&A Hiring & Skills Guides

• AFP FP&A Job Descriptions & Competency Framework – Solid starting point for defining roles and capabilities

• FP&A Trends – Articles, events, and insights on what high-performing teams do differently

• Wall Street Prep: FP&A Training – Great for analysts and future managers alike

• Coursera: Business & Financial Modeling Specialization (Wharton) – Accessible, high-quality training with Excel and modeling fundamentals

Final Thought: FP&A isn’t just a function. It’s how companies learn to think forward, partner better, and plan with purpose.

So if your team started without a strategy, know this: you’re not behind, you’re just early.

And like most things in private equity, the messy beginning is part of the story. With the right structure, skills, and support, your accidental FP&A team can become one of the most strategic assets in the business.

Let’s build it right.