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Scenario analysis

Turn “what if?” into a finance answer.

Ask our AI agent a business question. It gathers the relevant plans, assumptions and financial position, runs the scenario through your existing model or defined finance logic, and explains the result.

Leadership asks the question. Finance keeps control of the assumptions.

See a scenario runTalk to us
Illustration: the FP&A Agent running a hiring scenario. The question: can we hire 40 additional engineers starting in January? FY26 and FY27 are calendar years: FY26 runs January to December 2026 and FY27 January to December 2027, so the hires start in FY27 and FY26 bears only their recruiting, paid October to December 2026. It used three of the team's models: FY26 Forecast Model.xlsx version 12, Headcount Plan.xlsx and Cash Plan.xlsx. The assumptions: 40 hires, starting 1 January, $145K average loaded cost, a four-month hiring ramp and $12K of recruiting per hire. The result: ‎+$0.48M of recruiting in FY26, within the $0.5M the forecast allows; ‎+$4.8M of FY27 operating expense against $3.0M of room in the plan, which fails; and cash no lower than $20.7M in May 2027, above the $20M minimum. The agent's summary says the scenario adds $1.8M more to FY27 than the plan allows.

Leadership asks in sentences. FP&A answers in models.

Every question from the leadership team turns into an afternoon in the model. The asking takes a minute; the answer takes the rest.

What leadership asks

  • CEO

    Can we hire another 40 engineers?

  • VP Sales

    What happens if we add 20 account executives?

  • CFO

    What if growth comes in five points lower?

  • COO

    Can we open Europe next year?

What FP&A normally does

  1. Translate

    • Find the assumptions
    • Open the latest model
    • Find the latest forecast

  2. Model

    • Update the inputs
    • Check the dependencies
    • Calculate cash
    • Build the scenarios

  3. Validate

    • Validate the outputs

  4. Communicate

    • Explain the results
    • Prepare the slides

The agent handles the model work between the question and the answer.

How a scenario runs.

The question is the only thing that arrives in plain language. Everything after it is assumptions, logic and arithmetic you can check.

The question

Can we hire 40 engineers from January?

  1. Understand the decisionTurn the question into the financial variables it involves.
    Variableshires 40 · start Jan 2027 · loaded cost · ramp · recruiting · minimum cash
  2. Gather the right assumptionsPlans, contracts, headcount, pipeline, cash, pricing and commitments.
    Models + assumptionsForecast Model v12 · Headcount Plan: $145K, 4 months, $12K · Cash Plan: $20M minimum
  3. Use trusted logicRun it through your existing models, spreadsheet formulas, SQL logic and defined business rules.
    Calculation40 hires staged through the 4-month hiring rampModel-calculated FY27 operating expense‎+$4.8M
    View calculation
    FY27 monthEngineers on payroll, averageCost
    Jan5$60K
    Feb15$181K
    Mar25$302K
    Apr35$423K
    May–Dec, 8 months40$3,867K
    FY27 total$4,833K = $4.8M
    • Starts are spread evenly from 1 January over the Headcount Plan's 4-month ramp, so a month's average is the share already started.
    • Each engineer costs $145K a year loaded, $12.083K a month.
    • Recruiting, $12K a hire, is paid in Oct–Dec 2026 and counts in FY26, not here.
  4. Calculate the impactsP&L, cash, the balance sheet where relevant, headcount, runway, and the budget and forecast.
    ImpactsFY26 ‎+$0.48M · FY27 ‎+$4.8M · cash low $20.7M, May 2027
  5. Compare optionsRun alternative values without rebuilding the model by hand.
    Scenarios20 hires: all limits met · 40: 1 limit exceeded · 60: 3 limits exceeded
  6. Explain the trade-offGive leadership the answer, and finance the calculation underneath it.
    Decision40 from January: $1.8M over the FY27 plan. 20 fits every limit.

Decisions finance gets asked to model.

Six questions that land on FP&A every quarter. Each one is a set of assumptions, run through the model the team already trusts.

  • Hiring

    “Can we hire another 40 engineers?”

    Start dates, loaded cost, ramp and recruiting, run against this year's forecast, next year's plan and cash.

    CalculatesOpex by year · cash low point · headcount

  • Pricing

    “What happens if prices increase 5%?”

    Price, volume and churn assumptions, run through revenue, gross margin and collections.

    CalculatesRevenue · gross margin · cash

  • Cost reduction

    “What if operating costs need to fall 10%?”

    Which lines can move and when, with contracts, notice periods and commitments respected.

    CalculatesOpex by line · run rate · EBITDA

  • Sales capacity

    “What does adding 20 account executives do to revenue, burn and cash?”

    Ramp, quota, attainment and cost per rep, against pipeline and the cash plan.

    CalculatesBookings · burn · cash low point

  • New market

    “What does entering a new region cost before breakeven?”

    Set-up, hiring and the revenue ramp for the region, month by month.

    CalculatesInvestment · breakeven month · cash

  • Vendor commitments

    “Can we sign a three-year infrastructure commitment?”

    Committed spend against expected usage, discounts and the cash plan, year by year.

    CalculatesCommitment · savings · cash by year

Worked example

From one question to three scenarios.

The same hiring question at 20, 40 and 60 engineers, each tested against the same three limits. Change an assumption and every figure is calculated again.

Illustration, interactive: hiring scenarios compared by the FP&A Agent. The base case and scenarios of 20, 40 and 60 engineers from January at $145K loaded, each tested against $0.5M of FY26 recruiting, paid October to December 2026; $3.0M of room in the FY27 plan, January to December 2027; and $20M of minimum cash. 20 engineers pass all three; 40 exceed one limit, the FY27 plan; 60 exceed all three. All six inputs can be edited: the hires, the start month, the loaded cost, the hiring ramp, the recruiting cost and the minimum cash, which is a treasury limit. The result, the table's verdicts, the cash chart and the summary are recalculated.
Hiring scenariosFY26 Forecast Model.xlsx v12 · Headcount Plan.xlsx · Cash Plan.xlsx · Fiscal years are calendar years
ScenarioHiresFY26 recruiting · current yearFY27 opex · next yearMinimum cashResult
Up to $0.5MUp to $3.0MAt least $20M
0BaselineBaseline$22.6MWithin plan
20‎+$0.24M‎+$2.4M$21.6MWithin plan
40‎+$0.48M‎+$4.8M$20.7MFY27 exceeds plan
60‎+$0.72M‎+$7.3M$19.7MExceeds all three limits

Assumptions

  • Additional hires40
  • Start date
  • Average loaded cost$145K
    Headcount Plan.xlsx
  • Hiring ramp, months
    Headcount Plan.xlsx
  • Recruiting cost / hire$12K
    Headcount Plan.xlsx

Policy limit

Minimum operating cash$20M
Treasury policy: a limit, not an assumption

Result

1 limit exceededFY27 plan
  • FY26 recruiting‎+$0.48MLimit $0.5M · Oct–Dec 2026Within limit
  • FY27 operating expense‎+$4.8MRoom $3.0M · Jan–Dec 2027Exceeds limit
  • Lowest cash$20.7MMinimum $20M · May 2027Within limit

Agent summary

40 engineers from January break one limit: $1.8M more in FY27 than the plan allows.

AI understands the question. Finance math answers it.

Two layers, kept apart on purpose. The language model reads the question and writes the explanation; the figures come from your models, formulas and rules.

Illustration: how a scenario question is answered in two layers. In the AI layer, the question “What if we hire 40 engineers?” is understood as a headcount decision with a start date, a loaded cost, a recruiting cost and a cash constraint. A calculation is requested from the finance calculation layer, whose inputs are FY26 Forecast Model.xlsx, Headcount Plan.xlsx, Cash Plan.xlsx and the defined assumptions; its logic is spreadsheet formulas, business rules and SQL logic where relevant; and its outputs are the P&L impact, ‎+$4.8M of FY27 operating expense, the cash impact, a low of $20.7M in May 2027, and the plan impact, $1.8M over the FY27 plan.

The explanation can be AI-generated. The numbers are calculated.

Keep asking without rebuilding the model.

Each follow-up changes an assumption, not the spreadsheet. The agent recalculates, keeps the previous answers, and says what moved.

Illustration: a conversation with the FP&A Agent about the hiring scenario. 40 engineers from January fail the FY27 plan, adding $4.8M against $3.0M of room. Starting in March brings FY27 to $3.9M, still $0.9M over. With half of them in Europe at $110K loaded, FY27 is $3.4M, $0.4M over; cash stays at $21.6M or above. Asked to keep cash above $22M, the agent proposes two options that pass every limit: 20 engineers from March, half in Europe, $1.7M in FY27 and cash no lower than $22.1M; and 30 from April, half in Europe, $2.2M in FY27 and cash no lower than $22.1M. Both are drafted onto slides 8 and 9 of Q3 Board Report.pptx, ready for review.

Keep the assumptions attached to the decision.

The scenario that went to the board is a record, not a screenshot: who asked, what it assumed, how it was calculated and who signed it off.

Illustration: the record of the scenario that went to the board, 30 engineers from April with half in Europe. Asked by the CEO, prepared by the FP&A Agent from three models and five assumptions, calculation version 3.5, reviewed by Sarah Chen, VP FP&A, and approved; included in Q3 Board Report.pptx, slide 9. Its assumptions: 30 hires from 1 April 2027, $145K loaded in the US and $110K in Europe, a four-month ramp and $12K of recruiting per hire. Its results: ‎+$0.36M of FY26 recruiting, ‎+$2.2M of FY27 operating expense and cash no lower than $22.1M in May 2027. Its versions run from 3.2, 40 engineers from January, through a March start and half in Europe, to 3.5, the options that keep cash above $22M.
Scenario record30 engineers from April, half in EuropeApproved
Asked by
CEO
Prepared by
FP&A Agent
Reviewed by
Sarah ChenVP FP&A
Models
3 models
Assumptions
5 defined
Calculation version
v3.5
Included in
Q3 Board Report.pptxSlide 9
Assumptions5 defined
Additional hires
30From the v3.5 options
Start date
1 Apr 2027From the v3.5 options
Loaded cost
$145K US · $110K EuropeHeadcount Plan.xlsx
Hiring ramp
4 monthsHeadcount Plan.xlsx
Recruiting cost / hire
$12KHeadcount Plan.xlsx
ResultsAll three limits met
  • FY26 recruiting · Oct–Dec 2026‎+$0.36M
  • FY27 opex · Jan–Dec 2027‎+$2.2M
  • Cash low · May 2027$22.1M
Calculation versionsv3.2 to v3.5
  1. v3.240 engineers from January
  2. v3.3Start moved to March
  3. v3.4Half in Europe
  4. v3.5Options with cash above $22M

The scenario, assumptions and calculations remain attached to the decision.

Questions

Where our agents start and stop.

  • Does AI calculate the scenario?

    No. The AI reads the question and explains the answer. The figures come from your models, formulas, defined assumptions and business rules.

  • Can you use our existing financial models?

    Yes. Our FP&A Agent runs a scenario through the models your team already trusts, such as the forecast model, the headcount plan and the cash plan, or through finance logic you define.

  • Can we change the assumptions?

    Yes. Every assumption is shown with where it came from. Change one and the scenario is calculated again.

  • Can we compare scenarios?

    Yes. Options run side by side against the same limits, so the trade-off between them is plain.

  • Is there a record of the scenario behind a decision?

    Yes. The scenario keeps its assumptions, the model and calculation version, its results and who reviewed it.

The productFP&AAsk the question, use the models finance already trusts and turn the answer into finished finance work.Explore FP&A

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