Excel and Power BI: A Modern FP&A Partnership That Drives Real Financial Insight

Beyond the “Excel is obsolete” narrative

A few days ago, I came across a meme circulating on LinkedIn, shared by an IT consulting firm. In this post, Excel was dismissed with a gesture of rejection, while Power BI was celebrated as the unquestionable winner. It was humorous and visually engaging, but it also reflected a broader trend: the growing belief that modern tools automatically replace traditional ones, and that the evolution of FP&A is simply a matter of adopting the “latest platform”.

This inspired me to write this article, because such narratives, although amusing, often overlook the reality of how financial analysis, modelling and decision support truly work inside organisations.

 IT providers naturally advocate for the platforms they implement. Their business depends on reinforcing the idea that those who still use Excel are behind, outdated or resistant to innovation. For an uninformed reader, this narrative can easily appear credible.

But is it truly so?

As I discussed in my previous article Why financial clarity comes from people, not from platforms, technology alone does not create understanding, structure or strategic insight. Tools are enablers. Nothing more. And when we look at the real work of FP&A, modelling and decision support inside organisations of different sizes, the reality is more complex than a simplistic Excel versus Power BI comparison. Let’s break it down.

Power BI as the Visualisation and Reporting Layer
The True Purpose and Value of BI Tools

Modern FP&A operates in an environment defined by data. Volumes are larger, sources are more fragmented, and decision cycles are significantly faster than in the past. In such a landscape, no finance function can rely solely on manual spreadsheets or static PDF reports to deliver timely and insightful information. Organisations need a tool that consolidates data, ensures quality, and provides immediate clarity. This is exactly the purpose of Power BI.

Power BI goes far beyond simple reporting. It provides a full business intelligence environment that connects to ERP systems, CRM platforms, data lakes, spreadsheets and even semi-structured data sources. It processes, cleans and transforms information through Power Query and its data engine, automating tasks that traditionally consumed considerable time within the Finance team. Once this foundation is established, Power BI generates dynamic dashboards, trend analyses, variances and exception signals that allow decision makers to understand what is happening in their business at a glance.

Visualisation tools like Power BI play a central role for two types of audiences. They are built for executives who require real-time insights without navigating deep levels of detail. And they are equally valuable for non-financial managers who need to understand performance patterns, identify operational drivers and focus on critical areas without interpreting complex financial models. In these contexts, Power BI is an outstanding communication and alignment tool.

For finance professionals, however, Power BI is not the final product and not the principal tool of their craft. It is an interface, not an engine. Its purpose is to communicate outcomes, not to build the logic behind them. Every dashboard answers a question, but FP&A’s responsibility is to raise the right questions, to construct the underlying logic, to challenge assumptions and to stress-test alternative scenarios. Financial insight does not emerge from a visualisation. It emerges from the intellectual process that precedes it.

This is why Excel remains irreplaceable, regardless of how modern ERP or BI providers frame the debate. Excel is where FP&A builds the logic, understands the mechanics of the business, and retains full control of assumptions, drivers and scenarios. It is the modelling environment where finance professionals think, iterate, redesign, test and refine. Power BI can present the story, but it cannot write it. It can display the answers, but it cannot formulate the questions.

In today’s finance landscape, Power BI strengthens communication, accelerates reporting and expands visibility across the organisation. But the core analytical work, the engine that creates insight, still lives in Excel. Together, they form a modern FP&A ecosystem. Separately, neither can deliver financial clarity.

A Real Case: When Misunderstanding Tools Leads to Misguided Decisions

In one of my previous roles within a multinational group, I worked with a finance manager who firmly believed that all financial logic must reside inside the ERP system. Her perspective was shaped by a SOX-oriented mindset where “data inside the ERP equals security and control”, which is entirely valid for accounting records, approvals and audit trails. But she extended this principle to analytical work and financial modelling, without recognising the fundamental difference between transactional systems and planning engines.

She lacked digital awareness and did not fully understand the role of BI tools, the flexibility of Excel or the limitations of ERP systems for forward-looking analysis. Because she was senior and authoritative, her view became a directive: the forecasting, cash planning and simulation model “must be built inside the ERP”.

This approach was conceptually misaligned with how FP&A operates. ERP systems are designed to record actuals, not to support dynamic, iterative, assumption-driven models. Embedding a modelling engine inside an ERP creates three immediate constraints: high cost of development, lack of flexibility whenever assumptions change, and delays caused by relying on IT for every modification. In FP&A, where timing, responsiveness and continuous refinement are essential, this framework simply cannot function.

The project quickly demonstrated its own impracticality. The logic had to be coded, hidden from Finance, difficult to audit and impossible to adjust without technical intervention. Time and resources were wasted before the manager eventually acknowledged that the approach was not feasible.

Meanwhile, our team continued building the real financial model in Excel. It grew into an integrated engine used by treasury for cash forecasts, by tax for planning, by management accounting for monthly updates and by leadership for scenario simulations and business plans. It delivered timely, accurate and high-quality insights without any ERP customisation.

The manager later raised concerns about data security. It was a valid question, but the solution was not to force the model into an ERP. The solution was to implement proper controls: access management, structured data flows, versioning, reconciliation checks and validation rules. Security is a matter of governance, not a matter of embedding analytical logic inside transactional systems.

This experience highlights a broader issue. The belief that “Excel is unsafe, obsolete or unprofessional” is often promoted by IT providers who sell systems, by ERP developers who prefer long-term customisation revenue, by non-financial managers influenced by visual dashboards and by finance professionals with insufficient digital literacy. None of these perspectives reflect the realities of FP&A work.

Excel remains essential because FP&A requires control, flexibility and speed. ERP systems are essential for structure, governance and accuracy. Power BI is essential for visibility, clarity and cross-functional communication. Each tool has a distinct purpose. Replacing one with another not only adds cost but creates organisational risk and slows down decision making.

Clarity in FP&A comes from understanding the role of each tool and from building the digital competencies needed to use them effectively.

Why Excel Remains the Analytical Engine of FP&A

The discussion around Excel is often reduced to “modelling”, but modelling is only one part of the FP&A workflow. The real daily work of finance professionals involves a wide range of analytical activities that require speed, flexibility and intellectual exploration. This includes analysing variances, stress-testing assumptions, isolating business drivers, running ad-hoc calculations, building temporary bridges, and answering operational questions on the spot. None of these tasks are achieved efficiently inside Power BI.

Consider variance analysis. In many organisations, it is still described as “price, volume, mix” or a simple deviation between actual and plan. But deeper variance analysis requires breaking down performance into multiple factors: operational drivers, timing differences, phasing shifts, commercial decisions, one-off impacts, currency effects, and structural or seasonal components. Finance must often test these factors in real time while engaging with business leaders. This sort of exploratory analysis cannot be predefined in DAX or pre-built into a rigid BI data model.

Or take quick calculations. FP&A regularly needs to “sanity test” assumptions, run a fast sensitivity check, explore what-if scenarios or isolate a specific cost centre’s impact within minutes. In Excel, this is natural and immediate. In Power BI, it requires modifying the underlying semantic model, creating new measures, rebuilding relationships, refreshing datasets or requesting an additional development step from IT. The process becomes not only slower but fundamentally misaligned with the pace at which FP&A must operate.

This is the core issue. Power BI answers questions that have already been defined. But FP&A is responsible for raising those questions in the first place. The investigative work, the part where insight is created, demands an environment where Finance has full control. Excel provides this control. Power BI does not.

If an IT company sincerely believes that all this logic can be shifted to Power BI, I would welcome the demonstration. I would be impressed, curious, even excited if someone could show me how to replicate deep analytical routines, multi-factor variance explanations, scenario stress-testing and rapid ad-hoc calculations within a BI tool without losing transparency, speed or control. But the reality is that BI tools are not designed for this type of thinking. Their strength lies elsewhere.

FP&A needs an analytical engine that evolves as ideas evolve. Excel provides this because it supports the intellectual process behind financial insight. Power BI complements this by transforming the results into structured, accessible information for executives and non-financial managers. Each tool serves a different purpose, and recognising this difference is fundamental to building a modern, effective FP&A ecosystem.

Why Modern FP&A Needs a Hybrid Architecture (Excel + Power BI)

Modern FP&A operates in a landscape where no single tool can deliver everything the organisation needs. The work of Finance today spans modelling, forecasting, scenario analysis, performance monitoring, operational dialogue, strategic guidance and real-time communication with the business. Each stage requires a different capability. This is why a hybrid architecture, combining Excel and Power BI, has become the standard for high-performing FP&A teams.

Excel provides the analytical engine. It is where Finance builds logic, develops assumptions, designs structures and tests alternative scenarios. Excel supports the iterative nature of modelling. It allows immediate exploration of ideas, quick checks, deeper variance analysis and ad-hoc simulations. It gives FP&A full control over calculations, transparency over logic and the flexibility to adapt rapidly when the business changes. No BI tool can replicate this level of intellectual freedom, and no ERP system is built for this type of forward-looking work.

Power BI provides the communication engine. Once the logic exists and the insights are produced, Power BI becomes the interface through which Finance informs the organisation. Executives need real-time visibility, trends, exceptions and dynamic views without navigating detailed models. Non-financial managers need intuitive dashboards that translate complexity into accessible insights. Power BI bridges this gap. It automates reporting, refreshes data, visualises the story and ensures that information reaches the right stakeholders consistently and at scale.

Together, Excel and Power BI form a complete FP&A ecosystem. Insights are created in Excel, structured and validated, then consumed and communicated through Power BI. One tool enables thinking, the other enables alignment. One constructs the narrative, the other broadcasts it. This is why attempting to replace Excel with Power BI weakens the organisation, and why trying to force modelling into ERP systems leads to cost, rigidity and lost time.

A modern FP&A function is not defined by a single platform. It is defined by how effectively it orchestrates tools to create clarity, support decisions and drive performance. A hybrid architecture recognises the strengths of each technology and integrates them intelligently, allowing Finance to operate with both analytical depth and organisational influence.

This is where financial clarity emerges: at the intersection of rigorous modelling and high-quality communication, powered by the right combination of tools, not by the false expectation that one tool can do everything.

What IT Can Do, and What It Cannot Do for Finance

Technology teams play an essential role in building a modern financial ecosystem. They ensure data flows correctly from systems, maintain integrations, manage user access, guarantee governance and support Finance with automation, connectivity and scalability. Without IT, organisations would lack the infrastructure required for accurate reporting, real-time dashboards and efficient operational processes.

But IT does not define financial logic, and it cannot replace the analytical capabilities of FP&A. Technology specialists understand systems; they do not own the business assumptions, operational drivers or forward-looking scenarios that shape financial insight. Their expertise is indispensable for designing data architectures and maintaining platforms, but it is not a substitute for the intellectual work of Finance.

The risk emerges when tool-centric thinking replaces needs-centric thinking. Some IT providers promote the idea that the right system can eliminate spreadsheets or substitute modelling environments entirely. ERP developers may suggest embedding forecasting logic inside transactional systems. BI implementers may position dashboards as replacements for analytical tools. These narratives are commercially understandable, but they are conceptually inaccurate.

Finance does not need a single tool. Finance needs the right tool for each stage of the process.

FP&A requires a modelling engine that can evolve, adapt and respond instantly to business questions. Excel provides this. FP&A also requires a communication layer that can consolidate data and deliver insights to executives and non-financial managers. Power BI provides this. And the organisation requires governance, structure and accuracy in processing actuals. ERP systems provide this.

When these tools are orchestrated correctly, Finance gains both intelligence and influence. When any one of them is positioned as a replacement for the others, the organisation loses clarity, slows down decision making and invests in unnecessary complexity.

This is why anyone encountering the narrative “Excel is dead, Power BI wins” should understand its limitations. Yes, Excel has lost the battle for visualisation, automation and connectivity. Power BI is unquestionably superior in dashboards, trend analysis, data integration and real-time reporting. But analysis, modelling and the real intellectual work of Finance do not happen in Power BI. They happen in Excel, for all the reasons discussed above: flexibility, speed, transparency, control and the ability to iterate as the business evolves.

Power BI enhances Finance. It does not replace Finance. Excel empowers Finance. It does not compete with Power BI.

For modern FP&A, clarity comes not from choosing one tool over another but from understanding the unique purpose of each, and using them together to deliver rigorous analysis and strategic impact.

Conclusion

The conversation around Excel and Power BI is often reduced to a simplistic “either-or” comparison. But real FP&A work does not operate in absolutes. It operates in layers. Excel remains the analytical engine where finance logic is built, challenged and refined. Power BI remains the communication layer where insights are distributed and operational alignment is achieved. ERP systems remain the backbone of transactional integrity. None of these tools replace each other. They exist to serve different functions in the financial decision-making process.

Declaring Excel “dead” overlooks the core of FP&A. Suggesting that Power BI can replace deep analysis ignores the flexibility, transparency and speed required in modelling and scenario work. And pushing analytical logic into an ERP system restricts Finance, increases costs and slows down decisions.

Financial clarity emerges when the right tools are used for the right purposes, orchestrated into a coherent and efficient ecosystem. Modern Finance needs breadth, intelligence and agility. Only a hybrid architecture can deliver that.

If you are leading a finance transformation, assessing your FP&A capabilities or rethinking your data architecture, take a moment to challenge tool-centric narratives. Start with your needs, not with the platforms being promoted to you.

Ask yourself and your team:

What part of our work requires flexibility and speed?
What part requires governance and stability?
What part requires visibility and communication?

Then build your FP&A ecosystem around the answers.

If you want to explore how a hybrid Excel + Power BI architecture can support your organisation, or if you need guidance in strengthening your financial modelling and data processes, FinDep Consult can help you design a solution that is practical, modern and aligned with real business needs.

Finance achieves clarity when people lead the logic and systems amplify the message. Let’s build an FP&A environment that truly reflects this.