Where the business is heading, and what needs attention.
The first screen in Sebastian is not a wall of widgets. It is the current outlook, how it moved since you last looked, and the few things that need a person. Switch the basis and every figure says what kind of number it is.
Two material changes
Two changes that matter. Fourteen that do not.
Business activity never stops. Sebastian ranks what has changed since your last review by financial impact, confidence and urgency, raises the material ones, and folds routine movement into the outlook without asking for your attention.
- Every raised change says what happened, what it did to the outlook, and how certain the figure is
- Routine activity within policy is listed, not raised
- Thresholds are yours to set, by account and by amount
A variance, explained, with the decision attached.
Engineering is $800K under its compensation plan. A dashboard calls that good news. Sebastian shows it is delayed hiring and open backfills, not savings, and puts the real question in front of the CFO: keep the approved capacity, reprioritise it, or release it.
- Drivers come from the hiring plan, the ATS and payroll, not from memory
- The decision is recorded with who made it and what they saw
- The outlook updates as soon as the decision lands
Engineering compensation is $800K below plan
Not a saving. $610K comes from eleven delayed starts and $190K from three open backfills. Approved headcount is unchanged, so the expense returns as seats are filled.
Workday start dates
Greenhouse pipeline
Gusto payroll register
FP&A model v3Should the approved hiring capacity be retained, reprioritised, or released?
What stops happening once the outlook is continuous
Waiting for the close to know where you stand
The outlook moves as contracts, hires and spend move. Posted actuals replace the matching estimates when accounting confirms them, so nothing is counted twice.
Explaining a variance from memory
Every line in the bridge keeps its drivers and sources. The board question has an answer before it is asked.
A dashboard of activity instead of understanding
The Overview shows what changed, why, and what needs a decision. Routine activity stays out of the way.
The first screen of the month, before and after Sebastian
| Aspect | Status quo | Sebastian |
|---|---|---|
| Where you see the outlook | A monthly reforecast deck, built from last close plus what people remember. | One outlook, updated as the business changes, on a basis you choose: posted, approved, or current. |
| How you learn what changed | Variance commentary written the week after close. | A bridge from plan to outlook, each line with its driver, source and confidence. |
| What counts as a number | Actuals, estimates and forecasts blended in one cell. | Posted, estimated and forecast amounts labelled and kept apart, always. |
| What needs attention | Whatever someone remembered to raise in the meeting. | Decisions and investigations ranked by impact, with the explanation and the options attached. |