What is AnalystPlaybook?
AnalystPlaybook is a publication for finance analysts who do the actual work.
Not market commentary. Not generic career advice. Not “10 Excel shortcuts.”
It’s a mix of playbooks, frameworks, templates, breakdowns, and lessons learned that you can take back to your desk and use. The kind of stuff a senior analyst would normally only share with you over coffee after you’ve earned their trust.
What you’ll find here
One issue might walk you through building a driver-based forecast from scratch. The next might break down how actuals flow from accounting into FP&A and where that process usually falls apart. Another might be a template for variance commentary that actually tells a story, or a look at how AI is changing the way analysts build models and run analysis.
The throughline is practical finance work: forecasting, budgeting, close processes, billing workflows, KPI design, data storytelling, stakeholder communication, and the systems thinking that ties it all together. I also write about AI in finance because I’m genuinely fascinated by it, and I think the analysts who learn to use these tools well are going to have a serious edge.
If it helps you do better work or think more clearly about how a finance org runs, it belongs here.
Why this exists
Most finance content falls into two buckets: senior executives talking about strategy, or beginners learning what a P&L is.
Almost nobody writes for the analyst in the middle. The one who pulls the data, builds the model, runs the reconciliation, writes the commentary, and presents to the VP. That analyst is the one who actually moves the business. AnalystPlaybook is for them.
Who writes this?
I’m Ritesh Naik. Over a decade of experience across FP&A, revenue analytics, billing operations, and accounting. I’ve sat in different seats across the finance org at different points in my career, and that range shapes how I think about problems. I’m also deeply interested in AI and how it’s reshaping the way finance teams work. I spend a lot of time learning, experimenting, and sharing what I find.
I’m not a consultant or a career content creator. I build models, design processes, and partner with leadership to turn numbers into decisions.
Every article, every template, every artifact. Free. Always. Subscribe to get each new issue delivered the moment it publishes.
