FP&A Today How to ignore the loud numbers and listen for the quiet risks: Sahil Kamani
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Feb 20, 2026 Sahil Kamani, a Berlin-based senior finance and FP&A leader at Ellie (Volkswagen Group). He recounts moving from credit ratings and regulation into operational finance. He explains hunting quiet risks over loud numbers. He outlines cash-runway KPIs, tailoring reporting to different CFO types, and practical AI wins for automation and variance analysis.
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Ignore Loud Numbers Hunt Quiet Risks
- Sahil learned to ignore loud numbers and hunt for quiet risks when rating issuers, focusing on what would trigger auditors, bankers, or the credit committee.
- He checks P&L, balance sheet, cash flow and asks which variances truly matter to each audience like the board or auditors.
Use The First 60 Days To Build Relationships
- On joining a company, prioritize relationship building and understanding key informal influencers before building models.
- Use first 30–60 days to map stakeholders, assess cash, revenue quality, and cost structure rather than delivering instant technical outputs.
Prioritize Cash Burn And Revenue Quality In Turnarounds
- In turnarounds, focus relentlessly on cash burn, runway weeks, true gross contribution, and fixed-cost optimization.
- Also assess revenue quality via retention and collections to convert top-line into cash quickly in crisis situations.