Ben Jackson on Performance Management for a SaaS-based Business
Meet Ben Jackson, Senior Financial Analyst at Axonify – a Waterloo-based tech firm that leverages brain science and AI in its platform to deliver bite-sized microlearning to over 3.5 million frontline workers in over 250 companies including Lowe’s, Kroger, and Walmart. In November 2023, Ben joined co-hosts Adam Presslee and Nancy Vanden Bosch for a conversation about Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) for a Software as a Service (SaaS) company. In the interview highlights below, gain an understanding of the unique aspects that result from a SaaS business model.
Interview highlights
I wanted to be a professional athlete.
Get to know Ben and how he believes accounting and finance could position him for his dream job as General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A different way to think about revenue.
Gain an understanding of the two types of SaaS businesses – business to business and business to consumer – that both require you to think and measure revenue in different ways.
Data is super important to us.
Ben explains how he uses three different specific systems – ERP, FP&A, and CRM – to access “tons of data points” that help him answer the “why” questions.
If we imagine we have a crystal ball…
Ben looks into his crystal ball to predict where the SaaS industry may go and the skills that people should develop to pursue opportunities in the industry.
Never be afraid to try something new.
Ben explains why he believes now, especially for people at Waterloo, is a great time to try something new.
Acknowledgements
The Performance Management in Practice series is sponsored by the CPA Ontario Centre for Sustainability Reporting and Performance Management. Thanks to CPA Ontario for its support and to the students who joined the event for their great questions.