Avanti Finance strengthens planning capability with IBM Planning Analytics

Building a planning platform for growth

Avanti Finance is a New Zealand-founded specialist non-bank lender with more than 35 years’ experience supporting customers across personal, motor vehicle, property and business lending. Having assisted over 300,000 New Zealanders and Australians, the business operates in a competitive and tightly regulated financial services environment with a strong commitment to responsible lending and governance and providing lending solutions that are flexible and tailored to fit real life.

As Avanti has grown, so too has the complexity of managing performance, funding and risk. In a modern lending business, forecasting and scenario modelling underpin capital planning, funding strategy and the ability to respond confidently to changing market conditions.

For many years, planning relied on a mix of internally developed models, spreadsheets and specialist tools that had evolved alongside the business. While it delivered outcomes, this decentralised environment was becoming harder to scale in a controlled and governed way. Scenario modelling was constrained by disconnected systems, and valuable time was spent consolidating outputs rather than analysing performance.

If Avanti was going to continue growing and leading the market, its planning capability needed to lead that growth, not just keep pace with it.

Finance Business Partner Michael Wetherell was asked to lead the program. With experience spanning finance, treasury, risk and technology roles within Avanti, he understood both the commercial realities of a lending business and the limitations of the existing environment.

Investing in structured, scalable planning

Avanti made a deliberate decision to invest in a governed, enterprise-grade planning platform.

Following a formal review process, IBM Planning Analytics was selected to provide a structured foundation for forecasting, budgeting and scenario modelling. The decision was guided by more than immediate functionality. The platform needed to fit the organisation as it stands today while offering the depth of capability and product roadmap to support future growth.

Governance and data control were also central considerations. Moving planning into a structured platform would strengthen transparency across models, improve confidence in underlying data and ensure forecasting could scale in a disciplined way as the organisation continued to grow.

At the same time, Avanti was conscious that planning capability is evolving rapidly as advanced analytics and AI features are introduced into modern platforms. IBM’s ongoing investment in AI-enabled analytics within Planning Analytics signalled a product direction aligned with Avanti’s own focus on innovation. Rather than solving only today’s challenges, the organisation saw an opportunity to adopt a platform that could continue expanding the depth of insight available to the business over time.

The objective was not to replicate existing models in a new system, but to redesign planning logic in a way that would solve current challenges and continue delivering value as the business scales.

Working in partnership with Fusion5, Avanti implemented a planning model aligned to the realities of its lending operations. Revenue forecasting, funding assumptions, loan portfolio dynamics and expense modelling were brought into a single governed environment with clear data control and model transparency.

A defining element of the project was the delivery approach. Rather than operating at arm’s length, Avanti embedded Fusion5 specialists within its finance team. Working side by side, the teams unpacked existing logic, preserved necessary constraints and identified opportunities to simplify and strengthen governance.

This close collaboration also helped maintain momentum throughout the program. Issues could be explored and resolved quickly, and design decisions were made in real time, allowing the team to progress steadily as the complexities of legacy models and source data were worked through.

(Fusion5) understood the financial services environment and the strategic goals behind the transformation," says Michael, "They live in both worlds, combining deep platform knowledge with practical finance experience, enabling discussions to move efficiently from design to commercial impact."

The implementation became a capability uplift as much as a technology shift, bringing the FP&A team on the journey and reshaping how planning would be done going forward.

From maintenance to influence

Avanti can now complete its full 4 + 8 forecast within a single month, a process that previously would have taken two to three months. Compressing that cycle has changed the rhythm of planning. Instead of assembling and reconciling numbers for weeks, the team can focus earlier on interpretation and forward-looking discussion.

Time previously absorbed by managing versions and maintaining workarounds is now directed toward analysis and influence. Finance is shaping decisions rather than simply reporting on them.

The shift has also reduced structural risk. As Avanti expands its data capability, new team members step into a governed platform rather than inheriting layers of complex model logic. In Michael’s view, this has significantly reduced key-person dependency and intellectual property risk.

There has been a cultural impact as well. Investing in modern planning capability signals that Avanti is serious about innovation. For experienced finance and data professionals, working with structured enterprise tools and focusing on insight rather than maintenance is a more compelling proposition. That helps attract and retain specialist talent.

Stakeholders now have confidence they are working with current, consistent figures. Finance business partners can visualise workforce models more clearly and take ownership of people costs, seeing in real time how decisions translate into financial outcomes. That visibility enables them to guide decision-making with confidence and authority.
The improved transparency has also revealed insights within Avanti’s commercial models that had previously gone unnoticed, enabling the team to act quickly and capture immediate commercial value.

For a lending organisation, this matters. Funding decisions, capital allocation and portfolio management depend on accurate, timely forecasting. Strengthening planning capability reinforces the discipline required to support sustainable growth.

A platform for the next phase

The platform is not static. The embedded working model established during implementation has continued into ongoing support, with Fusion5 working alongside Avanti’s teams to refine models, explore new capabilities and extend value over time.

Looking ahead, Avanti is extending the framework further. Plans are underway to incorporate Australian operations and integrate product performance data, adding new dimensions to forecasting and modelling. As AI-enabled analytics capabilities continue to be introduced within the platform, they present another opportunity to deepen insight and optimise decision-making.

For senior finance leaders navigating similar pressures, the lesson is clear. As lending markets become more competitive and data-driven, decentralised planning processes eventually reach their limits. Structured, governed capability becomes essential to sustainable performance.

For Avanti Finance, strengthening its planning framework has reinforced more than financial models. It has strengthened the foundation from which the business will continue grow and lead.