Financial Performance Management

Recently, the role of Finance and Financial Managers has changed. They are no longer operating in isolation until budget season, or considered the dry, bean counters of the organisation. Instead they are expected to be the hub of each big decision, predicting financial impacts or multiple what-if scenarios, within days, hours, or even minutes notice.

Unfortunately though, most finance departments continue to plan on platforms designed in the early 20th Century underpinned by spreadsheet usage, making the organisation cumbersome and slow to change as well. These companies typically rely on a detailed bottom-up plan that takes up to 6-months to produce, only to require revision by management to shoe-horn in new targets!

To survive today’s fluid and fast-changing world, organisations must move from using a process solely about data collection and consolidation, to one that spends more time on “”what-if”” analysis and scenario planning, with regular Forecasts utilising up to the minute data. Only then will decision-makers find the agility and flexibility the current market demands.

Thankfully, the paradigm from traditional to modern processes is shifting, with businesses now understanding that an effective plan needs to access the most recent data to be relevant, accurate and most importantly, deliver the right results.

We believe, to be relevant, organisations must incorporate these four essential aspects into their planning model: