SAP Analytics
Thought Leadership

It’s the corporation’s latest planning/forecast/budget cycle, and you’re responsible for putting together the consolidated reports for the executive review meetings.  The analysts in Europe, Asia, North America and South America have sent you their Excel spreadsheets, which have been reviewed and revised according to their local management review meetings.  Their regional financial managers will be participating in the executive review meetings, and presenting their region’s forecast. 

The PowerPoint reporting package for the executive review meeting will consist of income statements, capital spending reports and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Comments will be included, and there will be slides/reports at the region and total corporate level.  You have spent hours copying the Excel “reports” and pasting them into the PowerPoint slides.  Also, in order to produce the numbers for the region and total corporate reports, you had to combine the multiple Excel spreadsheets from the site analysts.  This included calculating the KPIs at the region and corporate levels.  You finally have everything ready for tomorrow’s first executive review meeting, although it’s 9:15 PM and you’re still at the office.

Topics: Center of Excellence, Excel, Thought Leadership, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Value, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Forecasting

Replace a Working Spreadsheet Based Forecasting Model with SAP BPC?

Posted by Michael Sheard on Wed, Mar 05, 2014 @ 14:03 PM

SAP BPC forecasting model implementations frequently replace existing spreadsheet forecasting models.  A key question to be asked when implementing SAP BPC is to consider how it will improve a forecasting process that works and therefore justify the disruption the change may involve and the expense, both internal and external.

Topics: Excel, Analytics, Value, Implementation, Data, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Forecasting

Useful Tips of Advanced Functionality in EPM10 Dynamic Formatting

Posted by Michael Sheard on Wed, Sep 18, 2013 @ 07:09 AM

 

Column5 is the leading edge of Enterprise Performance Management and strives to provide technical tools which enable personal growth to benefit you and your organization. This blog will provide users who are familiar with dynamic formatting tips and how to use the full functionality to refine formatting.

Topics: Excel, Training, Performance

Rolling Forecasts – Effecting EPM Techniques

Posted by Martin Lloyd on Wed, Jul 17, 2013 @ 11:07 AM

In a previous blog I examined the trend away from the traditional annual budget and periodic reforecasting regime and towards the rolling forecast. I’d now like to examine the particular factors which are driving companies towards rolling forecasts and the implications that this has on the required tools and methodologies.

Topics: Best Practices, Process Improvement, Excel, Thought Leadership, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Financial Information Management, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Forecasting

Death of the Budget – Long Live the Rolling Forecast

Posted by Martin Lloyd on Thu, Dec 27, 2012 @ 09:12 AM

I've been implementing planning solutions for many years. One of the areas that we often find on the agenda for a planning application design meeting -- or, if it's not on the agenda, something we will bring up -- is the question of whether the organisation has a separate budgeting cycle or whether the budget has been subsumed into a rolling forecast process.

Topics: Process Improvement, Excel, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, Innovation, Performance, Roadmap, Forecasting

Unwind the Compromise to Unlock the Promise of EPM

Posted by David Den Boer on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 @ 10:10 AM

In two of my previous blog posts, I've discussed the problems with Excel Hell and the compromises that can result from using spreadsheets as an enterprise performance management (EPM) tool. Now, let's get positive: How can you unwind the layers of compromise in your current solution to unlock the promise of EPM?

Topics: Excel, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Performance, Value, Data, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)