Financial planning in a new way: integrated efficiency for success
Perhaps you have also experienced the following situation in your everyday working life:
When creating the budget, you need to manually compile Excel spreadsheets from various sources like SAP systems or specialized HR systems. Additionally, there are production-related information and sales figures from the CRM. Once you finally have these data fragments, the time-consuming task of creating planning tables in Excel begins. During this process, you meticulously lock cells to ensure a consistent structure. The final tables are then distributed via email to various contacts.
However, despite all the care and preparation, it is not uncommon for recipients to copy the data into new Excel tables, add additional comment columns, and inadvertently disrupt the smooth automation of data capture. Additionally, resolving uncertainties or potentially overestimated budgets through coordination often leads to endless back-and-forth email communication.
You may have already felt the desire for a solution at this point – a solution that doesn’t require months of manual coordination but rather relies on a solid data foundation supported by ETL processes or a data warehouse. The basic idea is to use a central planning solution at the end of the process. This central planning solution can also be referred to as integrated financial planning. Integrated financial planning, for example, allows you to set up a calendar with notifications, display various types of dashboards, or go through multi-stage approval processes.
Our long-standing technology partner, Board, offers such a planning solution.
Board is a leading software company specializing in the development of cutting-edge software solutions for Business Intelligence (BI), Corporate Performance Management (CPM), and Advanced Analytics. The platform developed by Board simplifies the collection, analysis, and visualization of data, helping companies make data-driven and strategic business decisions.
How can the whole process be executed directly in Board?
In the context of corporate planning, various areas such as human resources, IT, controlling, and production are involved. Each department enters its specific planning units into so-called planning sheets. These are standardized in Board to prevent subsequent changes or redesigns. In the next step, the individual planning sheets are consolidated in the background, creating an integrated financial plan. This allows, for example, the board to oversee and control, release the budget, or raise queries through comment functions.
But integrated financial planning offers many more advantages:
This allows you to continuously monitor the status of your planning. This ensures transparency regarding which plans have already been submitted and which are still pending. At the same time, it allows for interaction with the respective planners, whether through comment columns or chat functions. This way, you can optimize the entire planning process in collaboration. Predefined input screens, clear responsibilities and workflows, as well as a well-thought-out authorization concept, help you structure your corporate planning and carry it out efficiently. In addition, integrated financial planning provides a holistic view of the financial situation, optimizes resource allocation, reduces error susceptibility, and saves time and costs through automated processes.
So you can see that the times of manual coordination work and inconsistent data collection can be overcome. A smart planning tool allows you to optimize the entire planning process and achieve your corporate goals more efficiently. This turns financial planning into not just a hurdle, but a strategic tool for your success.
We have caught your interest and you would like to learn more about the topic of integrated financial planning? Then don’t miss our lecture “Integrated financial planning“ at this year’s Accounting Summit on 21.09.2023 at 10:00 a.m.. We look forward to hearing from you!
