Use of CPM Analytical Tools in the Budget Planning Process
This article will help you navigate budgeting and planning with corporate performance management solutions.
If you are reading this article, you may either be researching a vendor for a budgeting tool or have inherited a corporate performance management (CPM) software from your accounting department. No matter what situation you are in, I have encouraging words for you: The right CPM solution will save time and money. A key benefit of a CPM software is the ability to automate your processes. First, you will need to figure out how to improve your organization’s budget planning process.
Clean the Data
You may have had a similar process before adopting a CPM tool, but having a budgeting and business planning processes is critical. A CPM solution gives your company the exact data to make informed decisions. The data must be communicated in a timely manner. This allows companies to make decisions in response to actual accounting data compared with anticipated results during the budgeting period. This data must be clear for the decision makers. This can be ensured with the use of dashboards and a data warehouse.
One of our prior articles, Corporate Performance Management in the Future: How to Upgrade Reporting, Budgeting, Dashboards, and Data Warehouse Processes, discusses how executives put CPM platform projects as a high priority because they know that a well-planned and executed CPM implementation functions like an “exoskeleton for the business, surrounding every decision-maker with supportive technology to help them make smart and speedy decisions.” However, a well-versed CPM user knows that reports and forecasts are only as good as the data that drives them.
Companies will be leaders in their industries because they have successfully implemented a powerful CPM platform that enables their employees to make smart decisions. These companies have already started cleaning up their data. It can take years, which defines how successful their CPM solution will be because many companies have “dirty data” everywhere. This is mainly caused by the errors that inevitably come with manual data entry and gathering data from multiple sources.
Don’t Judge a Book by the Cover
Save time and money by automating manual processes. In this digital world, it’s surprising that companies still enter in their data manually. Did you know that CPM software companies offer more than simple planning and reporting? The nature of CPM is constant evolving. For instance, planning has always been linked to annual budgeting. Instead of preparing only an annual budget, organizations are beginning to plan more frequently by developing monthly rolling forecasts. In other words, many organizations want to plan at a more detailed level than just the general ledger.
Therefore, when planning becomes more detailed, CPM functions as an operational analytical application. Companies use this as a foundation for planning at a higher and detailed level for budgeting and forecasting. In conclusion, a CPM tool facilitates a smooth, more efficient budgeting process across your entire organization. Learn how a cloud CPM solution like BI360 can help your business improve your organization’s internal processes here.
Do the Research
Feel free to look at software reviews and even compare corporate performance management tools on G2 Crowd to see which product is the best corporate performance management software for you and your company. CPM helps your business align financial and operational data to drive performance and better foster the health of your company. CPM helps with executing your organizational strategies. Keep in mind that strategies, goals, analysis and planning are a part of the CPM process. Selecting the best CPM software solution is a process that requires a great deal of research. If you are struggling to find a CPM tool that fills in all of the blanks, Solver has a team of professionals that can get your company started.
