Well-designed incentive compensation plans – especially sales commission plans – are an incredibly powerful way to motivate great performance. But designing a great plan is both an art and a science.
Let’s take a look at some of the most messed-up, incomprehensible recent examples of quantation. Not surprisingly, all are graphs. But some come from sources that definitely should know better.
In my last article, I listed four questions you should ask yourself, and the order you should ask them in. In this article, we address Question #1: Which is the most effective way to impart your key information?
When the graph is the right way to present your FP&A information, several important questions should be asked.
In this episode of the FP&A Trends Video Series, Randall Bolten, author of "Painting with Numbers" talks about how to effectively present numbers for FP&A professionals. Presenting numbers is communicating, and therefore there are certain tips to make sure it is done correctly.
Some time ago, the FP&A Board in London saw members debate whether fancy business intelligence (BI) software tools are a wise or even necessary investment. The general consenus was that boardroom members often don’t want to see complicated graphs, instead preferring to see the numbers in a flat 2D table. “I’ve worked for a chief financial officer [CFO] who hated graphs,” said one senior FP&A professional. “As a finance person, he wanted numbers, not graphs. He even got his PA to print off a dynamic clickable dashboard I produced! A lot of a presentation depends upon who you are presenting to. I’ve certainly adapted my technique and tools depending upon who is listening.”