Today’s uncertain times mean that it is no longer good enough for organizations to have one fixed plan and forecast. Historic data by itself cannot help predict the future, nor can classical planning methods and standard variance analysis provide sufficient information to manage a business. It is time to change and adopt a fact-based mindset towards business decisions.
There has never been greater uncertainty and a faster pace of change than over the past months.
And yet, at a time that requires speed and agility, and in a function that needs these qualities more than others, we cleave to our traditional management accounting methods and adhere to our longstanding processes.
The Digital Swiss FP&A Board was proudly sponsored by:
The result is this paper that covers the elements crucial for any organisation approaching AI or ML for the first time including challenges, methods and key success factors.
As Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” This survey we believe offers hope, insight, and a much-needed reality check on where FP&A is today. It also forecasts what needs to happen for FP&A teams to develop their best practices from theory into reality.
There are many terms connected with FP&A, such as “unstructured analysis,” “predictive analytics,” and “machine learning". Often very little detail on how they can be used in everyday life. Sure, there is an odd example such as how the sales of one product in a supermarket are related to another based on their location. But what do these technologies actually do, and how can they help management in today’s fast-moving, complex business environment?
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