It is unrealistic to link every activity. In some cases, you may only be able to present the work that has been done with no obvious mathematical link to the outcome or the performance measure it supports. However, there is still value in presenting a goal and the supporting work being done along with its cost, so at least management can make an informed judgment as to whether they are linked.
Michael Coveney
Michael Coveney spent 40+ years in the software analytic business with a focus on transforming the planning, budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes. He has considerable experience in the design and implementation of Business Analytic systems with major organisations throughout the world. He is a gifted conference speaker and author where his latest book ‘Budgeting, Forecasting and Planning In Uncertain Times’is published by J Wiley. His articles have also appeared on www.fpa-trends.com, that encourages innovation in FP&A departments.
Author's Articles
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?
The volume of data is so large and complex that forecasts are often unpredictable: the world is changing faster than managers can anticipate. Managers can no longer rely on traditional monthly reporting of internally generated data to navigate the future. This is where iFP&A comes in.
Most FP&A departments are on a journey to a place where they can cope with today’s ‘new normal’. From our experience, organisations that are in the Leading state of the FP&A Analytics Maturity Model exhibit several characteristics.