Achieving Efficiency and Effectiveness in Financial Planning & Analysis
In the realm of financial analysis, particularly when reviewing business performance for the preceding month, precision, relevance, and swiftness are paramount. As a finance manager, your goal is not only to enrich management discussions with valuable insights but also to execute your role with agility and intelligence. This dual pursuit of effectiveness and efficiency underpins…
Design your bookkeeping process as and end-2-end process
Record to Report The idea behind the end-to-end (E2E) process concept is to provide a holistic view of business operations, focusing on the complete flow of a specific process from its beginning to its end. This approach aims to enhance efficiency, improve performance, and ensure that every step of the process is aligned with the…
Design your annual planning cycle and monthly budget update as an end-to-end process
Plan to Perform The idea behind the end-to-end (E2E) process concept is to provide a holistic view of business operations, focusing on the complete flow of a specific process from its beginning to its end. This approach aims to enhance efficiency, improve performance, and ensure that every step of the process is aligned with the…
FP&A Tools & PowerBI: Complementary Forces in Business Intelligence
In the world of business intelligence, understanding the right tool for the right job is crucial. Among the myriad options available, FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) tools and PowerBI stand out for their specialized capabilities. However, their functions, while distinct, are complementary. This blog post will break down the differences and suggest why both tools…
Spreadsheets for Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting?
While spreadsheets are commonly used for lists, calculations, and graphs, there are tasks they are not suitable for. Large files (many rows/columns) are problematic in Excel or Google Sheets, as spreadsheets aren’t databases. Handling massive data slows down filtering, sorting, and calculations, especially for multi-year accounting.
Differences and Similarities between FP&A and EPM
Let’s dive into the similarities and differences between FP&A and EPM.
Artificial Intelligence
Smartbooks features a ChatGPT plug-in that can read monthly reports and autonomously write commentaries. While these analyses are based only on the input data and may sometimes be mere factual summaries, we find it time-saving to have ChatGPT draft these notes, which then can be edited and enhanced.
Best practices in reporting
When assessing a company’s progress and deciding if intervention is needed, certain numbers and ratios are crucial. Based on our experience, you’d want quick and reliable access to the following information.
ESG reporting
The acronym ‘ESG’ stands for ‘Environment, Social, Governance’ and is primarily used in the (international) financial world. It covers issues like CO2 emissions, exploitation, tax evasion, and corruption.
The Value of a Business Plan
Creating a financial plan for the upcoming period takes time, and we know that reality changes slightly each month. So, what are some good reasons to invest time in this task?