A Complete View of the Enterprise: Linking Operational and Financial Planning

A complete view of
the enterprise:
Linking operational and financial
planning in global organizations
A report prepared by CFO Research Services in collaboration with Business Objects, an SAP companyA complete view of
the enterprise:
Linking operational and financial
planning in global organizations
A report prepared by CFO Research Services in collaboration with Business Objects, an SAP companyA complete view of the enterprise: Linking operational and financial planning in global organizations is published by CFOResearch Services, 26 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4HQ.
CFO Research Services is part of CFO Publishing Corporation, which produces CFO magazine, and CFO titles in the Unit-ed States, Asia, China, India and Russia. CFO Publishing is part of The Economist Group.
May 2008
Copyright © 2008 CFO Publishing Corp., which is solely responsible for its content. All rights reserved. No part of this reportmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, without written permission.
MAY 2008 © 2008 CFO PUBLISHING CORP.A complete view of the enterprise:Linking operational and financial planning in global organizations 1
Contents
About this report 2
Executive summary and key findings 2
Section 1 - The integration imperative 4
Case study: 8Biogen Idec - Probability planning
Section 2 - The current state of 9affairs - spreadsheets reign
Case study: 13NMHG - The fruits of integration
Section 3 - A desire to improve 14
Case study: 16Sykes - Home improvement
Conclusion 17
Study methodology 17
Sponsor's perspective 18
© 2008 CFO PUBLISHING CORP. MAY 2008A complete view of the enterprise:2 Linking operational and financial planning in global organizations
Executive summary >> AAbboouutt tthhiiss rreeppoorrttand key findings In February 2008, CFO Research Services, a unit of CFOPublishing and part of The Economist Group, began aCFOs, as the gatekeepers of forecasting and planning, research project with Business Objects, an SAP company,are under pressure as never before. asking senior finance executives to give views on their pri-orities and challenges around integrating operational andfinancial planning processes. Traditionally finance leaders have typically provided one The report is based on the results of an online survey ofview of the enterprise to their executive team and more than 400 senior finance executives in the US, UK,investors - the financial view - through familiar key per- Germany and France, and in-depth interviews conductedwith CFOs of the following companies: formance indicators such as revenues, costs, cash or . Biogen Idecworking capital. Financial indicators, while crucial of . Designed Alloy Products Inc.. Gemaltocourse, often describe reality as it was, a historic snap- . Goodrich Primary Flight Control shot. . Hager. Mustang Engineering. NMHGPrecise forecasting - explaining what is likely to happen . Sykes. Timkenand why - requires many different views from various . United Biscuitsdepartments or "lenses" within the business. Tracking Two confidential interviews were also conducted with a Frenchnon-financial operational indicators, from marketing, multinational and a German consumer goods company. sales, HR or R&D, tells you what's coming around the CFO Research Services and Business Objects developedcorner. Increasingly it falls to the finance department to the scope of the research jointly. Business Objects fundedmake the links between forward-looking data from core the research and publication of our findings, and CFOResearch Services would like to acknowledge the Businessoperations, and explain to stakeholders how this will Objects team for its input and support.impact the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement. CFO Research Services and Business Objects would alsolike to tha... [download for more]