For as long as most of us in Finance can remember, every year each company goes through its annual Budget cycle. Its as regular as clockwork, its ingrained in all of us to do it. But have you ever stopped, taken a step back, and asked why we do it this way?

what are cloud business planning solutions? 

You may know that your forecasting solution is falling short but what are the options when it comes to improving your planning processes? Here is a brief guide to what financial planning solutions can do and which pain points they can solve.  

The CFO entering a new role is faced with a host of challenges, it can be a roller coaster of learning. So it can be tough to work out what to tackle first and how to work out what makes it into your plan for year one. 

We help you to work out what make the biggest impact on how well you perform in your new role, and where to focus your efforts to get the biggest returns, in this 90 day plan. 

Plan to growth

Why wait to plan better? Learn from the experts and invest in business planning tools which will support and grow with the business. Read the story of Karen Bach, who built a planning solution for KRM22 a fast growth company with big ambitions. 

Reporting has always been a bug bear for finance. In a company, different departments, divisions, and stakeholders all need a feed of information and in different formats. Reporting has often run from an ERP with restrictive processes flexibility.

As data and communication is the glue which ensures everyone in an organisation as well as external parties need to measure performance, results, aims and understand the direction and plan of the business. It is important that you have confidence in your reporting tools. 

When you thank your finance team for all their hard work this year, actions can speak louder than words. Late nights and long hours means less time at home can mean more stress. Long hours are not new for finance teams, but does it have to be that way and can their time be spent more productively, with the right tools.

balance sheet, P&L, Cash flow forecasts

A set of accounts has three inter dependant controls change one and it impacts another, take an entry on the profit & loss, this will change the balance sheet and with a small delay, the cash flow will move too. You can’t move one without impacting at least one of the others. So it makes sense to me, that when you forecast you can see the impact on all three when change happens. 

Here is our full proof 5 star delivery approach to getting the financial planning solution you dream of in 2019. Cut your budgeting cycles by 50% and create forecasts in hours rather than weeks!  Read our 5 point delivery plan and as one of our clients put it 'get your life back'.

The alternative funding supplier, Greensill Capital, secured the largest UK investment last quarter, to achieve the status of Unicorn, following an investment of $250 million from General Atlantic. They knew to be able to forecast to the level of detail and accuracy, they needed something better than Excel, read how they and others turned to cloud planning to support their growth. 

Finance is firmly in the driving seat when it comes to informing and making decisions. When a company is growing fast, it needs good solid information with intelligent insight to inform company decisions. Gone are the days when the whim of a CEO, or board bias drives direction and strategy. So lets look at what makes a great analysis team and how to get there.