The Budget Process: Career Maker or Career Breaker?Budgeting touches every corner of the organization, and if you’re involved in it you know the “exposure” you get (some people think of it as over-exposure). And if you consider that budgeting hits people where it counts (the wallet) then you know you can wind up being the most loved or hated person in the… Read More |
That number doesn’t look rightHave you ever heard “That number doesn’t look right” when you’ve been in a budget review session with the CFO, or some other executive? I have. I saw it at Pepsi (where I was a FP&A Manager) and I know what that moment is like. Here are the reasons why that happens: Expectations. The executive… Read More |
If not me, who? If not now, when?There are reasons why we stay stuck with a bad process. There are other priorities. Resources are scarce. There’s no time. The dog ate my homework. When you interview CFOs that have successfully risen through the ranks… who competed with others for coveted promotions and won… you find they have three things in common. First,… Read More |
Meanwhile, CFOs Enjoy More InfluenceCFO Research finds the financial crisis boosted the profile of finance chiefs. Struggling economy, having to do more with less, what’s not to like? The good news for Finance chiefs is that many believe their stature has been elevated during the economic downturn. That’s according to a recent survey by CFO Magazine and Expense Reduction… Read More |
15 Things You Can’t Do in Excel for Budgeting: #1#1 You can’t tell where everyone is in the process. The first thing you can’t do in Excel is tell where everybody is in the process. You know who’s submitted a spreadsheet to you and that’s about it. There’s nothing to give you visibility into the work in process. You don’t know who’s started and… Read More |
15 Things You Can’t Do in Excel for Budgeting: #2#2- You can’t have executives electronically sign off on budgets underneath them. We’ve all been there. You’re sitting in a budget review meeting and an executive says, “That can’t be right, you don’t have the right budget.” It seems the higher up the executive is making that statement, the longer the silence that follows… I… Read More |
Why now? Why are changes to budgeting happening now?We have seen an amazing amount of changes to budgeting and planning over the last 18 months. So why now, what’s triggered these trends? Well, the first one is pretty obvious. It’s the economy stupid. The absolute need to do more with less. Budgeting is all about managing resources and that tends to get a… Read More |
Mega Trends in Budgeting: Increasing Culture of AccountabilityKeep in mind that there is a direct relationship between participation and a feeling of ownership. Here’s an example from your personal life. If I studied your spending patterns and how much money you make, I could come up with a savings plan for you. If I did, you’d probably politely thank me for all… Read More |
Mega Trends in Budgeting: Ditching SpreadsheetsEvery ERP System and General Ledger system today has some sort of budgeting module, undoubtedly yours does too. Or you’ve got some other choice other than Excel for budget development. But having said that, most organizations have rejected these alternatives have opted to stick with Excel. Why is that? Well they were not that impressed… Read More |
Why budgets are not Excel-ingExcel is the #1 financial modeling tool on the planet. And unless you look outside of Microsoft Office, it’s the obvious choice for budgeting. That’s the reason why 80% of all organizations continue to use Excel for budgeting. But here are some common complaints heard every day: The process takes too long The process doesn’t… Read More |
