A Failing City Calls in the Budget DoctorEvery once in a while I come across a podcast that I think is illuminating – makes a point but does so in a clever or revealing way. I found one the other day and wanted to share it. A Failing City Calls in the Budget Doctor http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=134430495&m=134431356 It’s only about five minutes, but you’ll… Read More |
Distributed BudgetingAt XLerant, we’re changing how budgeting is done… and who’s doing it Our clients use our flagship application, called BudgetPak, to distribute budgeting to the people driving the actual results. To understand why, read on. Who does the budget in your company? Chances are it’s the Finance department. Who drives the actual results of the… Read More |
Overcoming the Twin Traps of Impact Bias and FocalismIn a previous blog we talked about how Impact Bias and Focalism and lead to some really bad decisions. In a nutshell, the problem is we so focus on our personal needs when it come to business decisions — like what budgeting system to buy – that our perceptions get distorted. Like a fun house… Read More |
Solving Ambiguous Problems – What Successful Companies Get That the Rest of Us Don’tI’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with some of the best run companies over the years and I’ve come to appreciate what really separates them from “the merely good”. Some of what makes great companies so successful, like hiring great talent, is quite obvious. But in this blog I’d like to share one of… Read More |
Getting the story behind the numbersWhen I worked at Pepsi as a FP&A Manager it was drilled into our heads that our job was to “get the story behind the numbers” and be able to communicate that story intelligently. But what does getting the story behind the numbers really mean? The report that almost every finance organization runs each month… Read More |
How to your involve your user communityThe question of how to involve your user community in solution development is an important one; because the ultimate success or failure of any new system is wholly dependent upon whether or not it’s actually embraced by the user community… or rejected. There’s a lot of shelfware out there, and getting your users involved in… Read More |
Should you involve your user community in solution development?When I first moved to Ireland with Pepsi, I brought a lot of New York headquarters ways with me. Some good, some bad. But one of those ways was in how to develop solutions to vexing problems. The foundation of solution development was always the formation of a cross functional team to bring together multiple… Read More |
Budgeting: A Career Maker… A Career Breaker?The reason why managing the budget process is a high wire act should be obvious. 1) Every corner of the organization is involved or impacted by the process in some way. 2) The process impacts people where it hurts – their wallets. 3) The most senior ranks of the organization are engaged in the process,… Read More |
Rolling Forecast. Part 3 – Assessment of Rolling ForecastIn part one of this series we looked at the common problems that organizations have with the annual planning/ budgeting process. Recognizing of course that most companies do forecasting as well, we looked at the annual planning process as a proxy for the processes companies deploy year-round to develop financial projections. In part two of… Read More |
Rolling Forecast. Part 2 – What is a Rolling Forecast?Most of us know what a Forecast is, or you wouldn’t even be a reader of this blog. It’s a projection. But what makes a rolling forecast, well… rolling? That’s the heart of the matter and that’s where we want to focus our attention. A rolling forecast is one where the assumptions of original projection… Read More |
