Missed our Planful Preparedness Webinar, “How to Optimize Your Processes for the Financial Planning Season Ahead” on June 20th, 2024? No problem! We’ve got you covered.
Watch the recording now and gain valuable insights from Michael Johnston, a Planful Certified Expert and FP&A industry leader at Bakerfield Solutions. This webinar will equip you with actionable strategies to streamline your planning process and ensure a successful season.
Plus! Scroll down for additional tips on early financial planning covered in the webinar.
The Power of Early Financial Planning: A Comprehensive Guide for Success
Setting the stage for success begins with proactive and early financial planning. The best companies navigate the complexities of financial strategies by using a structured process. Let’s explore how the four phases of early financial planning can transform your planning journey and optimize your performance.
Phase 1: Assess and Optimize Your Current Process
This starts with an application audit to evaluate the effectiveness and cleanliness of your current system. Based on the results, you can collaborate with key stakeholders to identify optimization opportunities and gain alignment around the necessary process changes. These may include determining new budget entities and dimension members and enhancing external processes for integration.
Phase 2: Optimize Workflows and Make Dynamic Planning Updates
These are actually two discrete steps, but we include them in one phase. Workflow optimization involves the updating and revision of existing templates, the development of new templates, and their assignment to budget owners. You can then enhance and optimize workflows by using mock scenarios and feedback cycles. Dynamic Planning Updates require assessing data-flow processes, making structural adjustments, validating changes with budget owners, and adjusting reports accordingly.
Phase 3: Empower Users
This makes the process real by establishing timelines and deadlines, delegating tasks, and assigning processes.
Phase 4: Track Progress and Learn from Insights
To prepare for the next cycle and continue optimizing, we recommend a meeting after budget completion to analyze successes and challenges. You can then document “lessons learned” for future reference and seek ongoing support from Bakerfield Solutions for proactive assistance.
By following a structured approach, optimizing processes, empowering users, and tracking progress effectively, manufacturers can enhance financial performance and prepare for future success in their competitive industry landscape. Embrace the transformative power of early planning to optimize your financial journey and drive sustainable growth.
Ready to conquer planning season? Unlock expert tips in our blog “Proactive Budget Planning: Top 5 Expert Tips to Optimize Your Performance”
Interested in Learning More Tips and Tricks from Industry Experts? We Will Keep You Posted on Future Webinars and Thought Leadership Content.
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About Bakerfield Solutions:
Bakerfield Solutions specializes in the Planful Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform. Recognized as Planful Partner of the Year for three straight years and a Gold sponsor of Perform 2024, we bring unparalleled expertise and commitment to every project in a wide range of B2B and B2C sectors.
As a Planful certified implementation partner, we draw on our extensive experience in dynamic planning use cases such as revenue modeling (including SaaS waterfalls), S&OP models, capacity planning, capitalization models, multistep allocations, product planning, manufacturing cost of goods, SKU planning, and detailed cash flow. We are also a Boomi-certified partner with a dedicated data integration practice that has completed over 50 Boomi projects.
Our team has extensive expertise in various industries including: SaaS/Technology, Life Science/Pharma/Medical Devices, Healthcare, Real Estate, Manufacturing/Distribution, and many more. Discover how we can assist you with typical hurdles like technology integration and simplifying complex financial models. Please contact Bakerfield Solutions at PlanfulSuccess@bakerfieldsolutions.com or visit our website at www.bakerfieldsolutions.com.