What is a rolling forecast and why use it? Learn the rolling forecast definition as well as the pros and cons of this business planning process.
'The Evolution Of Excel': A Follow-Up
The Evolution of Excel: From Support Tool to Panacea to Dinosaur
Our Crystal Ball: Looking Ahead to the Future of Forecasting
Forecasting the Future of Forecasting: Where We've Been and What's It Given Us
What drives satisfaction in Planning and Forecasting processes?
Performance Management Edge Video Series
Mitch Max is a featured presenter in Video #5 – “Habits of Highly Effective Business” on the Performance Management Edge series. Please check out this site. Mitch is a featured “expert” along with other colleagues in Performance Management. Created by Alan Stratton, PME provides regular (twice a month right now) videos on techniques in Performance Management designed to give you the “edge” in business. Highly recommended (and free!).
Performance Management Edge – New Video Segment
The second instalment of our survey on the Habits of Effective Planners is featured in a video segment that is now available on Performance Management Edge. Shortening the budget cycle – for those companies still following the traditional budget cycle model – is a critical task. Watch this short segment to learn three great techniques for shortening your cycle to improve quality while reducing effort and time. If you haven’t already signed up to watch this great series (new episodes at least twice a month), you can sign up on the site.
The role of Resource and Activity Drivers
On the most recent episode of Performance Management Edge, Mitch answers a question by Safdar Imam: What is the role and importance of identifying correct “Activity Drivers” and “Resource Drivers” in planning/ managing profitability in service industries? This turned out to be too complex for one single response, and I chose to break it into a two-part response, with the first on Resource Drivers and the second on Activity Drivers. I’ll update when the second part is released. For both, I rely on the underlying framework of the CAM-I Cross.
I make the case that the use of fixed resource assignments certainly has its place, but for many organizations, it is critical to look at Time-Based assignments to more dynamically reflect the frequent changes that occur in many parts of service companies.
New Video: The Role of Activity Drivers in Service Businesses
Part 2 of the video response to Safdar Imam’s question is now live at PerformanceManagementEdge.com. In searching for the elusive perfect activity driver, we frequently need to look to see what drivers are practically available, and use them in conjunction with factors to build a model efficiently. In the case of time-based drivers, building consumption models often requires us to use an activity driver – such as number of business days – that is not measured by cost object. While this gives us a true measure of activity consumption, a push-down of costs to the cost object level is then required.
Watch the full video – following John Miller’s segment – for more information. And be sure to send new questions on the PerformanceManagementEdge site.
Profitability is affordable – rapidABC is here
rapidABC is live on the web! Contact us to find out how rapidABC provides companies with a highly-affordable capability to measure and improve business performance through advanced costing and profitability analytics.
Click here to visit the rapidABC website
Download a one-page synopsis by clicking here.
BetterVu’s new ABC app in Anaplan
At @Anaplan #Hub2014 conference last month, we demonstrated two of our applications – one for Predictive Labor Modeling and one for Activity-Based Costing. The ABC app was selected for presentation at “Demo Jam”, hosted by Anaplan’s Chief Customer Officer Simon Tucker. Watch this 7 minute demonstration and discussion here: [video_embed video="97859564" parameters="autoplay=1&loop=1" mp4="" ogv="" placeholder="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/478382428.webp?mw=500&mh=281" width="500" height="284"]
BetterVu @ Anaplan Hub2014 from BetterVu on Vimeo.
Raising your Cost Consciousness
MEDIA ALERT: BetterVu to showcase Anaplan Applications for Profitability and Predictive Labor Modeling at #HUB2014
The Case for Finance Improvement
The new focus on analytics and “big data” is having major changes on organizations, as they strive to focus on niche business areas as a more focused and analytical approach to driving performance improvement. Companies will be increasingly relying on micro-customized products, services, marketing approaches and channels as they seek to improve profitability.
Millenials: an issue for Financial Analysis
Defining “Cost Consciousness”
A more rigorous approach to measuring and managing costs across multiple dimensions provides greater sustainable impact than across-the-board cuts, or short-term efforts to meet budgets. Central to this is the use of better tools and techniques to measure and – more importantly in my opinion – communicate cost measures in a transparent and actionable way.
Traveling on the Beyond Budgeting highway: Are we there yet?
New Video Series begins: Raising Your Cost Consciousness
PerformanceManagementEdge.com has posted the first of our four-part series on “Raising Your Cost Consciousness”. In the first instalment, Mitch Max examines some of the root causes of difficulty in managing costs in organizations.