The economic environment is becoming more and more VUCA - volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous. A prominent topic is digitization, which is likely to bring more or less significant changes for all companies, without the nature, direction and speed of the changes being precisely foreseeable, let alone predictable. In order to survive successfully in such an environment, agility is needed, a concept of corporate management that is currently much discussed. Agility means speed, adaptation, flexibility and dynamism. Agile financial planning and steering is also required as part of corporate management. How can this be designed? [....]
Digitized Corporate Planning: How to avoid bad investments
Digitization is becoming increasingly important for corporate planning. But what exactly does "digitization" of corporate planning mean and what should companies consider before investing in new (digital) technology? [....]
Digitization and management control - An overview of the current state of the discussion
Every day there are new publications about digitization and management control: narrower or broader studies and publications from the scientific community, presentations, articles or blogs from management consultancies and software providers.
In the last few weeks I have read a large number of such publications and summarize my findings on the current state of the discussion in the following 5 points [....]
More and more companies notice the increasing dynamics and risks of global markets. This constant development puts new demands on the financial management and control systems: The processes for business steering must become more dynamic! [....]
Target setting is possible even without budgets
These days, the competitive environment is extremely challenging for most companies. The price, cost and innovation pressure is strong. At the same time, the expectations by the investors are very high: The return on the invested capital ought to be maximal. Companies set ambitious targets, which are defined for different organizational units and hierarchical levels within the company, in order to be successful in this environment. [....]
Watch out - How forecasts cause your budget to collapse!
If the assumptions (e.g. about customer behavior, growth, project impact), that your budget initially was based on, change during the fiscal year, then the relevance of the processes to plan and steer the business changes as well. The forecast can cause your budget to collapse partially or even completely. [....]
How to boost your forecast accuracy
More and more companies experience the growing dynamics and uncertainty of the economic environment at first hand. The key word volatility, as an expression of this phenomenon, is very popular. When the volatility increases, the forecast accuracy becomes more important. What could be more appropriate than to constantly increase the forecast accuracy?
The good news is: The forecast accuracy can be significantly increased with just a few simple means. The even better news is: No complex mathematical-statistical models, expensive software or supernatural abilities are required in the first step – even though these might help as well. [....]
GPS based on traditional budgeting principles - give it a shot!
Test the new GPS for your car! It uses the practice proven principles of traditional budgeting and thus offers an unforgettable driving experience. Below, I will explain to you why the Traditional Budgeting System (Abbr.: «TBS») is significantly superior to conventional GPS devices. [....]
How budgets steal our perspective
October 2016 – the days are getting shorter, however, the work days of a controller are getting longer and longer: It is planning and budgeting time. The same in our corporation. Currently, the controllers develop a detailed five-year plan and an even more detailed budget. [....]
 7 reasons why traditional budgeting is here to stay Regularly in fall, the budgeting process paralyses entire organizations. Both, public and private companies suffer equally from the budget fever. The first signs of this fever are often already significantly noticeable in the summer. But why has the traditional budgeting system overcome the past decades mostly unaltered? Why did alternative concepts, such as Beyond Budgeting not gain substantial foothold yet? Here are the 7 most important reasons for why traditional budgeting will persist in the future [....] |