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Why continuous forecasting is more enjoyable
The case for continuous forecasting Time for a confession. I really hated forecasting back in my old job. Kind of crazy since I was working with clients on improving their planning, budgeting & forecasting processes. Yet, I absolutely hated doing my own forecast. What was wrong? First of all, the template was terrible. Way too […]
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The reputation of business forecasting is not positive – Time for change!
Business Forecasting The budgeting and business forecasting processes often have a poor reputation in many companies. Part of the issue is that the people involved in the process do not see a lot of value in it. Last year in November, two of my colleagues and I conducted a survey amongst 162 senior finance professionals […]
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The Cognos Blueprints are back – for Cognos Insight
IBM Cognos Blueprints Have you heard of the Cognos Blueprints? They are pre-configured planing and forecasting templates. You can download them from the IBM Cognos Innovation Center website. Each blueprint comes with a fully functional set of model definition files, model and business best practices documentation. There are over 50 different Cognos Blueprints available for […]
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How to improve your forecasting templates through initiatives
Forecasting concerns Despite its tremendous importance, forecasting remains one of most disliked processes in many companies. Part of the problem are the forecasting templates themselves. They are extremely complex and cumbersome. Today, I want to look at a simple technique that can improve the usability of the forecasting templates while also increasing the ability to gain […]
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Forecast Analysis – An Effective Dashboard
FORECAST ANALYSIS Last week I argued that a detailed variance report is not very helpful before and during the forecasting and budgeting process. That post continues to be one of the most popular ones recently. But why not take the basic ideas a few steps forward and create a dedicated forecasting dashboard? A dashboard allows […]
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Better Forecasting And Budgeting Starts With Analysis – IBM Cognos 10 in Action
FORECAST ANALYSIS Much has been written about developing better forecasting and budgeting templates or improving the overall process. But to my surprise there is hardly any focus on the role of analysis. I have seen many organizations where managers ‘survive’ the forecasting and budgeting cycle without ever spending time performing meaningful analysis of their data. […]
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Annual Budgeting – Our favorite season?
BUDGETING Yes, it’s that time of the year. The time that is often filled with pain and fear. No, I am not talking about Halloween but about the corporate budgeting process. Much has been written about the annual budget. And most of the written stuff is not positive. Jack Welch alone has provided us with […]
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Improve your forecasts – 6 things we can learn from weather forecasters
Back in April, I posted an interview with a master forecaster: Franz the Frog. Interestingly enough, this post is one of the most popular entries on this blog. But all jokes and irony aside: Weather forecasters are indeed world champions in forecasting and there are some lessons that we as finance professionals can learn from […]
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Success with Forecasting – A discussion with Pieter Coens
Please meet Pieter Coens. Pieter is the Director of Finance & Control at Landal GreenParks in the Netherlands. He started his career in public accounting and joined Landal over 16 years ago. Pieter has held various positions in finance at Landal. Landal GreenParks is a leader in bungalow-park management and rental. Landal has over 65 parks […]
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The ultimate rolling forecast workshop
Forecasting is a critical topic for many companies these days. No big surprise: the volatility and the speed in the world requires organizations to stay agile. About four years ago, my team and I started working with several customers and thought-leaders (David Axson, Steve Morlidge) to collect best practices for forecasting in these turbulent times. […]