The Ledger

Finding a Place For Artificial Intelligence in FP&A

The term “artificial intelligence (AI)” is used so frequently in this day and age that it is often misconstrued because it is leveraged enterprise-wide by different departments for different things. For FP&A, AI is the automation of actions based on analysis of available data in order to mimic the way a person would make a decision. Human’s make decisions based on their data, but their decisions are always influenced by human nature (bias, experience, etc.). The whole purpose of AI is not to replace humans, but to be used as another tool that can help management teams clarify their thinking and make better-informed decisions.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >

How Effective is Your Costing?

Many companies are using a costing platform that is more of a “one-size-fits-all” system. What they don’t realize, is that the insights there are getting from these systems are inadequate for important decision making because they aren’t tailored to their specific business needs. Another barrier to effective costing is understanding the difference between the costing done for external financial reporting and managerial costing – costing done purely for an organization’s internal use. The goal of managerial costing is to ensure information for decisions reflects the characteristics of the organization’s resources and operations. Yet most companies have inadequate managerial costing systems, relying on systems designed primarily to meet external financial reporting standards.

Read More at EBN Online >

Reduce Finance Risk by Reducing (or Eliminating) Use of Spreadsheets

“The trouble with spreadsheets is that they put a lot of responsibility in the hands of the user.”

Spreadsheets are everywhere, and it makes sense why- they are familiar and inexpensive. However, a problem arises when businesses start relying on spreadsheets for important decision making because they leave a lot of room for human error. Better alternatives are available- new analytics technologies enable businesses to have greater control over calculations and the movement of information, and many provide audit trails to document exactly what did, and did not, go into any given analysis. Most render it impossible for users to mess up the formulas.

Read More at Forbes Magazine >

Get With the Times- Modern Planning Solutions Are Taking Over

In today’s fast-moving, unpredictable business environment, legacy planning practices can’t keep up. Often times, plans are already out of date before they even begin. It is impossible to predict events six months out, let alone 18 months for the traditional budgeting process. With modern financial planning and analysis solutions combined with newer management methodologies, these processes no longer need be time-bound. They can operate as a single management process where planning activities are triggered not by a date on the calendar but by events and exceptions. For all but small businesses, this requires a sophisticated automation capability that does not necessarily rely on human intervention.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >