Best Practices in Operational BI CFO Project Volume 3, July 31, 2007
Converging Analytical and Operational Processes
Wayne W. Eckerson, TDWI, Sponsored by InetSoft

 CASE STUDY: Blythe J. McGarvie CFO Project Volume 3, July 31, 2007
A Personal Perspective on Business Performance Management
Blythe J. McGarvie, Leadership for International Finance LLC

 Interview with Mark Smith CFO Project Volume 3, July 31, 2007
Mark Smith explores the performance management trends and issues facing finance organizations and the impact of recent market consolidation among financial management software providers.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 The Chief Finance Office — A Balancing Act CFO Project Volume 3, July 31, 2007
CFOs today are expected to manage the tasks of tracking and reporting accurate data while also acting in the role of corporate leader.
BearingPoint

 Turning IT Services Change From a Minefield to a Gold Mine CFO Project Volume 3, July 31, 2007
Knowledge is power for CFOs weighing the risks and rewards of high-impact IT services deals.
Alex Veytsel, RampRate

 Are you delivering the information needed to fuel growth for your enterprise? CFO Project Volume 1, November 15, 2000
A recent study of 153 cross-industry chief financial officers (CFOs) reveals that commercialsector CFOs (those in manufacturing, high tech, transportation, retail and communications enterprises) understand more clearly than other CFOs what capabilities finance functions require to deliver value to their organizations. Commercial-sector CFOs place a high priority on delivering the real-time information that can fuel growth and innovation and improve return on investment (ROI). The study suggests, however, that there is a large gap between the priority commercial-sector CFOs place on this critical information and their ability to deliver it.
Tom Eiselt, BearingPoint, Michael Pugliese, BearingPoint, Nina Afshar, BearingPoint

 A Better Spreadsheet Alternative CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 29, 2005 - Ventana Research has been advising companies to eliminate standard spreadsheets for any enterprise-wide, collaborative purpose. This type of spreadsheet is still a vital productivity tool for individuals, but it lacks critical technological capabilities (e.g., the ability to enforce data integrity and referential integrity) and therefore is not well suited to company-wide, ongoing operations. While standalone spreadsheets were once the only choice, companies have more options. One of these is Actuate’s e.Spreadsheet.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 A Faster Close CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 16, 2005 - Ventana Research has just completed a study of how companies handle financial reporting and consolidation. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents from corporations with more than 1,000 employees or $100 million in annual revenues (the size of organization on which the study focused) stated they want to accelerate their monthly close. More than half wanted to speed up the quarterly close. A fast, clean close is desirable because usually it reflects a well-designed process efficiently executed. A faster close gets financial information out to managers sooner, and for US public companies it makes it easier to deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) shorter filing deadlines. The study participants also think shortening the close is an important objective. Ventana Research advises companies to examine each element of the people-process-system to find opportunities to shave the time it takes to effect the close. In our judgment, having the right software becomes the most important factor in achieving an optimal closing period.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 A New Magnitude CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
May 27- 2005 - Cartesis has just released ES Magnitude, a consolidation and statutory/management reporting package. Consolidation software has received less attention than it deserves in recent years. One possible reason is almost all Global 2000 organizations already have solutions in place and therefore many consider the category “mature.” However, Ventana Research advises companies to take a close look at their incumbent system to be certain their package(s) will enable them to support business initiatives such as accelerating their accounting close, broadening the scope of information used in management reporting, increasing sustainable compliance efficiency and cutting operating costs.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 A New View of Capital Planning CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
New research looks beyond the application of financial appraisal techniques to examine the efficacy of other elements of the process.
Andy Neely, Cranfield School of Management, Mike Bourne, Cranfield School of Management, Chris Adams, Cranfield School of Management, Herman R. Heyns, Accenture

 Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards is a Performance Management Issue CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 28, 2004 - Preparing and presenting consolidated financial statements according to International Accounting Standards (IAS) /International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) becomes mandatory for companies listed on a regulated exchange in the European Union (EU) and other countries as of January 1, 2005. The results of converting to IAS/IFRS reporting by early-adopter organizations has shown that the financial performance of an organization can present substantially differently. Ventana Research recommends that businesses subject to IAS/IFRS compliance consider how they communicate this new performance perspective to organizational stakeholders.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 ADP CANADA: Cognos Allows Us to Look at Things in Different Ways and Find Real Opportunities CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
ADP Canada is a “business behind the business.” The largest Canadian provider of HR and payroll information solutions, ADP Canada needed to manage the complexities of a steadily expanding client roster aswell as the intricacies of its own corporate planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes. Opportunities for cost savings were going unrecognized, the planning cycle was tedious, and data accuracy needed a boost—until the company implemented a Cognos Enterprise Planning solution.
Jeff Gerkin, Cognos

 Avaya Business Continuity Practice--Helping Workers Compensation Fund Take Emergency Preparedness to New Levels CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Created in 1917 by the Utah legislature to provide wage loss benefits for work-related illness or disability, WCF has evolved over the years to a private ownership structure with Board of Directors comprised of policyholders. In an industry marked by high levels of competition and regulatory oversight, providers face a straightforward--but challenging--financial mandate. With an unyielding requirement that incoming policy premiums fund the outgoing cost of claims, a carrier's sustained success depends on superior business practices--an area where Workers Compensation Fund excels.

 Benefiting from Making Strategy Mandatory CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 2, 2005 - Financial and management reporting by public companies has evolved rapidly over the last five years, driven by the needs to re-establish public trust and to harmonize requirements worldwide. Starting this year, U.K. public companies face far more stringent Operating and Financial Review (OFR) requirements. Implementation of the requirements may force companies to set out their strategy explicitly and develop a detailed plan how management intends to implement it. Or it may not, depending on how strict enforcement proves to be. In either case, Ventana Research believes most companies would benefit from expanding and formalizing their strategy-plan-budget-review cycle. Abandoning the traditional spreadsheet-based budgeting processes and adopting a dedicated planning application makes both compliance and strategic planning and reporting much easier to do.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Best Intentions for Lawson CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 3, 2005 - Lawson will merge with Intentia Software, a Swedish company, in a transaction worth about $500 million. The result will be company with nearly US$1-billion in revenues from a more balanced set of verticals, enterprise software product categories and geographies. Based on communications from the companies’ managements, Ventana Research sees little impact on users -- as there will be no attempt to combine products or integrate the day-to-day workings of the companies in the near term. To the extent there were viability questions about Lawson or Intentia in the minds of customers, we expect they may be allayed, but competitors also are likely to instill fear about future product plans. In short, the merger starts with the best intentions – it will take a year or so to see what the next steps will likely be and to assess the impact they will have on the company and its combined user base.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Better Budgeting and Beyond CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Research shows some companies have exorcised the term ‘budgeting,' while a group of Scandinavian companies have dispensed with budgeting altogether.
Andy Neely, Cranfield School of Management, Mike Bourne, Cranfield School of Management, Chris Adams, Cranfield School of Management

 Better Performance Management CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Companies that capitalize on a new generation of robust, integrated performance management tools will show a measurable impact on their profitability and market position.
Gregg Taylor, Accenture

 Build a Business and IT Foundation for BI CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
March 4, 2005 - Organizations have never been so eager to adopt business intelligence (BI) technology. Unfortunately, lack of alignment between people, process and technology has led to many misguided business intelligence deployments. Using a business-centric methodology and process-improvement type approach organizations can leverage BI efficiently to enable Performance Management. Ventana Research believes organizations that do not take this approach will find themselves – like many after the waves of ERP and CRM – with under utilized and over purchased technology that does not provide a competitive advantage.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Building A Competitive Intelligence Group CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 1, 2005 - While the SEC has allowed companies to take their time tagging financial data using XBRL standards, a private company, Edgar On-Line, is launching its own service giving subscribers access to a comprehensive set of XBRL data. The easy availability of this information makes it practical for corporations to use it for competitive analysis, operational benchmarking, sales intelligence, etc. Ventana Research advises CFOs to establish a competitive intelligence group charged with providing business units and executives actionable information about competitors, markets and suppliers. As this data is readily available now, we believe the ability to deliver these kinds of analyses has become a required core competence of the finance organization and will soon become a competitive requirement.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Business Insight CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Business insight is the capability of organizing and analyzing financial, operational, and external information, enabling decision-makers to understand and act, before their competitors, to create sustainable shareholder value.
Paul A. Boulanger, Accenture

 Business Objects for Finance CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 22, 2005 - Business Objects will purchase SRC Software for $100 million, a move the company characterized as enabling it to offer “a complete BI solution.” Ventana Research believes the company’s intentions are sound but that it will need a substantial and sustained investment in marketing and sales to establish itself as a trusted brand for finance executives. We think the choice of SRC – a good option for division-level Global 2000 implementations or large mid-market enterprises – complicates execution of Business Objects’ marketing strategy because it is not the best match for its Global 2000 customers.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 CFOs Face Major IT Challenges CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 1, 2005 - In September, Ventana Research conducted a workshop for senior finance executives as part of CFO Magazine’s Strategy Execution Conference. Its theme was integrating business and information technology, particularly in areas (including budgeting and planning, closing, reporting, compliance and profitability management) where the proper application of IT would have the greatest potential for creating business value. We also delivered an overview of the methodology we use to help companies create requirements for IT initiatives and find the software that best matches their needs. Part of the workshop was devoted to discussing the most common IT issues that participants had to confront to address the business challenges facing them. We found that the pure technology concerns were dwarfed by a broader set of challenges related to the organization, communications and resources.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Cognos Enterprise Planning 7.2 Released CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
March 22, 2004 - Cognos Enterprise Planning is designed to help organizations forecast, plan, measure performance and analyze important business activities in a highly collaborative, real-time fashion. Cognos Enterprise Planning 7.2 offers deeper integration with Cognos’ suite of applications and it adds a host of usability features. Functionally, Enterprise Planning was already a leading driver-based planning tool. Ventana Research thinks the latest release makes Enterprise Planning a much more attractive option for corporations that are heavy users of Cognos’ other software, that want to eliminate spreadsheets and adopt a dedicated budgeting and planning tool.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Cognos Planning Series 7 Version 3 Released CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 15, 2004 - Cognos’s latest release of Cognos Planning incorporates a set of important new capabilities that enhance the value of the software by making it more capable and usable. The company has added templates to speed the implementation of well-designed planning models, made important administrative enhancements to streamline its management, and made user interface design changes to facilitate navigation. Ventana Research advises companies to adopt dedicated applications to manage their planning and budgeting process. We believe Global 2000 companies should consider Cognos Planning for this purpose, particularly those that use or want to adopt a driver-based planning methodology.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Consolidating the Chart of Accounts CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 11, 2005 - Master data management (MDM) holds the promise of enabling large corporations to deal with a long-standing problem: harmonizing their charts of accounts. When they have disparate charts, the process of rolling up and consolidating data from all of the accounting entities can be laborious. Having a single chart of accounts (COA) across all businesses would simplify many time-sensitive processes at the ends of fiscal periods. For most Global 2000 companies, achieving a single COA is undesirable or problematic for operational and political reasons. The business systems of their major operating units may be distinct enough to warrant different treatments, and managers of subsidiaries often have vested interests in maintaining those differences. Many Global 2000 organizations that have attempted to achieve a single COA (and even some that claim to have one) have been thwarted or have had to accept major limitations that in the end failed to produce the desired benefit. A master data management approach may succeed where others have failed.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Consolidating with Compliance CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 10, 2004 - Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will force companies to make fundamental changes in their financial processes to regain efficiency lost in a more formal control environment. Legal and financial consolidation is one area ripe for change. Ventana Research asserts companies can and should shift from a traditional bottoms-up, sequential consolidation method to a more centralized approach. In doing so, they can cut costs, shorten reporting intervals, enhance the accuracy and reliability of the process and achieve greater control. Some companies already have the IT assets in place to accomplish this, while others will need to make changes to their consolidation and reporting systems.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Cost-Effective Corporate Aviation CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Companies today are increasing productivity and efficiency and significantly reducing company expenses through fractional aircraft ownership.
Stephen P. Bishop, NetJets, Inc.

 Data Security Across International Borders CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 9, 2004 - IT cost reduction opportunities presented by offshore resources have motivated US and other corporations to undertake software development and administration projects in foreign countries. In many cases, IT personnel involved in these projects must have access to corporate data to effectively design, develop, test, maintain and administer the software. IT departments willingly give remote access or ship some or even all of the data to these remote IT locations to enable the remote work. This data is wide ranging and often includes confidential information about an organization’s commercial and retail customers. Once this data leaves the US, the security structure of computer systems, processes, personnel, organizations, facilities, law, law enforcement and political backdrop changes, potentially with unexpected results. This in turn, may increase the risks and associated consequences of data security breaches for both corporations and the customers, both commercial and consumer. Ventana Research recommends risk assessments by a joint committee that has legal, technical and business understanding be performed for any offshoring activity where remote access or remote delivery of confidential corporate information exists.
Eric Rogge, Ventana Research

 DecisionPoint Moves to Next Level CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 27, 2005 - DecisionPoint recently announced the availability of release 11 of its financial performance management suite. This upgrade provides organizations deeper integration into Peoplesoft and SAP applications along with integration with Microsoft Excel and Linux operating system support. Ventana Research believes that the ERP integrated financial information management approach by DecisionPoint is unique in the market.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Deluxe Corporation Manages World-Class Performance with Cognos Enterprise Planning CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Deluxe’s three business units provide personal and business checks, business forms, labels, self-inking stamps, fraud prevention services, and customer retention programs to banks, credit unions, financial services companies, consumers, and small businesses through multiple distribution channels such as the Internet, direct mail, telephone, and a nationwide sales force. The company’s plans to aggressively pursue new market opportunities have resulted in increasingly stringent business planning requirements. Armed with Cognos Enterprise Planning, Deluxe has created and implemented sophisticated business planning processes that deliver increased speed and accuracy to its enterprise-wide analysis and forecasting processes.
Jeff Gerkin, Cognos

 Do Scorecards Deliver Value? CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 22, 2004 - The balanced scorecard came to prominence in the 90’s as a progressive Performance Management methodology that positions external factors with prominent internal issues to appropriately influence management decision making. Ventana Research views the balanced scorecard as a methodology that enables organizations to bridge the gap between strategy planning and operational execution.
Martin McCann, Ventana Research

 Document Output Analysis CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
While companies continue to examine corporate expenditures in the effort to remain operationally lean, document production infrastructures continue to slip under the radar, resulting in millions of dollars in lost profit annually.

 Does the ERP Deliver Value? CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 21, 2005 - Ventana Research frequently finds that senior finance executives believe their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has failed to deliver sufficient value. There was some factual basis for this perception. Surveys performed in the 1990s consistently showed ERP deployments fell short of expectations for return on investment (ROI) because implementation costs were higher than projected and promised benefits were harder to achieve. That these systems have ongoing costs for maintenance fees and upgrades further reinforces this view among some CFOs. But there is evidence that companies underestimate the positive financial impact ERP systems can have. We believe many CFOs are not achieving all the potential benefits from these systems because their negative perceptions have caused them to underutilize ERP systems in the areas of process improvements and innovation. We advise finance executives to work at increasing the value their companies receive from this core business system.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Enterprise Spreadsheet for Enterprise Planning CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 28, 2004 - Cognos has introduced two Microsoft Excel extensions in its Enterprise Planning solution. One is an interface to Cognos Enterprise Planning - Contributor applications. The other is a module that makes it easy for individuals to load data from their personal spreadsheets into Contributor applications and incorporate it into a plan. The former is a new licensed product and the latter is included with a Contributor license.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 ERP Innovation CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 6, 2005 - Ventana Research believes that the ERP market is moribund and too firmly anchored to its roots in delivering financial, HR, supply chain and manufacturing functionality. In order to support the innovative organizations of the future, this current functional footprint must be regarded as merely the foundation for the next level of ERP development. Otherwise, customers who have made significant investments in ERP over the last decade will be wondering how this investment will support them in a world where organizational innovation and avoiding commoditization is the order of the day.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 ERP Rest in Peace CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
October 27, 2004 - The majority of enterprises today have established an operations baseline for human resources, finance and other core enterprise resource applications with their ERP systems from providers like Lawson, Oracle, Peoplesoft, SAP and others. Unfortunately, many ERP providers and implementation consultants believe a continuous path of upgrading these systems will result in more efficiency and performance improvement. Ventana Research recommends you examine an alternative approach focused on effectiveness and the imperative to improve financial and workforce performance through the decoupling of your ERP systems. These operational and efficient ERP systems should rest in peace (RIP) while your focus and critical investments center around compliance, profitability and innovation imperatives that directly link to performance management.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Eviscerating Microsoft Business Solutions CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 6, 2005 - Ventana Research believes that the lackluster performance of Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) to date has nothing to do with the difficulties of the move towards a single code base (codenamed “Green”). Instead, it has everything to do with the gradual evisceration of Microsoft Business Solutions, as its core competencies are absorbed by other well-entrenched and profitable Microsoft Assets. Ventana Research sees the ongoing unraveling of MBS to be part of a long-term strategy to lead in the ERP market based on platform dominance driving wider organizational footprint.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Financial Implications of CPM CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Corporate performance management offers more perceptiveness and agility to enterprises that have already attained a cohesive infrastructure.
Alex Veytsel, RampRate

 Financial Performance Management and Profitability CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
March 18, 2005 - Finding ways to manage profitability more effectively is a cornerstone of Financial Performance Management. Ventana Research thinks CFOs can drive initiatives that will enhance corporate profitability in ways that go beyond the traditional ‘bean counter’ approaches. Today’s approach to profitability management involves using more insight to uncover both unnecessary costs as well as find opportunities to achieve a higher return on sales. Finance organizations can do far more than they are currently doing, often using existing staff and IT resources.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Financial Performance Management Research Agenda CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 21, 2005 - Ventana Research states the key objective of Performance Management is to optimize business processes while aligning them with the organization’s strategy. Finance organizations play a strategic role in managing the performance of a company. Beyond executing the finance functions, they define control metrics and handle performance reporting. They administer the planning, budgeting and review process. The Financial Performance Management practice of Ventana Research will focus on four major research topics in 2005: redefining finance department processes (including reporting and administration) for the Sarbanes-Oxley era, increasing the value of budgeting and planning, profitability management and increasing the effectiveness of the finance organization. Each of these issues have business and IT issues associated with them, as well as best practices that companies must adopt to address them.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Fixing Sarbanes-Oxley CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 29, 2005 - FRONTlines Forum, a conference on corporate governance, compliance and audit practices, took place in San Francisco on the same week that the SEC’s roundtable discussion on Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 “lessons learned” was held in Washington. Both produced mixed reviews: most companies that presented do not believe the law has been a total waste of time, but there is substantial room for improvement in how the law is implemented. Many companies believe they must find more efficient ways to comply, a point we have been advocating along with leveraging these efforts to enhance the finance organization’s overall effectiveness. Ventana Research believes software plays a critical role in accomplishing this. We also advise IT organizations of US public filers to ensure they are assessed as a source of serious deficiencies as we believe auditors generally will take a closer look at the IT systems dimensions in the current year.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 From Monolithic to Business Process Applications CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 8, 2005 - SAP laid out its market strategy while meeting with analysts in early December. The company says it will seek to increase its market share lead by changing the orientation of the enterprise application from database tables to the business process and its focus from IT architecture to end users. Ventana Research believes this approach is an important and necessary evolution beyond the data-centric approach so common in the enterprise software universe – one that is epitomized by the three-letter acronyms commonly used for functional applications such as ERP, CRM, SCM and so on. From a business perspective this current architectural approach is artificial, so instead SAP proposes to focus on reducing substantially the frictions of executing business processes. In our judgment, SAP’s conceptual approach represents the wave of the future; it also differs from other service-oriented architectures in its potential to deliver practical enterprise applications. While we do not expect it to change the applications business overnight, SAP’s direction does suggest how mainstream Global 2,000 organizations will use packaged applications by early in the second decade of the century.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Geac Performance Management for Finance & CFO CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 2, 2005 - Evolving CFO roles and increased CFO accountability is driving Performance Management to the top of finance priority lists. Geac, a provider of ERP and Performance Management solutions to global organizations, has significantly improved its own financial performance solution, Geac Performance Management. Version 7 raises the competitive and functional bar by providing an integrated platform and applications for a wide range of financial processes which include budgeting, planning, reporting, consolidation and strategy management. Organizations tired of dealing with disparate financial applications across separate platforms or those looking to find a new supplier should investigate Geac's improved value proposition for performance management.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Geac Updates Compliance Management CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 2, 2005 - Now that companies have completed their initial Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 certification, Ventana Research believes the next step is for them to focus on achieving sustainable, efficient compliance with the law. In our judgment, investments in this effort can reduce the administrative burden and, of equal importance, reduce the possibility of inadvertent but costly errors. Tools such as Geac’s newly updated compliance management system can be of considerable help.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 High-Value Information Systems CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Five practices can help large corporations to build high-value information architectures and to better manage business performance.
Steve McMinn, Independent Consultant , Pierre Puts, Accenture

 Improving Budgeting and Planning Effectiveness CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 31, 2005 - Cognos and Hyperion have pointed to accelerating sales of their dedicated budgeting and planning solutions in their recent financial results (without citing specific numbers). Ventana Research expects continued adoption of dedicated software as companies focus on making budgeting and planning more of a Performance Management tool. Standalone spreadsheets make it difficult to use planning more effectively because their inherent limitations stand in the way of implementing process enhancements. Spreadsheets force companies to spend too much time simply pulling the numbers together. They do not have enough time to analyze them and prevent adequate collaboration. Frequently, to lessen the administrative burden, organizations that use spreadsheets limit participation in the process and cannot re-plan or re-budget easily at any level of detail in response to business changes.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Innovation Management Market CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 20, 2004 - The innovation management technology market looks a lot like the CRM marketplace a decade ago, a lot of silo applications with no clear market leader that is ripe for a shake-up. In the CRM market an upstart (Siebel) was allowed to grow and dominate the space before ERP vendors began to fight back. Ventana Research believes it will be harder for this to happen in the innovation management technology market. Instead, the battle will be between two industry titans: Microsoft and SAP.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Innovation Management Software: Walking the Talk CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 14, 2004 - Innovation has become a marketing buzzword for all kinds of organizations, especially technology leaders such as Apple and Microsoft. However, Ventana Research wonders whether these vendors really walk the talk when it comes to delivering innovation management software that can really make a difference in terms of Innovation Performance Management (IPM).
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Innovation Management Technology CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 20, 2004 - Innovation management technology is a fledgling market, but one that is likely to attract significantly more interest as more organizations focus more effort on innovation performance management (IPM). Ventana Research believes disruptive innovation is on the way for the innovation management technology market as segment leaders emerge and industry giants begin to enter the market.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Lawson Looking for Light in EPM CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 2, 2004 - Lawson recently set a 1,000-day manifesto (strategy and plan) to advance the company beyond its traditional application focus including Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). Unfortunately, not long after this announcement, Lawson experienced a hiccup in its business performance because it failed to gain new customers and entice existing customers to purchase its complementary solutions. In addition, a shift from a strong vertical strategy to a horizontal ERP focus, management changes including the reduction of individuals who understand EPM and attacking competitive ERP providers, Lawson has shifted focus again to its core ERP business. Ventana Research cautions organizations evaluating Lawson to carefully review its short and long-term commitment to its solutions, especially EPM, until its business and strategy stabilizes and translates into improved financial performance.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Manage Taxes on Purchase Transactions Effectively to Significantly Improve the Bottom Line CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
States are under continual pressure to increase revenue and decrease spending. State revenue departments are asked to bring in more tax revenue and often hire additional tax auditors to do so. Additional auditors increase the number of taxpayers that states are able to audit increasing a taxpayer’s likelihood of being audited on a regular basis.
Sabrix Business Development, Sabrix

 Managing Incentives and Rewards for Financial Compliance CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
May 9, 2005 - Organizations continue to expand their focus on leveraging rewards and incentives to ensure the alignment of revenue targets, financial plans and operational objectives within sales and other operational areas as part of their Performance Management efforts. Unfortunately, the process and systems used to support this process have not been streamlined. Operational planning and execution of incentive programs paid out by finance have yet to be automated efficiently. Ventana Research believes organizations that want to prepare for financial and operational review, let alone the likelihood of auditing from Sarbanes Oxley legislation, should document and automate the process with applications and information systems that mitigate operational risk.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Measuring the Accuracy of Planning and Budgeting CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 11, 2005 - Our research on planning and budgeting has found that finance executives rate “accuracy” as an important objective of these processes. But how should a company measure the accuracy of a budget or plan? The answer depends on what you want to know. “Accuracy” is a slippery concept in budgeting and planning. There are many ways to measure it, but not all of them will confer real business benefits. Ventana Research asserts that to be useful as a management tool, measuring the accuracy of planning and budgeting should assess mainly how well individuals and businesses achieve key performance objectives.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Mid-Size Company Budgeting Made Easier CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 29, 2004 - Effective budgeting and planning can have a significant, positive impact on a company’s performance, yet most organizations have stuck to a process that is both ineffective and inefficient. More effective planning is one-way mid-market companies can overcome being “caught in the middle” (i.e., too big to be nimble; too small to have the resources of their largest competitors).
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Movaris Launches Certainty 9 CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 29, 2005 - Movaris has announced the general availability of Certainty 9, the latest version of its suite of financial control and compliance software. The package is designed to improve the performance of finance organizations through more efficient, consistent and reliable execution of basic processes and to satisfy today’s stringent requirements for financial statements. As U.S. public companies strive to create sustainable processes for compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Ventana Research advises them to find software solutions that will support these efforts while also enhancing their day-to-day execution of finance functions.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Moving Beyond Budgeting CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
By adopting six key principles, organizations can shift to processes that free managers from the limitations of traditional business practices.
Steve Player, C.P.A., Beyond Budgeting Round Table

 Nextance Adds IP Optimization Suite CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 14, 2004 - To become a player in the knowledge economy by generating revenue from intellectual capital (IC), businesses must build and leverage their intellectual property (IP) portfolios. Ventana Research believes optimizing the utilization of IP assets is a key part of Innovation Performance Management by helping to realize the value of innovation in the marketplace. The Nextance Intellectual Property Optimization Suite is specifically designed to realize more value from IP assets.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Operational Business Intelligence CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 8, 2005 - The Ventana Research study on BI for Operational Performance indicated widespread use of business intelligence for operational use across the organization including finance. Our research found that deployments varied in size from very small to over 10,000 users. Furthermore, a large percentage of organizations accessed these operational BI applications on a daily or hourly basis, indicating that they were likely mission-critical. Among the most common operational BI applications, performance monitoring, issue management and customer/product 360 degree views stood out. The use of BI to monitor and improve operational and financial performance and management of specific operations areas will strategic for many organizations. Ventana Research expects operational use of BI to accelerate and expand in previously unrealized ways and we anticipate that operational BI will become a major focus in global organizations in 2005 and beyond.
Eric Rogge, Ventana Research

 Oracle Opens New World of Opportunity CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 17, 2004 - Oracle has stepped ahead of vendors such as BEA, IBM, Microsoft and SAP when it comes to the individual and combined computing capability of Oracle 10G for database management and application server technology. The acquisition of Peoplesoft will bring new challenges and distractions for Oracle that will hinder its ability to formidably challenge the market leader SAP in enterprise applications. Oracle’s attention on acquiring Peoplesoft and its lack of progress in BI and Performance Management pose additional challenges as Oracle looks to expand its presence with its existing tools and applications. Ventana Research believes Oracle will leverage its strength in database management systems and application server technology to improve its position in Information Management. However, we do not see these efforts advancing their position in BI or Financial, Workforce or Operational Performance Management.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Oracle Prevails in Tender Offer CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 22, 2004 - There may still be some twists and turns left in Oracle’s attempt to acquire PeopleSoft. Yet, for those who have not already done so, it is time to start planning for a post-takeover environment. We advise companies that had been planning to purchase software from PeopleSoft to look elsewhere. Companies that rely heavily on PeopleSoft applications must secure the best contractual relationship possible at this point. Firms where PeopleSoft is not strategic should plan to migrate to something else within the next several years. Corporations with a mature and stable HR and financials environment should leave well enough alone for now and concentrate on software that supports initiatives to improve their compliance activities, manage innovation and enhance profitability.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Oracle’s Good Intentions for Applications CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 21, 2005 - Oracle’s management held a “Better Together” launch event to discuss the future of the applications business now that the PeopleSoft acquisition has been completed. The company emphasized (again) its commitment to supporting the PeopleSoft and JD Edwards installed bases through 2013 and laid out a product roadmap that included major upgrades to applications from the two companies. Ventana Research believes management has every intention of making the merger work well. It is clearly in its best interest to offer a world-beating next generation application suite, planned for completion in 2008. We think PeopleSoft and JD Edwards users should proceed with caution in making commitments beyond existing releases in production. Ventana Research advises organizations to monitor the progress of the integration of the two companies over the next year before adopting new releases.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 PeoplesSoft: Succeed or Secede CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
October 11, 2004 - While we concede it is unlikely, it is possible PeopleSoft users could find themselves another option if Oracle prevails in its takeover attempt. Senior PeopleSoft executives could walk out with a large portion of the development and support people – in effect, secede from the Oracle acquisition. A new company, “NewPeopleSoft” would offer support/maintenance contracts to users when their renewals came up. Ordinarily this would be entirely out of the question, but Chairman Ellison’s remarks immediately after Oracle launched its takeover bid have left PeopleSoft users highly suspicious the deal will ruin their software investments. Moreover, if the ‘Confederates’ were led by Dave Duffield, we believe NewPeopleSoft would have sufficient credibility to attract a majority of the user base to the ‘rebel’ side. From a business perspective, a support-only organization would have a profitable, viable business model and could have sales in excess of $1-billion. Short of this happening, if the merger takes place we advise PeopleSoft customers to be prepared to stop all upgrades and sunset their maintenance payments if they are not satisfied with Oracle’s roadmap.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Planning and Budgeting Are Not the Same CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 1, 2005 - There is a great deal of similarity in how most companies manage the process usually referred to as “planning and budgeting.” Typically, it is an annual process with monthly reviews and quarterly or monthly “reforecasts.” Companies also have similar complaints about the process: It takes too long, is not of strategic value to management, attracts limited participation and buy-in and is not accurate enough. Ventana Research finds that these issues result from treating “planning and budgeting” as if the words were synonyms and the activity a single process. Planning and budgeting are not the same. We think companies routinely spend too little time planning and too much time budgeting. We advise corporations to make planning and budgeting into tools for Performance Management and to acquire software than can support that process and enhance its results.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Planning For a Downturn CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
April 26, 2005 - Usually the best time to do anything is when it’s not mission critical. That’s certainly true when it comes to budgeting and planning. Our research finds a majority of companies believe they can increase their accuracy and agility in responding to changes in their business by improving the budgeting and planning processes With Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 initial compliance behind them and while the economy is strong, we advise corporations to begin transforming their planning activities now before a downturn requires them to rush through such a change. They can begin by eliminating spreadsheet-based budgeting (still used by about two-thirds of all companies) and adopting a dedicated tool to make the process more efficient. Doing so frees up time for value-added activities such as more internal benchmarking and analysis, competitive analysis, what-if scenarios and so on.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Planning for Value Software CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
To stay competitive, software vendors have found they must offer fully integrated Planning for Value solutions, not just applications that address one or two links in the chain.
Herman R. Heyns, Accenture, Alex C. Sutherland, Accenture

 Raising Employee IQ CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
September 23, 2004 - Innovation performance management (IPM) is mostly discussed at the business level. But there are many ways to improve the innovation quotient (IQ) of individual employees and drive up the corporate IQ through innovation portals. Ventana Research recommends companies serious about innovation portals and generating innovation from the bottom up consider these ten ways to raise employee IQ.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Refreshing Financial Reporting and Consolidation CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
May 23, 2005 - Our Financial Reporting and Consolidation Study found the investments companies have made over the past decade in business intelligence and reporting software have gone a long way to addressing the financial and managerial reporting requirements of the 1990s. However, much is left to be done to make them responsive to 21st century needs. We conclude Global 2000 organizations must do far more to help manage performance across the enterprise, providing employees with a more comprehensive view of external world (e.g., competitors’ performance, market conditions) as well as more leading indicators to enable more forward-looking management. Similarly, finance organizations used their IT investments of the 1990s in ERP and consolidation systems to make considerable progress in speeding up the accounting cycle. Yet more than half believe they can accelerate their close by at least 1-2 days. Better software or better use of existing software is part of a comprehensive approach to a fast, clean close. Ventana Research asserts the changes in processes and systems needed to effect a timelier close also can make Sarbanes-Oxley compliance more efficient.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Rethinking (and Re-doing) Financial Consolidation and Reporting CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 19, 2004 - Consolidation and reporting software is an “old” theme in information technology, but only in the sense that it is has not been a recent headline topic. However, Ventana Research expects this to become more of an issue for finance organizations because Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is likely to have a noticeable impact on the cost of running the finance organization. Moreover, companies face accelerated filing requirements by the SEC, which will force many companies to rethink their closing and reporting processes.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Risk-Adjusted Measurement CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Risk-adjusted return on capital enhances traditional value-based measurement approaches to drive risk-based decision-making to all levels of the organization.
Todd Warren, Accenture, Adel Mamhikoff, Accenture

 SAP Extends Race to the Bottom CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 20, 2005 - SAP announced it has acquired iLytix XL Reporter, an Excel-based reporting and budgeting tool. The product is aimed at small/medium-size businesses (SMB’s) and is positioned as easy to deploy, use and maintain. XL Reporter integrates with many SMB accounting packages. We see the acquisition as part of SAP’s effort to increase its presence in this tier of the financial applications market where it competes against Microsoft Business Solutions (Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta), Sage Software (Sage, Best, Act!) and other vendors that distribute through resellers, as well as Epicor, Mapics and others that mainly sell direct. SAP also acquired Business One (then called TopManage) in 2002, to be able to address the SMB market.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 SAP Netweaver 2004 – A Year of Slow But Steady Progress CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 18, 2004 - SAP Netweaver is an enterprise-computing platform linking together people, information and processes across an organization’s heterogeneous landscape of enterprise applications, web services and information sources. The release of SAP Netweaver 2004 earlier this year and the massive investment made by SAP into the solution is now beginning to gain some customer adoption but only a fraction of the existing organizations operating SAP have purchased it. IBM and Microsoft, who SAP positions as partners, are still competing to become the defacto standard platform for application development. Ventana Research recommends organizations carefully examine the SAP Netweaver platform and balance the complexities of the platform and interoperability of the components with the upside of having a solution from one provider.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 SAP Teams up with Microsoft for Enterprise Applications CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 1, 2005 - SAP announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to jointly develop and market Microsoft Office-centric enterprise applications that integrate with SAP NetWeaver. The joint effort, code-named Project Mendocino provides Microsoft Office the user interface for interaction with SAP’s enterprise applications. It will require an upgrade to the latest versions of Microsoft Office, SAP NetWeaver and SAP ERP however to enjoy the benefits of utilizing Microsoft Office as a place for interactions with enterprise application from SAP. The teaming of these two software giants puts more pressure on Oracle and Siebel -- both must deliver new innovation and both must improve financial performance and enable greater customer success within their application businesses. Ventana Research sees this SAP announcement as an evolutionary shift in providing enterprise applications, but also as an initiative which will be inhibited by significant cost of upgrading technology infrastructure and by the immaturity of these Microsoft Office extended applications.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research

 Sarbanes-Oxley Payoffs for 2004 CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
February 27, 2004 - Public companies are in the process of completing their initial Sarbanes-Oxley section 404 compliance, identifying and correcting control problems. Ventana Research believes that this year both public and private companies will turn their attention to escalating audit fees and addressing the factors that drive them. We think finance executives and audit committees should investigate to what extent deficiencies in their companies’ IT systems are making audit fees higher than they need to be. Greater automation and integration of processes can decrease vulnerability to fraud. Reporting systems should enhance control and facilitate audits. Well-designed document/content management systems can make documentation more complete and timely.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Seeing Activity-Based Costs CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
In addition to supporting dimensional profitability, emerging techniques such as activity-based costing can play a greater role in overall business performance management.
David Southiere, Accenture

 Shaving the Close CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 28, 2004 - The need to shorten accounting closing cycles is of growing importance to companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enacted rules last year that will shorten deadlines for quarterly and annual financial reports for companies whose shares are traded in the United States. Ventana Research also asserts that shorter closing cycles are consistent with more mature financial control systems – a key objective of Sarbanes-Oxley section 404. While closing cycles lengthened last year, and may increase this year, we expect the uptrend will reverse at least by 2005 as companies adapt to a more stringent accounting environment by implementing solutions that automate more parts of the financial close process to meet regulatory requirements.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Siemens AG: Groundbreaking, Web-Enabled Reporting Leads to Coveted NYSE Listing CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Siemens AG’s goal of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange set up an enormous challenge for the Europe-based electronics giant, including a requirement to adopt U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. With the help of Accenture and SAP, Siemens was able to implement a new business capability and process on time and on budget.
Andreas H. Schuler, Accenture, Peter Jaud, Accenture, Claudio Thum, Accenture

 Simplifying Planning For Free CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
January 27, 2005 - Cognos is making its “Plan-to-Perform Blueprints” available free of charge to users of its Enterprise Planning application. The Blueprints are templates that incorporate a comprehensive set of best practices in areas such as expense planning and control, headcount and compensation, capital spending and sales planning and forecasting. Organizations can customize the basic templates to suit their requirements, adding or removing detail as necessary. Cognos developed the Plan-to-Perform series after finding that while all companies start using Enterprise Planning for finance (e.g., expense budgeting) two-thirds of its customers have extended the use of their software to operational planning functions, capital spending, etc. The blueprints have been built to integrate with Cognos’s reporting applications, so organizations with a full set of Cognos products can generate canned or ad hoc reports, create dashboards, etc.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Sitting on a Gold Mine CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
November 30, 2005 - The challenge of cutting costs and living within the budget has dogged CIOs since the technology bubble burst five years ago. Many find themselves unable to fund innovation because most of their budget is devoted to paying for day-to-day operations. Ventana Research advises CIOs that have not already done so to establish a business-focused group within the IT department that is responsible for “housekeeping and maintenance.” We believe a majority of Global 5,000 corporations pay too little attention to the details of IT contract management and make no one responsible for following through on cost-saving initiatives. In our judgment, many CIOs can save 5 to 10 percent of their budget by identifying unnecessary spending – an amount that would fund a good deal of innovation.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 SMB PLM – Innovation Driver? CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
December 14, 2004 - Ventana Research believes product lifecycle management (PLM) technology is key to the converting phase of Innovation Performance Management (IPM). However most PLM technology remains out of the reach of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), hampering their innovation capability overall. But the signs are that things are about to change.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 Strategic Capital Allocation CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Companies with highly effective capital allocation capabilities will enjoy a competitive differentiation and sustainable shareholder value.
Robert A. Smith, Accenture, Brian F. McCarthy, Accenture

 Streamlining the Close CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 6, 2005 - Ventana Research recently studied how companies manage financial reporting and consolidation. A key finding was a majority of the participants wanted to accelerate their closing process. Accelerating the close provides managers with information on a timelier basis and gives public companies that much more time to prepare their periodic filings. In many cases, the improvements that organizations need to make to speed up their accounting close are also the kinds of improvements that save money. In our judgment, process design and systems issues are most often the points on which companies must focus to speed their closing. Simplification and using the right software/technology are a common theme.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 Tactical Issues and Best Practices CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Finance executives can gain immediate benefits from tactical solutions and best practices that enable operational managers to adopt forecasting and budgeting processes as key management tools.
Stephen W. Hunt, Accenture

 The Art of Finance CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Successful corporations are making the right decisions based on exposed, enterprise-wide truth, empowering confident action on opportunity from a position of control and moving finance from a science to an art.
Matt Townley, Longview Solutions

 The Compliance Consortium Launches CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
July 28, 2004 - Ventana Research welcomes any initiative that will bring more clarity to the appliance of compliance. The newly launched Compliance Consortium is a step in this direction. But it needs more heavyweight members to sign-up before we can take it, and yet another three-letter acronym (GRC), seriously.
Stewart McKie, Ventana Research

 The Current State of Sarbanes-Oxley 404 CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
June 16, 2005 - The curtain went down on Act One of Sarbanes-Oxley a couple of weeks ago. In April, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held an open discussion in Washington and a compliance software vendor, Certus, put on their own conference in San Francisco called Frontlines. We wrote up our conclusions from the latter event at that time. (See “Fixing Sarbanes-Oxley,” 4/29/05). Our views were borne out in the subsequent public ‘clarification’ of the intent of the law by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and SEC, , and also by changes in the specific wording of the auditing guidelines (e.g., going from suggesting that auditors could rely on the work of others to insisting they must rely on the work of others). In our judgment, Act Two of Sarbanes-Oxley will involve far less pettifogging, but that does not mean all companies can relax. Ventana Research expects about one-third to one-half of public companies will face process-related compliance issues this year and more than half will find they have real issues with the controllability of their IT systems. Almost all companies will need to focus on ways to achieve efficient, sustainable compliance.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 The Electronic Financial Ecosystem CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
The rapid growth of electronic payments is transforming financial ecosystems worldwide. Is your business prepared for the new electronic order?
Keith Theisen, Wells Fargo, Patty Chouanard, Wells Fargo, Stephanie Sturgis-Griffin, Wells Fargo

 The New CFO: Risk, Reward and The Story Behind the Numbers CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Streamlining the Financial Business Performance Process in Today’s Multinational Corporation
Trevor Walker, Cartesis, Inc., David Kasabian, Cartesis, Inc.

 The Path to Better Budgeting Is A Two-Way Street CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
March 22, 2004 - Ventana Research recently completed a comprehensive research study on how companies plan, budget and review. We found a large percentage of companies were evaluating changes in how they performed this important process. Companies believe that making the process more effective involves making it more collaborative. Ventana Research agrees with this approach.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research

 The Value of Business Insight CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
By using a structured approach and comprehensive benefits analysis, organizations can define and realize the value that business insight offers.
Paul A. Boulanger, Accenture, Gordon A. Stewart, Accenture

 Tools for the Agile Enterprise CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Increasingly sophisticated software is helping executives to cope with the challenges of managing financial performance in today’s business environment.
Paul Hamerman, Forrester Research

 Travel Management Reinvented CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Integrating travel services with an enterprise-wide management system raises significant challenges but has been shown to substantially reduce expense.
Lori Jones Whitted, Worldspan

 Visualization Uncovers Revenue Opportunities and Cost Savings for Enterprise Storage Vendor CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Antarctica recently completed a pilot project with one of the global leaders in the enterprise storage space, who provide customers worldwide with a broad range of hardware and software storage solutions. With an increasing number of players in the space, and hardware becoming more ubiquitous, the price per megabyte of storage is decreasing. The company was in need of new revenue streams to maintain their competitive leadership role.

 Watching Goodwill Go Bad CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Companies that overpaid for acquisitions during the 1990s face two difficult options: writing down goodwill or deriving more value from current operations.

 When Good Management Shows CFO Project Volume 2, October 01, 2003
Organizations that manage well during recessions improve their performance relative to competitors. And that competitive advantage lasts for years.
Jane C. Linder, Accenture, Brian F. McCarthy, Accenture

 Building World-Class Finance and Performance Management Capabilities CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
The current economic environment creates new challenges for finance executives. Constant pressures to excel in operating a low cost finance organization while targeting new value creation opportunities and acting as business advisors, sets the bar high for expected performance. A combination of trends may make the future economic environment even more demanding.
Michael R. Sutcliff, Accenture

 Contract Performance Management: The Need to Bridge Contracts and Business Operations CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
More than a legal necessity, contracts have a significant impact on many business performance metrics. Yet a large chasm exists between the filing cabinets which store paper-contracts and the operational activities which drive top- and bottom-line performance of any business. Accordingly, there is a burgeoning need for contract management systems which fill this void.

 EIPP Adoption: Integration is Key CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
Electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) is inherently a community activity. In order to drive widespread adoption, solutions must do a better job of connecting trading partners, leveraging their existing systems, and either preserving or improving their existing workflow processes.
Madhavi Mantha, BCE Emergis

 Enterprise Commerce: The New Paradigm for Treasury Management CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
Advances in bank electronic commerce (EC) technologies are empowering treasury management with unprecedented automation and control. Companies implementing EC payments and collections realize significant savings in hard-dollar costs by improving cash management. With EC services for treasury, enterprise solutions go all the way to the bank.

 Establishing an SSC: Tackling Legal and Fiscal Issues for Success CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
The primary issues and risks associated with SSC legal and fiscal requirements are plentiful, encompassing multiple jurisdictions. Mastering the requirements for one country is simple enough, but meeting the legal and financial parameters for many countries is appreciably more complicated. The eight-step methodology outlined here can help.
Michael J. Scott, Accenture

 Improving Performance – Technology Steps Up Budgeting and Financial Planning Software CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
Time-consuming methods of sharing and aggregating information bog down budgeting and financial planning processes. The concepts of rolling budgets and dynamic, cross-functional financial planning are catching on as companies adopt more powerful software tools. Ultimately, technology will enable companies to execute real-time planning and performance management processes through a more collaborative approach.
Paul Hamerman, Forrester Research

 Minimize Risk to Maximize E-Procurement CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
E-procurement adoption is mushrooming as companies realize the cost-savings potential in direct and indirect purchasing, along with the benefits of more fluid supplier relationships. Companies should start with the commodities that pose the least risk and change management challenges. One way to get started is through procuring commodities via purchasing cards.
Dorothy Mills, American Express

 Planning and Budgeting for Effective Business Strategy CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
All too often business goals, operating plans, and budgets remain separate and incompatible. Business planning starts at the top and stays there, whereas budgeting starts at the bottom, rolling upward without regard to higher-level goals and plans. Planning and budgeting can be a lengthy, resource-intensive, and error-prone process. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Karl Ederle, CFA, PeopleSoft, Inc.

 Planning and Budgeting: The New Software Paradigm CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
Planning and budgeting is often described as the bane of an organization’s existence. Thousands of man-hours go into a cumbersome and costly process. It’s not surprising then that major software players have recognized a significant gap to fill in the market. Here we examine the best-of-breed solutions.
Herman R. Heyns, Accenture, Alex C. Sutherland, Accenture

 Q&A with Adaytum CEO Guy Haddleton (Adaytum was recently acquired by Cognos) CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
CFO Project editors spoke with Adaytum CEO Guy Haddleton about the eye-catching success of his company, its role in the future of enterprise performance planning, and how companies can benefit from EPP solutions.

 Record to Report: Accelerating the Close Cycle CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
The financial and accounting close is marred by inefficiencies and delays with the average organization taking 12 days to close the books. Many companies have an interest in not only shortening the close process, but improving the quality of the data and dedicating additional time to analysis and forecasting.
Thomas V. Hallett, Accenture

 The Automation of Travel and Entertainment Management CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
More than $370 billion is spent annually on T&E expenses, a sector that continues to grow. The volume of T&E reports mandates streamlined, automated processes. Many companies now use ad hoc systems that result in inconsistencies and encourage fraud. Solution providers offer various software packages and Web-enabled solutions that deliver bottom-line benefits.
Thomas V. Hallett, Accenture

 The CFO as the CIO CFO Project Volume 1, October 01, 2002
Today’s CFO must step up and command an evolving leadership position in developing, managing, and measuring the company’s information management strategy. The CFO, and not just the CIO, is becoming a central figure for information management as the accountability of the finance organization is increasing.
Kraig Haberer, SAP