PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT FOR
EFFECTIVE BUDGETING
AND FINANCIAL
REPORTING......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 6
PREFACE......Page 12
Part One Introduction to Business Process Improvement......Page 16
INTRODUCTION......Page 18
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF BPI......Page 19
PHASES OF A BPI PROJECT......Page 20
CORE BUDGETING AND REPORTING PROCESSES......Page 22
CLOSING REMARKS......Page 23
PRECONDITIONS FOR BPI......Page 25
WHAT BPI CAN DO FOR A COMPANY......Page 29
BPI OVERVIEW......Page 31
3 Small and Large Projects and Associated Resources......Page 33
4 Return on Investment of BPI Projects......Page 36
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS......Page 38
ANALYTICS AND BALANCED SCORECARDS......Page 56
IMPACT OF THE INTERNET......Page 58
6 Selling Change to Your Organization......Page 64
HOW TO SELL A BPI PROJECT......Page 66
Part Two Business Process Improvement Project......Page 68
BUDGETING AND REPORTING OVERVIEW: SO YOU WANT PERFECT ANALYTICS PROCESSES?......Page 70
PREPARING FOR THE BPI PROJECT......Page 71
USING DIAGRAMS TO VISUALIZE PROCESSES......Page 78
8 Due Diligence......Page 84
COMPANY VALUES......Page 86
RISKS......Page 87
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES......Page 88
9 Improving the Budgeting Process......Page 91
ESTABLISH A TIMELINE......Page 92
IMPROVE DATA ENTRY......Page 93
REPORT ON BUDGETS......Page 94
ENFORCE ACCOUNTABILITY......Page 98
SUPPORT ENABLERS......Page 106
OBJECTIVES......Page 112
DRIVERS......Page 113
TOP- DOWN OR BOTTOM- UP BUDGETING APPROACH......Page 114
ASSUMPTIONS......Page 115
USERS......Page 116
BEST PRACTICES......Page 118
CUSTOMER NEEDS......Page 119
DRIVERS......Page 120
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS......Page 121
USERS......Page 122
BEST PRACTICES......Page 123
OBJECTIVES......Page 126
DIMENSIONS AND CHART OF ACCOUNT CONSIDERATIONS......Page 127
DRIVERS......Page 128
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS......Page 129
BEST PRACTICES......Page 130
CUSTOMER NEEDS......Page 134
DRIVERS......Page 135
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS......Page 136
BEST PRACTICES......Page 137
OBJECTIVES......Page 141
DRIVERS......Page 142
ASSUMPTIONS......Page 143
USERS......Page 144
BEST PRACTICES......Page 145
ZERO- BASED BUDGETING......Page 148
ACTIVITY- BASED BUDGETING......Page 149
BALANCED SCORECARD......Page 150
BEYOND BUDGETING ROUND TABLE......Page 151
ETHICAL CONCERNS......Page 152
FINANCIAL REPORTING AS A BUSINESS PROCESS......Page 154
WHAT‘¯S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?......Page 155
LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES......Page 157
EVALUATING REPORTING PROCESS ENABLERS......Page 160
HUMAN RESOURCES......Page 163
TRAINING......Page 165
STRATEGY......Page 166
WORKFLOW......Page 171
CLOSING......Page 173
REPORTING......Page 175
ANALYTICS APPLICATIONS AND THE FINANCIAL DATA WAREHOUSE......Page 182
EXTRACT, TRANSFORM, AND LOAD: COMBINING DATA FROM DIVERSE SYSTEMS......Page 185
USING XBRL FOR EXTERNAL REPORTING......Page 189
INTRANETS, EXTRANETS, AND BROWSERS: USING THE WEB TO DISTRIBUTE OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA......Page 190
20 BPI Makeover......Page 192
SUMMARY......Page 193
Part Three Designing the Ultimate Chart of Accounts......Page 196
PURPOSE......Page 198
WHEN TO REDESIGN......Page 199
GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS......Page 201
SEGMENT AND VALUE CONSIDERATIONS......Page 204
DESIGN FACTORS......Page 205
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS......Page 209
FEATURES OF A BASIC CHART OF ACCOUNTS......Page 210
IDEAL NUMBER AND USE OF SEGMENTS......Page 212
IDEAL LENGTH OF SEGMENTS......Page 213
23 COA Development Plan......Page 215
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS......Page 216
INTERNATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS......Page 220
SAMPLE COA PROJECT PLAN......Page 221
RECOMMENDATIONS AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS......Page 222
SUMMARY......Page 223
Part Four Interviews......Page 224
24 Robert Blake, Microsoft Corporation......Page 226
25 Dean Sorensen, Bywater Management Consulting......Page 228
26 Bill Ellenback, Software User......Page 232
Part Five Software Tools and Resources......Page 238
DEVISE A PLAN......Page 240
USING A SOFTWARE SELECTION COMPANY......Page 246
CURRENT AND FUTURE USE REQUIREMENTS......Page 248
WINNING COMPANY BUY- IN......Page 249
COST/ BENEFIT ANALYSIS......Page 250
RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSIS FOR NEW SOFTWARE......Page 251
FEATURES AND FLEXIBILITY......Page 252
COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING SOFTWARE......Page 253
EASE OF USE......Page 254
VENDOR- RELATED ITEMS......Page 255
HOW TO SELECT: SUMMARY......Page 256
QUERY AND REPORTING SYSTEMS......Page 257
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS......Page 259
BUDGETING AND PLANNING SOLUTIONS......Page 260
ENTERPRISE INFORMATION PORTALS......Page 261
DATA WAREHOUSE SOFTWARE......Page 262
ETL SOFTWARE VENDORS......Page 263
E- LEARNING SOFTWARE VENDORS......Page 264
Appendix A Sample Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement
(Sales/Demo Process)......Page 266
Appendix B Sample Consulting Agreement......Page 270
Appendix C Software Vendor Listing......Page 274
Appendix D Sample Chart of Accounts......Page 281
GLOSSARY......Page 288
INDEX......Page 296