Financial Flows The ‘Big Picture’ ID#114 Presented by: Strategic Systems Group, Inc.

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. “The Black Hole”  Baan is great at collecting data  Okay at getting data out  So-so on useable financial information

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. “The Data Map”  Where did the data come from?  How did it flow to the financials?  Who needs the information?  How do you get this information

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Types of Data Operations  General Ledger Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Commissions Cycle Counts and Adjustments Item Valuation and Re-valuation Purchase Variances Sales Margins... Sales and COGS Warranty, RMA WIP

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. The Power of Your Data Product Quality Customer Responsiveness Receivables Collections Cycle Time Reduction Warranty

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Strategic Goals... go beyond Finance Cut Costs Reduce Cycle Time Improve Customer Relations Reduce Accounts Receivable DSO Consolidate Purchasing Power

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. "You cannot control what you cannot measure" Tom DeMarco Author, Consultant, Expert Witness

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Metrics What data are you measuring? Financial data Operational data Third-party data

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Minimize the Black Hole syndrome Start at the END ! What information do you need? –Monthly –Quarterly –On-demand Where does the data come from? What’s missing from current reporting? How do you get the information?

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Financial Flows... The Big Picture

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Getting More out of your Data Do you receive usable Information or just Data? Is your data warehouse geared toward the business user? How does Logistical reporting support Finance? Do you run Baan reports and manually create new reports from this data? Do you download data directly into Excel and then make changes?

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Dimension Reporting How well are dimensions used? What data do you capture? Who uses this information? Does Logistics reporting support Financial data?

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. “Financial Flow”  Month-end Audits  Reconciliations  Transaction Validation  Data / Transaction Analysis  Beyond Financials  Strategic & Operational Goals

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. What Audits Tell You Validate transaction flows Issues Trends Opportunities

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Issues and Trends Can you identify opportunities? How do you find problems or unfavorable trends? When you find problems, how do you dig into the details?

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Transaction Analysis Identify source of transaction Identify related data Do you have access to all data you need? Do you understand the flow of data from Logistics to Finance?

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Troubleshooting Financial Transactions Review the error log Identify the transaction and its source Look at the integration mapping elements Update mapping Post transaction(s)

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. What Caused Problems? Mistakes Failure to follow established procedure Business process changes Training issues Improper interpretation of the data

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. End of Period Audits Standard Audits –Received Not Invoiced –Shipped Not Invoiced –Posting Inventory Transactions –Timing is Everything Other Audits –Bookings / Billings / Backlogs –Warranty –Margins

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Transactions Regular metrics reporting –On-time Deliveries –Production Material Variances –Margin Analysis

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Black Hole Solutions 1.Leverage Logistics and Financial data 2.Look for opportunities in the data 3.Recruit your SMEs (Subject Matter Experts - internal resources that know the business processes, the data, the company, the goals) 4.Re-assess how well your organization is utilizing Baan ERP 5.Define/re-assess key metrics to improve reporting 6.Look for opportunities – utilize a SME with data analyst skills 7.Identify where energies and resources should be focused – what will bring the greatest return to the organization. Let Baan ERP work for you!

7-May-2008Strategic Systems Group, Inc. Presented By Strategic Systems Group, Inc. (SSG) For details on the material presented today, please contact us at (949) Questions ??