MicroStrategy-Based Corporate Performance Management Application

The GesFin CPM Suite for MicroStrategy helps organizations:

• Rapidly create accurate top-down or bottom-up plans
• Design and compare an unlimited number of what-if scenarios
• Assess the impact of changing operational and economic conditions
• Compress planning cycle times with automated workflow orchestration
• Gain real-time transparency into planning data, related drivers and formulas
• Perform profitability analysis and optimization on any dimension of your planning models
• Use the Web or Excel as the business user interface
• Improve and automate manual data collection and data quality exercises
• Link and manage operational drivers to model both operational and financial performance
• Create, access, and distribute real time dashboards, scorecards, reports, and visualizations of planning data using MicroStrategy

CPM is frequently associated with management methodologies, such as Balanced Scorecard, Six Sigma, and Activity Based Management. Many enterprises embrace these methodologies or rely on internally developed methodologies. At the end of the day, there are five specific business needs common across all CPM methodologies. These business needs require a comprehensive CPM Platform Application that is seamlessly integrated with Analytical BI capabilities, delivered through the five styles of Business Intelligence.

Organizations benefit greatly from linking operational and financial models for planning. Building financial plans and models from bottom-up operational drivers and models will result in more realistic financial plans. Operational performance drivers are the leading indicators of an organization and drive the quality of data used for financial planning and forecasting. Our comprehensive modeling engine supports operational and financial models and can consolidate them into one master plan. Our modeling engine contains all of the various dimensions, hierarchies, accounts, drivers, attributes, formulas, rules, and KPIs that link operational and financial models real-time. Financial, statistical, and non-financial figures are synchronized and consolidated automatically in every scenario and version created. This allows for the modeling of complex structures for any organizational hierarchy. Model changes are immediately propagated out to input forms and reports without IT support or custom code. Our product supports flexible planning periods and industry standard planning calendars. Unlimited model types are supported, including attribute-based, activity-based, zero-based, prior run-rate based, top-down, bottom-up, and custom. This enables unlimited views and manipulation of any planning model at any level in the hierarchy with real-time calculations and consolidation.

MicroStrategy provides a unified CPM application designed specifically for finance users and built upon a financial-modeling engine that automates the budgeting, planning, and forecasting process.  The complete budget creation and approval process is orchestrated by an integrated workflow engine that enables users to define and control the flow of budgets, plans and forecasts for review and approval — including a full audit trail of field changes and task completion status.  MicroStrategy’s CPM application supports complex financial and operational models using actual data, forecast data, and rolling forecast scenarios.

Our solution provides flexible profitability modeling, allowing users to define models, drivers, KPIs and levels of profitability. Profitability outcomes are synchronized and consolidated automatically, in every scenario, with every cut at profitability. Reports and dashboards reflect the various profitability scenarios in real-time, allowing easy diagnosis of plan or budget deviations.

Our solution provides a planning model administration module to support rapid modification to the model, planning dimensions, formulas, notifications, and planning periods. Changes can be immediately propagated out to the forms and reports. This allows the user to create and alter complex models without involving IT or writing custom code/script.

The solution provides a sophisticated scenario simulation wizard and engine. What-if scenarios can be performed with immediate feedback and saved, used in reports, or used as comparisons against other scenarios. Our solution provides multiple methods to perform and conduct what-if scenarios including a scenario planner, graphical what-if scenario wizards, online real-time forms, reports, dashboards, and scorecards.  Results are displayed in real time within the application and within online scenario comparison reports.

Our CPM solution considers all internal and external factors involved in creating a multi-year plan among different functional groups.  With MicroStrategy, you can create simple or complex financial models using actual data, forecast data, and rolling forecast scenarios.  Strategic initiatives can be planned, segregated, and tracked, making multi-year planning as seamless as one-year budgets or forecasts.

The solution enables consolidation of any business-specific variables including business unit, entity, division, geographical region, function, and product line. Financial data is aggregated across different general ledger accounting systems and ERP systems with multiple accounting standards, currencies and business requirements.  Our secure environment and powerful audit trail allows for stronger controls and improved confidence in the accuracy of financial statements and reporting.  Multiple data source support is included with a centralized planning database.  Data loading is automated based on a user-defined schedule.  The solution allows the consolidation of amounts entered in any currency type and offers reporting views in the currency of your choice.  Eliminations between entities are easily accomplished through business rules for effective consolidations.  Consolidations, aggregations, and calculations of the company’s results can be delivered in real-time.

The MicroStrategy CPM solution includes a powerful workflow engine and monitoring dashboard to control and monitor tasks, status, deadlines, rules, notations, justifications, and user audit history for all related planning processes. Managers can assign and track tasks, approve plans, set deadlines, view forms data and work in progress, monitor status, audit workflow history, and manage business rules associated with planning data collection tasks. The workflow engine will automatically create alerts and notifications for users via email and the user portal based on new tasks, late events, or rule violations.

MicroStrategy’s worldiclass reporting capability allows for both structured external reporting requirements and management reporting. Standard reports conforming to U.S. GAAP or IFRS presentation standards are automated, including calculations to generate cash flow statements. Management reporting goes beyond budget variance analysis, so management “packs” with commentary can be created and automated. Reports can be delivered in the various styles of BI including Dashboards and Scorecards. The result is a comprehensive, automated “report pack” that allows for efficient decision making. All reports may be exported to several formats, such as Microsoft Excel®, HTML, XBRL and Adobe PDF®, and sent to mobile devices.