INFORMATION SYSTEM
- How should companies approach the implementation of controlling tools?
- What to begin with?
Each controlling solution is based on information system which is customized to meet the individual company needs. The design of the information system defines the planning and budget drawing procedures as well as the ways of collecting actual data and measuring variances. To achieve multidimensional analyses, adequate profiles should be defined in the information system, i.e., responsibility centers, cost and profit centers, budget headings describing both financial (e.g., remuneration costs) and quantitative (e.g., number of manufactured units, number of worked hours) indices. Xpertis Controlling facilitates the distribution of resources (e.g., man-hours, fixed assets) among the responsibility centers, both on the level of book-keeping and management accounting. Macrologic experts help companies to develop their information systems.
BUDGETING
- How to plan the company’s total budget for the next year?
- How to manage separate budgets for branches and departments without making any mistakes?
- Which version of the budget is final?
- Won’t one small change have a huge impact on the entire budget?
Budgeting is a process of creating a common and consistent plan for the entire company in such a way as to reflect all interconnections between separate departments and processes. It is a joint effort of many managers. Sectional budgets are often interrelated, e.g., the production budget is derived from the sales budget. The work of many managers is synchronized and the information is not blurred. In Xpertis Controlling, changes in individual sectional budgets are automatically reflected in the final one. Data from the previous years may be used as a basis for a new budget. Cost budget for the next year may be drawn by introducing percentage and amount changes to the budget outturn for the previous year (incremental budgets). Thanks to budgeting processes, the Management may analyze: estimated results in various profiles, estimated amounts in many budget versions (simulations, studies on the influence of various factors), and incremental and period-by-period variances of the actual amounts from the estimated ones.
FORECASTING
- How will high level management decisions influence the company condition?
- What may be the outcome of a change in sales, distribution channel, employment or supply structure?
With Xpertis, the Management has the ability to simulate the outcome of various decisions (“what if?” analyses) and to analyze current company assets against the progress of the ongoing tasks. This way, one can forecast sales and results for various business areas, draw a pro-forma balance sheet or plan cash flows. Such tasks may be completed by supplying adequate, hypothetical information which is different from the data used in accounting systems for preparing the required reports.
PAYROLL PLANNING
- What are the remuneration costs of the assumed production plan?
- How will payroll system changes influence the budget of the company?
Planned amounts of pay components split into employees and positions form budgets for operational expenses such as basic salary, bonuses, overtime allowance and personal income tax. In Xpertis Controlling, the total of payroll plans is automatically moved to business unit budgets.
PROFITABILITY
- How to increase business profitability?
- Are operational actions effective?
- What activities make the product unprofitable?
Costs of products, distribution channel maintenance, and output market selection as well as their influence on the business performance are among the most important information the Management needs. Data on product profitability is of key importance when making decisions related to the product and service portfolio. First, products are graded on the basis of information supplied by Xpertis Controlling. Such ranking is then compared with the sales income structure. The resulting data provides a basis for the decision on modifying or keeping the current marketing structure.
REPORTING
- How to identify the cause of a high cost?
- How difficult is it to perform a new analysis?
- Who will be able to prepare a report?
Reporting is a dynamic process, which means that all data is up-to-date at the moment the balances are prepared. It provides Management Boards with access to vital information and analyses necessary to make the right decisions. For Financial Directors and Inspectors, it is a tool for generating quick (ad hoc) reports and for analyzing the causes and roots of the obtained results (drill down). For other Managers, it provides dashboards with key indicators reflecting the operation of individual departments and budget entities. Such functionalities are provided in Xpertis Controlling.
EFFICIENCY
- Is working time properly utilized? Are intermediate products and raw materials properly utilized?
- Which branches of company are troubled by industrial waste, which may indicate mismanagement?
Xpertis Controlling facilitates product benchmarking, team efficiency comparison, and machine and facility load reports. These, in turn, allow the Management to check if company operation is economically justified in various aspects. The economic efficiency of individual responsibility centers serves as an indicator for their managers as well as for the Management Board.
