Plan – Financial Planning & Forecasting

Organisations seeking to make significant strategic decisions, need to first of all define the options available and determine the key drivers of value. Financial modelling of outcomes should be performed alongside an understanding of strategic, commercial, and economic considerations that form part of the broader decision-making process. A key challenge to effective strategic decision making is often the alignment of objectives when multiple stakeholders are involved.

We can help with:

• Business Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting: Design and build robust driver-based budgeting and forecasting models, increasing both the efficiency and effectiveness of planning, reporting and analysis and enhancing understanding of the financial outcome of strategic decisions
• Business Cases, Should Cost Modelling & Procurement Support: Enhance stakeholder confidence through collaboration across the organisation to provide greater visibility, ownership and accountability for strategic decisions. We can support throughout

A key element in effectively executing the strategy is a continued focus on outcomes and how to maximise value. Decision makers require financial planning and quantitative analysis support to help them to understand what levers can be changed and how these changes will impact value and outcomes. Without an understanding of how this impacts financial key performance indicators, informed decision-making is difficult to achieve.

We can help with:

• Benefits Management: Alongside our benefits management methodology, we have developed our Sphere Digital Toolkit. Using flexible technologies, the toolkit can be tailored for your programme to support a clear focus on outputs and value creation.
• Cost & Value Analytics: Best-in-class dashboards and analytics to provide actionable insights for stakeholders. We implement effective and efficient automated data gathering and report production processes for timely insights

Financial planning, analysis and decision support processes / tools need to evolve over time, particularly after periods of change or growth. Existing processes / tools may not be fit for purpose due to changes in demands placed upon them or if they become too time consuming to operate. Where significant decisions are being made, there is an increased risk for decision makers to ensure that the processes / tools used are fit for purpose.

We can help with:

• Model Risk Management Clearly defining a Modelling Risk Management Framework to control and monitor modelling activity across the entire organisation can reduce inherent modelling risk. We can support you with modelling risk management services to define and implement the framework (including model assessments and assurance)
• FP&A Health Assessments: Supporting Finance leads to understand and improve their financial planning, analysis and modelling capabilities.

The following are examples where we’ve supported clients with FP&A Modelling Support services:

We supported a central government department with Business Case, Should Cost Modelling & Programme Support services as they modernised their accommodation offering.

We supported our client in all areas of the analysis lifecycle in line with HM Treasury Aqua Book and Green Book guidance. This involved the following:

• Development of a transparent model to assess strategic options
• Production of Master Data and Assumptions Log, with clear governance processes and an audit trail of assumptions and data updates
• Implementing a clear plan for User Testing and Skills and Knowledge Transfer for the Client’s staff, including training users to operate the models

Finally, we produced clear outputs including the understanding of accounting outputs and budgets used within government departments.

We supported a central government department undergoing a sector-wide, multi-organisational transformation programme, to become benefits driven.

Our approach took an end-to-end view to define and implement the benefits management framework, starting with a strategic review through to providing tools to enable data driven decision making.

We developed a benefits narrative aligned to the strategic objectives of the programme to give a clear vision for the outcomes of the programme over time. A benefits architecture aligned to the stakeholders who stood to benefit gave the programme a common language for assessing decision impacts.

Finally, a reporting and monitoring toolset underpinned programme governance and supported clear communication with external stakeholders whilst also driving accountability for benefits realisation.

We helped a TMT client facing challenge from their lenders to refocus their strategy and plan ahead

We worked across the organisation to support the redesign of their operational plans, acting as a critical friend to drive the preparation of a revised financial plan with tight timescales. This made the business investable again which rebuilt trust with lenders and shareholders.

Our work translated this new strategic thinking into a viable business plan in a challenging environment. We brought a robust approach and methodology, together with situational and industry knowledge to act as a trusted advisor to both the CFO and CEO.

Our assistance was fundamental in supporting the business to navigate the storm of complexity that had been ahead of them; and provide a clear strategic vision with a plan to successfully deliver this going forward.