BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATED PLANNING AND REPORTING · Best Practices Highlights • Plan the way you manage: − Align to your financial statements: GAAP based, all funds • Take

• NWEUG – August 7th and 8th, 2017

• Brandon Bloomquist

BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATED

PLANNING AND REPORTING

© 2017 Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

• One Source of Truth

• Integration allows Long-Range Plans, Budgets, Labor Plans, Forecasts and Reports to ‘talk’ to each other, presenting a complete picture for the institution

• Planning and Reporting are fragmented at many Universities and Colleges

• The Role of Finance is changing

• The expectations of the broader community are changing

Why Should You Be Integrating Your Planning?


Performance Management Gaps Persist in Many Institutions

3

Source: 2016 Axiom Performance Management Survey

16%

Are satisfied with management reporting at

their organization

Have a clear understanding of the margin of programs

20% 25%

Process and present alternative scenarios

regularly


Performance Management Gaps Persist in Many Institutions

4

Source: 2016 Axiom Performance Management Survey

22%

Are confident in their team’s ability to quickly

make adjustments

Believe that their institution is leveraging

its data to make decisions

7% 35%

Can effectively combine multiple data sources

into a single report


Which of the following financial planning & analysis initiatives

is your organization looking to improve?

Reporting and analysis to support decision making

Operational budgeting and forecasting

Long-range financial planning

71%

69%

60%

HIGHEST PRIORITIES FOR 2017


• Expose data through many channels

• Our business colleagues need better data, analysis, and support for

decision making

• Planners need the best approaches and tools

• Organizations that can adapt in times of uncertainty will thrive

• Professionals that can provide the context, insight, and decision-making

frameworks will be successful

New Approaches are Needed

6


Finance’s New Role


The Evolving Role of Finance

Forward

Thinking

Level of

Responsibility

Scorekeeper

• Reporting

• Accuracy

• Retrospective

• Disconnected

Strategic

Partner

• Advising

• Growth focused

• Risk aware

• Present & future

• Connected

Controller

• Gatekeeper

• Expense focused

• Governance• Retrospective

Analyst

• Measuring

• Planning

• Calculating

• Modeling

• Past and future

1 2

3 4

Quadrant 4Embodies all the

characteristics of the other three quadrants

plus leadership and outbound activities


• As a Chief Story Teller− Positioned to be the knowledge center of the organization

− Taking on data stewardship beyond the financials

− Ability to forecast and understand results better than anyone

• As a Strategic Advisor to the Organization− Strategic thinker with strong business acumen

− Have a “seat at the table”

− Well versed in the risk return equation

New Thinking on the Role of Finance

9


• Who is your audience?

• What do they need to know?

• What is the story?

• What does the data tell you?

• How can you make your content invite your audience deeper into the data?

What Story Are You Telling?


Providing meaningful ad hoc reporting for end users

Need for better dashboards and visualization

Ability to “drill” into reports to understand the details

Integrating trusted data from multiple sources into reports

BIGGEST REPORTING CHALLENGES



Sharing Information Across the Organization

12

“C” LevelHigher Level KPI’s and Dashboards

ManagersConsolidated

Results, Outliers,& Explanations

FinanceDetailed

Reporting & Drill Thru Analysis

Front-lineSpecific Data &

Analytics to support real-time

decisions

Mobile, Dashboards

Dashboards, Reports, Interactive (direct access and

distributed)

Reports; Interactive (direct access)

Real-time access


Characteristics of Audiences

13

Time Available Business Acumen Decision Focus

Trustees

Executive Management(C-level suite)

Sr. Management (Deans, Vice Presidents, etc.)

Mid-level Managers (Chairs, Directors, etc.)

Finance(Director, Controller, Analysts)

Front-line (Faculty, Administrators)

None All

None All

None All

None All

None All

None All Finance Operational Strategic Tactical

Finance Operational

Finance Operational

Finance Operational

Finance Operational

Finance Operational

Strategic Tactical

Strategic Tactical

Strategic Tactical

Strategic Tactical

Strategic Tactical


• Finance has a unique position, with access to all the data

• How we present data matters− Graphical elements− Add trend lines to spreadsheet of

numbers− Sparklines help− Use color or shape-based signals on a

KPI report• Delivery Medium has changed

− Not everyone has Excel− Not everyone is tied to their desktop− Use web reporting tools to

democratize data− Push reports to email

Data in a New Light


KPIs means Key Performance Indicators – make them count!

Key Performance Indicators


Data Connections and Reporting


Using the Cloud to Expose Banner and Colleague Data

OLEDB

ON PREMISE

Source Files

SSL

You Don’t Need a New ERP for Better Reporting


COLLABORATION TOOLS

• Financial• Payroll• Enrollment

DIMENSIONS

REPORTING & ANALYSIS

BUSINESS MODELLING

Modeling Logic & % Allocations Rules

CONFIGURABLE BUSINESS LOGIC

Plan Drivers

Message Stream

Workflow

ReportingInteractive

DashboardsAd HocAnalysis

DATA

• Account• Department• Student Type

OPERATING BUDGET

TUITION & ENROLLMENT

LONG RANGE PLANNING

AXIOM SOFTWARE PLATFORM


Planning Best Practices


STRATEGIC PLAN

LONG RANGEPLANNING

Capital Budget

Operating Budget

GRANT PLANNING

Forecast

Enrollment Labor Allocations

An

nu

al b

ud

get

app

rova

l & G

AA

P A

ud

it

HIGH

LOW

Leve

l of

Det

ail

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4

Duration in Months

AN INTEGRATED PLANNING FRAMEWORK


Labor Planning Best Practices


• Plan by Position

• Make your planning consider the whole person or position

• Simplify by bulk planning students, tutors, adjuncts and others

• Separate Labor Planning from Ops Budgeting

• Use a combined fringe rate

Best Practices Highlights


• Positions are Semi-Permanent at Universities

• Levels up Discussion

• Allows Positions to be added or removed

• Allows for Funding Source Analysis

• Allows for Vacancy Savings Calculation

Plan by Position (if you can)


• Planning by person or position allows you bundle in the merit process

• Find a ‘Home Department’ for each person or positon

• Use cross-billing arrangements to allocate costs of split positions and track grant funding

Take a Person or Position Centered View

Title / Person Information

Integrated Merit

Planning

Funding Source

Information


• Group students, tutors, adjuncts and others to simplify your planning process

• Use spreading methods instead of entering every month

Bulk Plan Where You Can


Budgeting Best Practices


• The operational budget is a part of a strategic decision making framework

• The operational budget flows from the long range plan

− The long range plan sets operational targets

− The operating budget assigns resources and accountability

• A best practice operational budget process engages the organization which leads to institutional buy-in to financial plans

Guiding Principles for Operational Budgeting


Best Practices Highlights

• Plan the way you manage:

− Align to your financial statements: GAAP based, all funds

• Take the opportunity to level up: use Budget Groups instead of objects / accounts

− Don’t be constrained by the chart of accounts

• Some areas may require more detail, others less

• Use in-year forecasts instead of budget corrections: variances are valuable

• Use software tools that provide intuitive and easy to use interfaces for the organization to ensure high rates of adoptions


Thinking Long Range


• What is a driver based model?− Financial forecasts that are derived from operational statistics− Gross Tuition = Projected Enrollment X Projected Tuition Rate

• Considerations− Requires good operational data− Not everything is volume driven

• Some revenue and expenses are fixed• Use a hybrid approach

• Benefits− Facilitates What-If analysis− Reduces effort. Less user input− Improves accuracy

Use a Driver Based Model


Strategic Planning – Scenario Based Planning

31

Forecasting methods include:

• Statistically-driven modeling• Enrollment and tuition forecasting• Expense growth• Non-tuition revenues• Capital expenditures• Debt

Base CaseGiven current trends, what is our financial outlook 5-10 years?

Base Case(Conservative)

Examples:

• Online offering• Satellite campus• New residence hall• Faculty recruitment• New research building• Athletic investments• International expansion• New instructional facilities

Initiative #3

InitiativesAs we prioritize growth or cost containment initiatives, what is the incremental impact?

Initiative #2

Analysis contains:

• Income Statement• Balance Sheet• Cash Flow• Key Ratios

Consolidated Results

ScenariosWhat is the impact on our baseline projections given the initiatives we’ve proposed?

Initiative #4

Initiative #1


Scenario Comparisons


Ratio Comparisons


Tying It All Together


Long-Range Planning

Tuition Planning

Capital Planning & Tracking

Align financial plans with

strategic goals, manage

capital initiatives, and

communicate key

financial metrics and

ratios to leadership.

Strategic Financial Planning

Executive Dashboards

Ad Hoc Reporting

Financial Reporting

Reporting & Analytics

An integrated solution

for developing

management reports

and performing ad hoc

analysis.

Budgeting & Forecasting

Allocations

Grants Planning

Budgeting & Forecasting

Engage academic and

administrative leaders in

budget formulation to

align resources and

manage financial

performance.

AXIOM SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS



OUR INTEGRATED ADVISORY SERVICES

Process Design Treasury Management

Budget ModelDesign

Financial Planning& Analytics


With 200+ years in combined Higher Education

experience, our experts leverage proven best practices to help you

optimize financial and operational performance.

Modern SoftwareExperienced Team Unparalleled Service

Transform long-range planning, operational

budgets, data analysis and performance reporting with

a modern cloud-based software platform trusted by

over 200,000 users.

Work with the team rated #1 for customer satisfaction by

Gartner. Our consulting, software implementation

and technical support teams work tirelessly to ensure

your success.

YOUR PARTNER FOR OPTIMIZED PERFORMANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION



Annual & Regional Meetings • CBO Speaks Podcast Series • Selected Workshops

CONTINUING OUR PARTNERSHIPS IN HIGHER ED


We’re Not Done Yet

Modernize Your Budgeting and Reporting in the Cloud

• Tony Ard, VP of Higher Education Software at KaufmanHall

• North Santiam #109

• Hear how to:

− Improve access to financial data and reporting across the university

− Create driver-based operating budgets to improve budgeting and increase collaboration in the progress

− Leverage modern, cloud technology to rapidly deploy solutions while reducing IT maintenance costs

− This session will include a live demonstration of Axiom Software

Documents

BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATED PLANNING AND REPORTING · Best Practices Highlights • Plan the way you manage: − Align to your financial statements: GAAP based, all funds • Take