Analyst Perspectives


Search within Analyst Perspectives blog:

TopBar Analyst Perspectives BottomBar

Unit4 Democratizes Agile, Data-Driven Decision-Making

Posted by Robert Kugel on 17 May 2021
Unit4’s Financial Planning and Analysis (formerly Prevero) is a planning and budgeting application designed for the requirements of midsize corporations and the public sector. These organizations are challenged in buying software because they have almost all the requirements of larger enterprises but have a smaller budget and limited technical resources. Unit4 recently announced it has added... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management, Digital Technology, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Predictive Planning, collaborative computing, AI and Machine Learning

Consolidation Software Builds Staff Effectiveness in Midsize Companies

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 May 2021
Financial consolidation software assists companies in executing their accounting close process - especially those that use multiple ERP systems or have multiple legal entities - and with other characteristics that can complicate the process such as keeping books in multiple currencies. Not every midsize company needs consolidation software because many find their ERP (or financial management)... Read More

Topics: Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

FourQ Builds Confidence and Trust in Intercompany Financial Management

Posted by Robert Kugel on 23 April 2021
FourQ is an intercompany financial management (IFM) Solution-as-a-Service provider. IFM is a discipline for structuring and handling transactions within a corporation and between its legal entities, and is designed to maximize staff efficiency and accounting accuracy while optimizing tax exposure, minimizing tax leakage and ensuring consistent tax and regulatory compliance. Today, IFM is an... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Revenue, robotic finance, lease and tax accounting

Modern ERP Improves Organizational Performance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 16 April 2021
The ERP system is at the core of nearly every organization’s record keeping and business process management. Its smooth and uninterrupted functioning is essential to an organization’s accounting and finance functions. In manufacturing and distribution, ERP manages inventory and logistics. Some organizations use it to handle human resources functions like tracking workers, payroll and related... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance

IBM Planning Analytics Makes Planning Easier for Business Unit Leaders

Posted by Robert Kugel on 13 April 2021
IBM Planning Analytics, formerly known as TM1, is a comprehensive planning and analytics application designed to integrate and streamline an organization’s planning processes. It can support multiple planning use cases on a single platform, including financial, headcount, sales and demand planning. The software automates enterprise-wide data collection to make it repeatable and scalable across... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Predictive Planning, AI and Machine Learning

Trintech Speeds up Financial Close with Automation

Posted by Robert Kugel on 09 April 2021
Organizations have long sought ways to achieve a fast but “clean” (accurate) financial close. The most widely accepted benchmark is to be able to close within one business week. Organizations that close within a business week are almost always more competent in how they manage the process and therefore use resources more efficiently. Also, organizations that close their books within six days... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance

A Virtual Audit Enables Savings Through Efficiency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 April 2021
The challenges of the pandemic prevented auditors from visiting client offices, which led to widespread adoption of remote audit processes. Although there are outward similarities between a remote audit and a virtual audit, they aren’t the same. A remote audit uses technology to adapt the existing audit processes to an environment where in-person interactions are impossible. A virtual audit uses... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Streamlining Spending for Savings and Control

Posted by Robert Kugel on 02 April 2021
Irked by the need to account for every penny of his college expenses, poet Robert Frost penned the lines: Never ask of money spent Where the spender thinks it went. Nobody was ever meant To remember or invent What he did with every cent. Though Frost might bristle, in our digital age, it is possible to keep track of even trivial outlays with a minimum of effort. Every cent, in fact. Historically,... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Robotic Process Automation is a Core Finance Competency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 March 2021
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a core digital technology for finance and accounting organizations. It can drive significant gains in productivity and efficiency by automating mechanical, repetitive accounting processes in a continuous, end-to-end fashion. RPA improves efficiency, ensures data integrity and enhances visibility into processes. There is a strong business case for... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance, Predictive Planning

The Office of Finance Market Agenda for 2021: Accelerating Adoption of Digital Technology

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 February 2021
Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 market agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we’ve offered since 2003 on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department. Our insights and best practices aim to enable organizations to operate with agility and resiliency, improving performance and delivering greater value as a strategic partner. We craft... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, enterprise profitability management, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Revenue, blockchain, robotic finance, Predictive Planning, virtual audit, AI and Machine Learning, virtual close, lease and tax accounting

The Operations and Supply Chain Market Agenda for 2021: Increasing Agility and Resilience of the Supply Chain

Posted by Robert Kugel on 26 February 2021
Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 research agenda for Operations and Supply Chain, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations across industries derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes. A new generation of innovative digital technology can help organizations optimize operations, aligning customer demand with fulfillment... Read More

Topics: Continuous Planning, Product Information Management, Price and Revenue Management, Operations & Supply Chain, Enterprise Resource Planning, continuous supply chain, work experience management

Profitability Management: A CFO Priority to Gain Competitive Advantage

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 February 2021
Profitability management produces a sustainable competitive advantage but by 2025 only one-third of companies will have implemented a profitability management initiative, explains Ventana Research SVP and Research Director Robert Kugel. This brief video shows why FP&A organizations must be part of a profitability management approach to pricing and costing. Read More

Topics: FP&A, Office of Finance, Sales Operations, CFO, Profitability, Price and Revenue Management

Use Software for More Effective Tax Management

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 February 2021
The post-pandemic world will see much returned to normal, but there will also be change. For businesses that faced shutdowns, these changes will include higher taxes to pay for the costs of mitigating the economic impact, and the loss of tax revenue. In addition to imposing higher tax rates, some governments will strive to raise revenue by accelerating their adoption of digital technologies to... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Revenue, robotic finance, lease and tax accounting

BlackLine Matches Receivables for Continuous Accounting

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 February 2021
BlackLine recently held its first virtual user conference, Beyond the Black, where it detailed numerous additions and enhancements to its applications. Of note was the launch of BlackLine Cash Application, an accounts receivable (AR) processing software based on software originally developed by recently acquired Rimilia. The new application fits the company's product strategy of providing... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI and Machine Learning

Continuous Planning is Optimized with AI and External Data

Posted by Robert Kugel on 01 February 2021
In the context of planning, budgeting and benchmarking, external data includes information about the world outside an organization such as economic and market statistics, competitors and customers. Today, a comprehensive set of external data is a “nice to have” item in most organizations, but that’s likely to change. External data is necessary for useful and accurate business-focused planning and... Read More

Topics: Information Management, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, Predictive Planning, AI and Machine Learning

Make Accounts Receivable Pay

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 December 2020
Can you imagine a more arcane and boring topic than accounts receivable? Unless you are the CFO, controller, chief accounting officer or treasurer of an organization, maybe not. Anecdotally, as it’s part of the trend to the digital transformation of all things in the department, there appears to be greater interest in this area of the Office of Finance. With populations locked down and the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance, AI and Machine Learning

Profitability Management is a CFO Imperative

Posted by Robert Kugel on 27 November 2020
One of the oddities of corporate management is that, as a rule, nobody oversees managing profitability. CEOs are accountable for meeting company-wide financial targets and assign responsibility for achieving profitability levels to business unit owners across and down an organization. Sales quotas designed to achieve revenue goals are put in place, and budget owners have cost and margin... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Sales Performance Management (SPM), Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management, Digital Commerce, Predictive Planning, Subscription Management

Value-Based Planning Improves Corporate Performance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 06 November 2020
In preparing this research note I took the precaution of searching “value-based planning” to see what came up. Over the years, the term has been used in several contexts each with different shadings. By my definition it’s an approach to planning and budgeting that maximizes the long-term value of an organization by considering all its objectives – not just the financial targets. Value-based... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, Predictive Planning

Fundamental Change is Coming to ERP Systems

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 October 2020
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are central to nearly every organization’s management of operational and financial business processes. They are essential to the smooth functioning of an organization’s record keeping, accounting and finance tasks. In manufacturing and distribution, ERP manages inventory and logistics. Some ERP software vendors incorporate an extended set of capabilities... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance, Predictive Planning, AI and Machine Learning

Sustainable Sourcing and Supply Chains

Posted by Robert Kugel on 02 October 2020
A couple of years ago, I started talking about a “New Era of Trade.” Its starting point was the world financial crisis in 2007, but the evidence that we were experiencing a shift only became obvious years later. I think “new era” is a better description of what’s going on than calling these bilateral ructions a “trade war.” I avoid that latter term because I believe it should apply to an... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Operations & Supply Chain, Predictive Planning, continuous supply chain

Browse by Analyst

Robert Kugel

Robert Kugel

 David Menninger

David Menninger

 Jeff Orr

Jeff Orr

 Keith Dawson

Keith Dawson

 Matt Aslett

Matt Aslett

 Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown

 Barika Pace

Barika Pace

Posts by Topic

see all

Posts by Month

see all