ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

Infor’s Local.ly Could Help with Tax Provisioning

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 May 2012

One of the new products that Infor announced at its recent Inforum user conference (which I covered here) is Local.ly, which is designed to facilitate localization of its applications (that is, adapting them for languages, units of measure, statutory requirements, customary processes and other specific features of the places where they will be used). Local.ly is scheduled to be released in the...

Topics: ERP, Office of Finance, Local.ly, Tax, Analytics, Business Analytics, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Infor

Full Use of XBRL Is Not Here Yet

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 April 2012

The mandate by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that requires its filers to apply eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) tags to their financial statements has been in effect for several years. (XBRL is a core element of our Office of Finance Research Agenda for 2012.) One of the most important ideas behind this “interactive data” requirement was to make it as simple as...

Topics: Office of Finance, extended close, US-GAAP, XBRL, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, CFO, compliance, financial reporting, SEC, Digital Technology

Aria Heralds a New Era for Billing Systems

Posted by ISG Software Research on 12 April 2012

Recently I was introduced to Aria, which provides a billing and subscription management system in the cloud. Its target customer is any company that offers subscription- and/or usage-based services. Its core module allows users to set up a product catalogue that consists of plans (such as subscription charges or recurring use charges) and inventory items. Usage-based charges can be based on a...

Topics: Customer Analytics, Customer Experience, Office of Finance, Social CRM, Voice of the Customer, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Customer Service, Financial Performance, Call Center, Contact Center, Contact Center Analytics, CRM

Time To Consider How Accounting Rules Changes Will Affect IT Systems

Posted by Robert Kugel on 01 April 2012

The evolution from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (US-GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has been under way for more than a decade. I’ve commented on IFRS adoption before. It’s a hot topic for accountants and auditors because it goes to the heart of how companies keep their books.

Topics: Office of Finance, closing, Controller, FASB, IASB, IFRS, XBRL, financial performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), CFO, financial statement, GAAP, SEC

Data Plays a Key Role in the Close-to-Report Cycle

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 March 2012

Ventana Research recently completed an update to our last benchmark research on the financial closing process. It shows that many companies are taking longer to close today than they did five years ago. Whereas nearly half (47%) were able to close their quarter or half-year period within six business days five years ago, just 38 percent are able to do so in our latest benchmark. Similarly, five...

Topics: Office of Finance, close, Consolidation, Controller, XBRL, Business Analytics, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, CFO, Data, Document Management, Financial Performance Management

Process Improvement Is Key to a Faster Close

Posted by Robert Kugel on 21 March 2012

Ventana Research’s new financial close benchmark research reveals that many companies are taking longer to close today than they did five years ago. Whereas nearly half (47%) were able to close their quarter or half-year period within six business days five years ago, just 38 percent are able to do so in our latest benchmark. Similarly, five years ago 70 percent of companies were able to complete...

Topics: Office of Finance, close, Consolidation, Controller, XBRL, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Workforce Performance, CFO

Slow Closers Aren’t Serious about Improving Financial Performance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 March 2012

The most intractable issues that face finance departments are those that “everyone” knows must be addressed but somehow never muster the collective urgency to do so. Many couch potatoes know they need to watch their diet and exercise regularly. If asked, they would say it’s important or even very important. Yet there they sit. Based on our newly completed benchmark research “Trends in Developing...

Topics: Office of Finance, close, Consolidation, Controller, XBRL, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Workforce Performance, CFO

SAP Rolls Out Business Planning and Consolidation on HANA at SAPinsider

Posted by Robert Kugel on 19 March 2012

For me, the most significant announcement to come out of the recent SAPinsider conference was the company’s formal release of Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) running on HANA, SAP’s in-memory computing appliance. For me, HANA is a potential “game changer” for planning, statutory consolidation and other analytics-supported financial processes because of the substantial reduction it...

Topics: Big Data, Mobile, Planning, Sales Performance, SAP, Social Media, Supply Chain Performance, Customer Experience, ERP, GRC, Office of Finance, Budgeting, IFRS, XBRL, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, In-memory, Workforce Performance, finance, Financial Performance Management, GAAP, HANA

Don’t Treat Real Estate as a Fixed Cost

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 March 2012

Financial analysts typically classify real estate as a fixed cost. Strictly speaking, that’s correct, but looking at it this way leads many organizations to overlook and miss opportunities to more carefully manage their real estate and other occupancy expenses. In industries where occupancy or ownership costs account for more than 20 percent of total business expense, taking a more active...

Topics: Performance Management, Customer Experience, Office of Finance, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Financial Performance, CFO, Financial Performance Management

The Business of Sales Research Agenda for 2012

Posted by Mark Smith on 06 March 2012

Investing wisely in sales-related people and processes is a key to business success. In 2012, helping sales staff perform at their highest levels should be a top priority for management. That may take some effort, according to our benchmark research, which indicates that only 14 percent of sales organizations operate at the highest level of innovation and competitiveness. In recent years, most...

Topics: Big Data, Mobile, Planning, Sales, Sales Performance, Social Media, assets, Learning, Office of Finance, Performance, Reporting, Sales Compensation, Sales Force Automation, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Collaboration, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Workforce Performance, channel, coaching, commission, CRM, Sales Performance Management, SFA

It’s Getting Easier To Go Beyond Spreadsheets for Modeling

Posted by Robert Kugel on 27 February 2012

One trend in business software that’s still in its early stages but gathering momentum is the availability of modeling tools that fill the gap between desktop spreadsheets and enterprise systems. Granted this “early stage” has been under way for quite some time, but the technology has finally progressed to the point where I expect it to get increasing market traction.

Topics: Big Data, Database, Planning, Sales Performance, Forecast, Office of Finance, Essbase, Quantrix, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, Financial Performance, In-memory, Workforce Performance, finance, analysis, analytical application, business model, business plan, financial model

GAAP and IFRS Harmonize Revenue Recognition Standards

Posted by Robert Kugel on 21 February 2012

The melding of the world’s two main financial accounting standards – United States Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (US-GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – continues apace. Initially, the idea was to converge the two into a single, global standard. Although there was general agreement that the concept was a noble one, there were enough differences to produce...

Topics: Office of Finance, Controller, FASB, IASB, IFRS, XBRL, Financial Performance, CFO, financial statement, GAAP, SEC

Workday’s Financials: Maturing

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 February 2012

I recently got an update from Workday that focused mostly on its Financials software. This part of the company’s business management suite has received less development attention than the HR aspects since the company’s founding in 2005. The bulk of Workday’s development investment has aimed at making its human capital management applications an industry leader and adding related capabilities such...

Topics: ERP, Office of Finance, expense management, financial, PSA, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Oracle, Workforce Performance, Infor, Tidemark, Workday, Professional Services, Project Management

Some Ways To Get More Bang for Your IT Buck

Posted by Robert Kugel on 25 January 2012

One of the major issues IT executives face is how to charge their departmental costs back to each part of the business according to their usage. It’s a touchy issue that can be the source of end-user disenchantment with the performance and contribution of the IT organization. Ultimately, charge-back friction can hobble IT’s ability to make necessary investments in new capabilities and become the...

Topics: Performance Management, Office of Finance, Budgeting, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, CIO, Enterprise Software, Financial Performance, CFO, CEO

Vertex’s Tax Data Warehouse Matures

Posted by ISG Software Research on 20 January 2012

I recently had a briefing from Vertex on its tax data warehouse (TDW), a key component of its tax technology platform Vertex Enterprise. The TDW concept has been around for decades, but the earliest versions were custom-built and hampered by the technology limitations of their day. This made them expensive to deploy and maintain and constrained their ability to adapt to changing corporate...

Topics: Master Data Management, Performance Management, Office of Finance, finance transformation, Tax, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Performance, Financial Performance, CFO

Action-Oriented Analytics Can Help Manage Risk

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 January 2012

Risk has always been an integral part of business, but as I’ve noted, companies deal with risk with varying degrees of effectiveness. A complex, ongoing process, operational risk management identifies risks to support successful operations of an organization, estimates the monetary and other measurable impacts if a risk event occurs, establishes methods for mitigating the severity of impacts...

Topics: Big Data, Performance Management, Sales Performance, Governance, GRC, Office of Finance, Reporting, balanced scorecard, enterprise risk management, KRI, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Financial Performance, In-memory, Risk

Today’s Companies Need Action-Oriented Information Technology Systems

Posted by Robert Kugel on 29 December 2011

Management decision-making typically involves a three-step process of inform, analyze and act. In the earliest days of what came to be known as business intelligence, developers created decision support systems that provided information and analytics to help executives and high-level managers choose the best course of action. Working with numbers rather than gut instinct still is viewed as a best...

Topics: Big Data, Performance Management, Planning, Sales Performance, Supply Chain Performance, Modeling, Office of Finance, Budgeting, closed loop, contingency planning, driver-based, driver-based planning, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, In-memory, Workforce Performance, best pracices, business value, cash management, challenge, financial planning

SAP Must Translate Technology Advances into Business Use

Posted by Robert Kugel on 20 December 2011

At its annual Influencer’s Summit in Boston, SAP offered multiple perspectives on where the company’s strategy and products are heading. Overall, I was struck by the essential similarities to its message on its strategic direction a decade ago. The overarching objective in its roadmap now, as then, is to have information technology increasingly adapt to the needs of individual users and how they...

Topics: Performance Management, Planning, Predictive Analytics, Sales Performance, SAP, Supply Chain Performance, ERP, GRC, Office of Finance, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Financial Performance, In-memory, Mobility, Workforce Performance, finance, Risk, Financial Performance Management

Users Should Apply ERP To Manage End-to-End Processes

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 December 2011

ERP systems not only collect information about transactions, they also automate processes. The latter includes managing the handoffs between roles and enabling electronic document creation and management associated with that. Indeed, it was the promise of improving process management and process execution that spurred companies to adopt ERP in the 1990s.

Topics: Customer Experience, ERP, Office of Finance, end-to-end, Operational Performance, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Business Process Management, CFO, business process execution

Contingency Planning and the Euro’s Collapse

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 December 2011

I thought of writing a note on this topic when multinational corporations started to withdraw their deposits from eurozone banks, but the pessimism that event engendered was short-lived. Now, as the monetary crisis deepens in Europe, it’s perhaps time to ask what your company would do if parts of its financial system implodes. You may think that your company will not be affected because it...

Topics: Big Data, Performance Management, Planning, Sales Performance, Social Media, Supply Chain Performance, Modeling, Office of Finance, Budgeting, contingency planning, crisis, driver-based, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Workforce Performance, best pracices, business value, cash management, challenge, financial planning