From Budgeting To
Planning And Beyond
01. Financial Planning
Tina is a CFO. She updates her company's financial plan for the next quarter. She collects input from 10 different stakeholders and integrates this input into the master model.
Financial-Plan.xlsxDraftFinancial-Plan.xlsxFinalhiring plan
from sales pipeline
marketing budget
development of
operational costs
Financial Planning With Spreadsheets
Financial planning is a recurring process that takes place on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis in most companies. The result of this planning process is a profit and loss statement for the next period and often beyond. Since the financial plan is a reflection of the entire organization, it requires input from different departments, business units, or even countries. Managing this process and integrating the input into the master file is a tedious process. It is time consuming and prone to error.
| Current Problems | The Layer Way | |
|---|---|---|
| ProblemToo many emails sent back and forth, neverending process | The Layer WayManage file versions and communication onlineYou can share access and request contributions to your spreadsheets on Layer without sending a single email yourself | |
| ProblemReviewing takes time and people make mistakes | The Layer WayLimit Input RangesYour colleagues will see and will be able to modify only the ranges you specify | |
| ProblemCopy pasting from templates into the master file results in errors | The Layer WayVisual Merging With A Few ClicksYou can review contributions by your colleagues, and you can choose if you want to accept their input or not. Accepted data feeds directly into your master model. | |
| ProblemContributors need to be chased to submit on time | The Layer WayKeep DeadlinesContributors get automatic reminders, and you get full transparency on the process to make sure your financial plan is finalized on time. | |
02. Budgeting
Sarah is the VP Finance of a mid-cap corporation and is leading the yearly budgeting process, rolling up several divisional budgets in a group budget.
Group Budget.xlsxBusiness Unit A Budget.xlsxBusiness Unit B Budget.xlsxBusiness Unit C Budget.xlsxDepartment X Budget.xlsxBudgeting with spreadsheets
There are many steps in the budgeting process and iterations that lead to a final yearly budget. The financial goals of the management need to be aligned with and supported by the individual divisional budgets. The underlying assumptions are prepared and send by the division heads and consolidated with the group budget after several spreadsheet based iterations. This process can easily lead to numerous versions of files being sent back and forth.
| Current Problems | The Layer Way | |
|---|---|---|
| ProblemA lot of time spend on manual process handling | The Layer WayAutomate manual processesLayer liberates you from verifying data manually or chasing down colleagues. | |
| ProblemLoss of control over many different file versions | The Layer WayBe on top of file versionsEasily go back in time and restore files versions, track changes and revision history. | |
| ProblemA contributor breaks the template | The Layer WayNo more broken cell referencesSince Layer stores file and cell references, contributors cannot break templates anymore. | |
03. Reporting
William is the fund controller of a large asset management firm and needs to collect and consolidate a KPI reporting from 31 portfolio companies every month.
- Company A
- Company B
- Company C
- Company D
Portfolio-Reporting.xlxsReporting with spreadsheets
Most Asset Managers collect, aggregate and analyze portfolio company financials and KPIs via the exchange of spreadsheets. Fund controllers are often faced with collecting a variety of different files and formats, increasing the time spent on collection and consolidation.
| Current Problems | The Layer Way | |
|---|---|---|
| ProblemSensitive data is exchanged via unsecured email | The Layer WayNo more email sendingLayer offers a closed system without the need to send around email attachments. | |
| ProblemKeeping control and transparency of work progress is painful | The Layer WayNo more fighting to get contributionsSet reminders for contribution requests and let Layer remind stakeholders for you. Layer gives you full transparency on your processes. | |
| ProblemReviewing data submissions takes a lot of time | The Layer WayMerge contributions automaticallyEasily review the contribution and decide if you want to accept it or not. If you do, the data feeds directly into the master model. No more copy pasting! | |
