PLEASANTON, Calif.— April 17, 2008 —Ventana Research’s new benchmark research, “Planning and Budgeting: Improving Effectiveness through Best Practices and Technology” confirms the advancement of planning and budgeting over the last four years. The research found organizations are well under control from a people and information perspective, but lag on advancing the processes and technology used to support them. Ventana Research believes planning and budgeting are core to financial performance management and are also essential to the collaboration with operations and success of operational performance management.
“The use of planning and budgeting has long been a critical component of finance but now is providing the foreword looking insights that business needs to improve performance”, said Robert D. Kugel, Ventana Research’s Senior Vice President of Research. “The research found overreliance on desktop spreadsheets and lack of consistent process result in a lot of wasted time – time that could be use to improve the business value of planning and budgeting.”
Ventana Research will expand on the key findings of this benchmark research, including how to evaluate the maturity of organizations using planning and budgeting at a live interactive webinar, “Leveraging Planning and Budgeting Effectively in Business,” on Thursday, April 29th at 10:00am Pacific time.
The webinar will present the research findings and help you to understand the current state of planning and budgeting, its use in finance and operations and where it is advancing organizations to improve performance. It will also provide some valuable insight to how organizations can improve their processes and technology for planning and budgeting. Here are some key points that will be explored in the research:
• Only half of organizations’ plans are accurate.
• It is not possible for two-thirds of companies to investigating the details of the budgets in real time.
• Heavy use of spreadsheets in 59% of companies limits the effectiveness of the process.
• Companies are painfully aware of the shortcomings of their process since two thirds of organizations participating in the research are planning major modifications to their planning and budgeting.
Webinar Replay coming soon!
The research, sponsored by technology providers Adaptive Planning (www.adaptiveplanning.com) and Infor (www.infor.com) is based on an analysis of over 305 qualified respondents from all major industries. The survey was conducted with the assistance of media partners Institute of Management Accountants (www.imanet.com ) Montgomery Research CFO Project (www.cfoproject.com), TechTargetwww.SearchOracle.Com and www.SearchSAP.com. Media may request a copy of the benchmark research or schedule an interview with the SVP of Research, Robert Kugel, by contacting marketing atmarketing@ventanaresearch.com. Interested in learning more about the benchmark, further information can be found at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/pb/. As a part of your registration information and participation in the webinar will be shared with the sponsor.
About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the leading research and advisory services firm focused on the intersection of people, processes, information and technology to enable breakthrough performance. By providing expert insight and detailed guidance, Ventana Research helps clients operate their companies more efficiently and effectively. To learn how Ventana Research Performance Management workshops, assessments and advisory services can impact your bottom line, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.
Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso
(925) 242-2579 marketing@ventanaresearch.com
© 2008 Ventana Research, Inc.