FP&A Budget Allocation Best Practice

Hi All

Wanted to make sure I am thinking about the infrastructure of our Anaplan build correctly.

We are going to build driver models which are going to contain the line item detail and dimensions which will be summarized into our spoke models which then in turn will be further summarized in a consolidation model.

This works I think because we are dimensionalizing the data and details when it's necessary and then dropping the detail and or dimensions when it's not relevant.

This is all great until we need to then take what is in the consolidation or spoke models and allocate to a very granular level of detail required for annual planning (which is entirely different than a forecast even though finance likes to conflate the two).

The best way that I could see is to have an allocation model which takes the consolidation model and then allocated the high level results down to a level of grain which is required.

Has anyone else done this? Is there a best practice here?

Accepted answers

All comments

BrunoRodriguez

Hello @avachris ,

I am not entirely sure I understand the question and/or what you mean by dropping dimensions - whether it is just reducing the dimensions or making a flat list.

However, this article written by @lis.degeus could help you reducing the space invested in the modules and allow you to “snapshot” those versions that are redundant or no longer needed, while storing it for future reference.

Hope that helped!

sarafoster

Yes, your proposed approach of using driver models, spoke models, and a consolidation model is a common and effective way to build Anaplan models. And when it comes to allocating results to a more granular level of detail, using an allocation model is a best practice.

In your allocation model, you can define the allocation logic and use line item subsets to target specific levels of detail. You can also leverage Anaplan's built-in allocation functions or create custom allocation logic using formulas.

It's important to thoroughly test and validate your allocation logic to ensure the results are accurate and meaningful. And as with any Anaplan model, keeping the design simple and intuitive will help ensure its long-term maintainability.

sarafoster

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