Business Units in Finance

Jessica90
Jessica90
in Modeling

Hello!

 

I hope you are great! I need your help with some tips:


We have multiple business units (BU), some with specifics characteristics and others with similars and we need to consolidate the financial results of all company. Also we analyze the relationship between financials results and KPIs. What is the best practice?

 

1. Create a different model for each BU (including financials results and KPIs in the model) and latter consolidate in other model

2. Create a model for all of them (including financials results and KPIs. Actually our model has this scheme and honestly looks terrible! Maybe we didn't a good plan)

3. Create 2 models. One for financials info from all BU and other for KPIs from all BU and then consolidate in other model

4. Create 2 models for each BU (one just financials results and other for KPIs) and latter consolidate in other model.

 

 

I'm new usuing anaplan, so I really going to appreciate your help!

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Answers

  • einas.ibrahim
    einas.ibrahim

    Hi @Jessica90 

     

    I'm not sure if you meant to ask about creating different models (as you wrote) or different modules? My answer is based on "modules". I can't imagine it being different models.


    Thinking about this in a multidimensional way, the BUs are the structure. You have to decide if there are enough characteristic differences to warrant creating 2 types of BUs. but either way that is your list.

    From a structural point of view, you can have the BUs in a list, then use that list as a dimension in a module that will calculate the financials and/or the KPI (These 2 are not structural elements)

     

    Having the financials and KPI in the same or different modules depends on the calculation logic you have. 

    What you are referring to is the presentation of the results and that depends on how the end-user wants to consume the data in order to have the easiest way for decision making. You can have 2 separate grids in a dashboard from the same module; one for financials and another for KPI (saved views), you don't have to create 2 separate modules to achieve that.

     

    Options 1 & 4: are definitely not the way to go. It defeats all multidimensional logic. When you have the BUs in a list, the aggregation and consolidation of the data will be done automatically.

     

    If by financials you mean IS/BS/CF then certainly each one of these should be a separate module
    If you by financials yo mean a few line items calculations then this could be in the same module.
    It's hard to make design decisions without knowing exactly what are we designing. 

     

    I just wanted to explain to you that with Anaplan - like other multidimensional systems, you don't have to treat each BU separately, for example, like in Excel where each BU would be a separate tab.

     

    If you can share more information based on the above, I'm happy to help you think through it.

  • nathan_rudman
    nathan_rudman

    Hi,

     

    it really depends on many things.

     

    1: user interactions: do you have a high user interactions for the BU planning ? if yes you want to have small model for the users to feel them very fast

    2: the size of it all: try to keep your models below 80gb, that's my rule of thumb. Especially if you have end users in there

     

    I don't know much about your case, but you can be flexible:

    1 model for "small" BUs which have a similar way of planning

    x models for big BUs with complex planning,may users

    1 consolidated model for finance and reporting

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