What is aMulti-Year Forecast Input Template? A Multi-Year Forecast Input Template is a strategic planning tool used by executives and budget managers to gain a long-term perspective on an organization's financial outlook. This planning template allows users to input the next year's budget at the monthly level and the following years at the quarterly level. The data can be entered at the row level by GL account or at a more summarized level. An example of this type of planning template is provided below.
Purpose of Multi-Year Forecasts Companies and organizations use Multi-Year Forecasts to enable executives and planning managers to get a long term perspective of key revenues, expenses and other relevant metrics. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Department, a company can improve its decision-making capability as well as mitigate the risk that the company makes short term decisions that are misaligned with its long range direction.
Benefits to Users Multi-Year Forecast Input Templates can bring a host of benefits to business users. By providing a long-term view of an organization's financial outlook, this planning tool can assist executives and budget managers in identifying potential risks and opportunities well in advance. This enables them to make better-informed decisions and take timely action to achieve their desired outcomes. The ability to enter data at a granular level can also help users identify areas of inefficiency and improve the accuracy of their financial forecasting. Additionally, Multi-Year Forecast Input Templates can streamline the budgeting process, saving users time and reducing the risk of errors. Overall, these benefits can help business users become more efficient in their jobs and drive better outcomes for their organizations.
Multi-Year Forecast Example Here is an example of a Multi-Year forecast template that enables input of a 5 year plan.
Multi-Year Forecast Input Template Example
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Who Uses This Type of Planning Template? The typical users of this type of planning template are: The Board of Directors, Executives, CFO and the Budget Manager.
Other Planning templates Often Used in Conjunction with Multi-Year Forecasts Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Departments sometimes use several different Multi-Year Forecasts, along with strategic plans, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other management and control tools.
Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From? The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions.
What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards? Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:
Native ERP report writers and query tools
Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Technology Solutions and More Examples
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