Written by Nils R. | Aug 15, 2020 7:00:00 AM
What is
a
Profit & Loss Report with Estimate versus Budget
? Profit & Loss estimate reports are considered variance analysis reports and are often used by CFOs and Executives to compare the most likely annual results with the original plan. Key functionality in this type of report automatically calculates the year-end estimate based on actual figures year-to-date plus the forecast for the remainder of the year. For each new month for which the user runs the report, the current month's actual data will replace the forecast originally set for that month. The report also shows the original annual budget and the variance. You will find an example of this type of report below.
Purpose of
Profit & Loss Estimate Reports Companies and organizations use Profit & Loss Estimate Reports to easily compare current likely (actual plus forecast) outcomes versus the original budget. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Department, a company can improve those business decisions that are tied to year-end results, as well as, reduce the chances that managers put too much weight on a budget that can no longer be comparable to actual results.
Profit & Loss Estimate Report
Example Here is an example of a Profit & Loss Report with estimate (actual YTD plus forecast), budget and variance columns. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1785"]
Profit & Loss Report with Estimate versus Budget Example[/caption] You can find hundreds of additional examples
here.
Who Uses This Type of
Report
? The typical users of this type of report are: CFOs and Executives.
Other
Report
s Often Used in Conjunction with
Profit & Loss Estimate Reports Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Departments sometimes use several different Profit & Loss Estimate Reports, along with balance sheets, cash flow reports, dashboards 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 GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning 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) Cloud Solutions and More Examples
