Oliver Wight Announces New White Paper: Functional Transformation: Integrated Business Planning Through the Eyes of the CFO by Robert Hirschey and Dan Spatz
This new white paper, Functional Transformation: Integrated Business Planning Through the Eyes of the CFO, is based on the authors’ experiences, and is written through the perspective of chief financial officers (CFO). It explains how Integrated Business Planning (IBP) transforms the role of the CFO.
NEW LONDON, NH (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
In this new white paper release, the authors describe the transition from “watch dog” to trusted advisor to the senior leadership team. The role of financial custodian, or financial conscience, of the business is still important. So, too, is the role of finance copilot, which requires a mindset change for finance professionals, the authors write.
“The nature of an Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process requires being approximately right rather than precisely wrong. It also requires focus well beyond the current quarter’s results,” the authors state. “These are big mental hurdles to overcome for people trained to be detailed, exacting, and fact based.”
The authors describe how the transition to trusted advisor occurs, including the skill sets that are developed and the enabling behaviors. They explain the role of functional copilot in the IBP process, where the Finance team spends greater time and energy on:
- Translating functional plans into financial terms.
- Consolidating functional plans to provide visibility of the financial impact on the agreed-upon business model.
- Looking forward and advising the business on implications inherent in the shifts of functional plans and business models over time.
The authors present a case study that demonstrates, through the CFO’s eyes, the role of the finance team in the IBP process. The case study also describes the role of the finance team in creating scenarios for refining and validating the annual plan.
Read the white paper.
About the Authors
As a Principal of Oliver Wight, Robert Hirschey has assisted companies in a broad range of industries in transforming their business planning and execution processes – consumer packaged goods, retail food and beverage, generic pharmaceuticals, downstream oil and gas, OEM transportation equipment, automotive lubricants, etc. His diverse executive background includes strategy development, execution, and measurement; business planning and analysis; capital investment analysis; mergers and acquisitions, and various corporate development activities.
Dan Spatz, a principal with Oliver Wight, has diverse experience in demand, supply, and service functions in both commercial and noncommercial organizations. He enjoys engaging people in sustainable transformations that deliver results. After serving with Catholic Relief Services and at the U.S. Embassy in Guinea, Dan began a business career with the Mars Corporation. During 19 years with Mars in Russia and the US, he worked in Logistics, Procurement, Supply Planning, Marketing, and Finance. He also led two Integrated Business Planning programs and cofounded the Global S&OP+ Community in Mars.
About Oliver Wight Americas
Oliver Wight has a 40-year track record of delivering business improvement to some of the world’s best-known organizations. We believe that sustainable improvement can only be made through your own people. Unlike other consultancy firms, we transfer our knowledge to you, which means you can achieve performance levels and financial results that last. Our principals are seasoned professionals who have real-world manufacturing experience. They are thought leaders in the fields of supply chain management, integrated business planning, demand management, and product management. The largest worldwide consultancy of its type, Oliver Wight has offices throughout Europe, North and South America, and the Asia/Pacific Region.