2015

article thumbnail

Small Business CFO's: Do You Need One?

Boston Startup CFO

It’s a growing pain that many small businesses have. Company founders and CEOs are rarely equipped to handle financing strategies, budgets and dealing with investors. But bringing on a chief financial officer is not cheap. If your company’s revenue is growing quickly, you have new investors and/or you’ve received venture capital, it could be time. When I started my online marketing company VerticalResponse, I made the colossal mistake of not hiring experienced people because I was so concerned a

CFO 52
article thumbnail

How the CFO Can Effectively Work with Boards

Planful

The nature and focus of private company boards are much different than in large, publicly held company boards. And this has an impact on the CFO’s role in relation to the board. The CFO Leadership Council’s NYC chapter held a panel discussion on this topic titled “Inside and Outside the Boardroom: Managing and Working with Boards.” The panel was moderated by Patricia Lenkov – President, Agility Executive Search.

CFO 40
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Do I really need an expensive 409a valuation report to tell me that my startup is worth nothing?

Boston Startup CFO

For many startups, the short answer is “no.” Some startups can create their own 409A valuation report for $0 using a DIY 409A calculator. Few regulations are more annoying to early-stage entrepreneurs than IRC 409A. This regulation requires that stock options be issued with a strike price equal to or above the value of common stock. This means that all startups — no matter how early the stage — must have a business valuation performed before issuing stock options to justify their choice of strik

article thumbnail

EPM and Revenue Planning: Modern Budgeting for Modern Businesses

Planful

EPM software gives you power and flexibility to play around during the revenue planning process to see how the changes you might make could affect your bottom line. It also gives you the ability to be more accurate, because unlike cumbersome and unwieldy spreadsheets, EPM software is smart and easy to use. Here are several ways that EPM software can improve your revenue planning processes.

article thumbnail

How to Build the Ideal HR Team

HR doesn’t exist in a vacuum. This work impacts everyone: from the C-Suite to your newest hire. It also drives results. Learn how to make it all happen in Paycor’s latest guide.

article thumbnail

5 Helpful Hints to Improve Your CapEx Planning Using EPM Software

Planful

Capital investments are also a sure sign that your company is growing and prospering, which in this iffy global economic situation is a good thing. What are the best tips and tricks when it comes to CAPEX planning? 1. Rely Less on Spreadsheets. Spreadsheets take an enormous amount of time and labor, and are usually prone to lots of human errors. EPM software is quick and easy, eliminating days or weeks out of the planning and budgeting processes.

More Trending

article thumbnail

Realizing ROI with Enterprise Performance Management

Planful

A CFO.com webinar highlighted current developments in EPM technology, the role CFOs should play in evaluating EPM solutions, and tips and recommendations for implementing EPM solutions. CFO Playbook on Performance Management. Planful sponsored a webinar on CFO.com titled “The CFO Playbook on Performance Management: Realizing ROI with EPM Improvements.

CFO 40
article thumbnail

Leveraging EPM in the Life Sciences Industry

Planful

How are cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions helping companies in the Life Sciences industry address the challenges they face and take advantage of new market opportunities to drive growth and profits? Challenges in Dynamic Markets. Companies in the Life Sciences industry are facing major challenges. On the positive side, aging populations, chronic/lifestyle diseases, emerging-market expansion, and treatment and technology advances are driving growth in the Life Sciences

article thumbnail

5 EPM Best Practices to Implement Right Now

Planful

1. Choose the Right EPM System. Selecting an EPM system that doesn’t meet your current and future needs is short-sighted and can lead to the need to replace the system within a few years. When evaluating and selecting an EPM system, organizations need to consider their current as well as future requirements. Ask yourself the following questions; Will we need to heavily customize the system to meet our immediate needs?

Finance 40
article thumbnail

Management Accounting – Helping Accountants Grow the Beans

Planful

Despite some advances in the application of new costing techniques such as activity-based costing, are management accountants adequately satisfying the needs of managers and employee teams for decision-based cost information? Or is the gap widening? That is, are the accountants still just counting the beans, or are they helping to grow the beans? There is a difference between what management accountants report and what managers and employee teams want.

article thumbnail

Planning Your Restaurant's Path to Profitability

Speaker: James Kahler, COO of Full Course

Ever wondered where to splurge and where to safely conserve when it comes to operating and growing your restaurant? 🤔 Join James Kahler, COO of Full Course and industry visionary, in this new webinar where he'll talk all about best practices to invest in your restaurant's success! Whether you're a new business or an established restaurant, a seasoned pro or a rookie, you'll learn the keys to sustainable success in this competitive industry.

article thumbnail

Planful Modeling Simplifies Planning and Reporting

Planful

Robert Kugel, SVP of Research at Ventana Research , published an article about the new product and its ability to help customers simplify their planning and reporting processes. Take a Test Drive. Citing Ventana’s research about the domination of spreadsheets in corporate planning, Kugel noted, “Software vendors and IT departments have been trying – mainly in vain – to get users to switch from spreadsheets to a variety of dedicated applications.

article thumbnail

Understanding Analytics-Based Enterprise Performance Management

Planful

EPM is essentially a combination of the concepts of strategy maps, balanced scorecards, profitability management, activity-based costing principles, driver-based budgeting, and a few others. When you are a CFO, everyone looks to you for all the answers. EPM is a method to glean deeper, more meaningful insight by collecting and aligning all of the data from various software and applications and combining it for a richer, more comprehensive view of the status of the enterprise.

article thumbnail

Beyond Budgeting – Are You Ready?

Planful

A growing number of organizations are moving away from the annual budgeting process and finding better ways to plan and control their resources. Get the Best Practices Guide. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the 2015 Beyond Budgeting Round Table Conference. There, I heard case study presentations from a few organizations who have moved “beyond budgeting.

article thumbnail

The Shift to Predictive Accounting

Planful

In the last few decades, management accountants have made significant strides in improving the utility and accuracy of the costs they calculate and report. The gap is being caused by a shift in managers’ needs – from just needing to know what things cost (such as a product cost) and what happened – to a need for detailed information about what their future costs and profits will be and why.

article thumbnail

How Automation is Driving Efficiency Through the Last Mile of Reporting

Speaker: Jamie Eagan

As organizations strive for agility and efficiency, it's imperative for finance leaders to embrace innovative technologies and redefine traditional processes. Join us as we explore the pivotal role of digitalization and automation in reshaping what is commonly referred to as the “last mile of reporting”. We’ll deep-dive into why digitalization is no longer a choice, but a necessity for finance departments to stay competitive in a fast-paced environment touching on: 2024 trends for the Office of

article thumbnail

EPM – CPM – BPM: What’s in a Name?

Planful

Business Performance Management (BPM). Corporate Performance Management (CPM). Financial Performance Management (FPM). Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). Many practitioners and experts in the industry have positioned all of these labels as basically meaning the same thing. They see each as a process and software system designed to link strategies to plans and execution.

article thumbnail

EPM or ERP – Which to Implement First?

Planful

Scenario 1 – A fast-growing company has outgrown its ERP system and needs to upgrade to a more scalable solution. The company is also looking to replace the Excel spreadsheets it’s using for financial reporting, planning, and forecasting with a packaged EPM solution. Scenario 2 – A medium to large company has multiple legacy ERPs to upgrade, replace, or consolidate.

article thumbnail

Financial Forecasting vs. Projections

Planful

article thumbnail

Finance and Accounting in the Digital Age

Planful

The business world is going digital. It’s starting to use all of those digital breadcrumbs that you, your cell-phone, your social media posts and your sensor-enabled world are leaving behind. Your employer is likely using these digital artifacts to its benefit, too. Is this a fad? No, it isn’t as no one’s giving up their smartphones and businesses are just beginning to wire up the planet in a giant Internet of Things network.

article thumbnail

Register Now: Sneak Peek Into Close Automation SkyStem Web Demo

Technology is rapidly changing the way accountants perform and manage month-end activities. Spreadsheets, email, and shared drives no longer have to slow us down. Join us as we present a "sneak peek" recorded demo of SkyStem's month-end close solution – ART. In under four weeks, your team can start reaping the benefits of month-end close automation by vastly reducing spreadsheets, cut down on reconciliation work, speed up the month-end close, and better manage your remote team.

article thumbnail

How Finance Can Help Drive Company Growth

Planful

Many Finance teams continue to employ approaches to planning, reporting, and analysis that lack the speed, flexibility, and ability to provide insight necessary to support their companies’ growth goals. To help address this challenge, Planful sponsored a webcast with CFO Magazine titled “What Finance Can Do to Help Drive Company Growth.” Featured speaker was Paul Hamerman, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research.

Finance 40
article thumbnail

Enterprise Performance Management vs. Enterprise Resource Planning

Planful

While on the surface it may sound like these software systems overlap in terms of features and functionality, these are entirely separate types of systems. Which is most useful? Which is easier to implement? Which will deliver the most value for the expenditures of time, money, and effort? Defining and Describing Enterprise Resource Planning. What is ERP?

article thumbnail

EPM and the Role of the CFO in Private Equity

Planful

The Transaction Advisory Services Practice Leader from Grant Thornton moderated a panel. It also included senior Finance executives from private equity companies as well as portfolio companies. The panelists discussed the value that private equity companies bring to the table in terms of active management of companies, contrasting it against the hands-off approach of passive investors.

CFO 40
article thumbnail

Data Integration and Analysis: The Foundation of Quality EPM Software

Planful

Useful Big Data Isn’t Just Lots of Data, It’s Lots of Types of Data. Big data isn’t just valuable because it’s large. The value lies in its complexity, depth, and breadth. In other words, the more types of data you can integrate from different sources, the more valuable your data analysis processes will be. By integrating data from all of the various sources (financial systems, production systems, customer relationship management software, etc.), you can get a much broade

article thumbnail

Accounting Software and ERP Readiness Guide

In this white paper, we explore the factors to consider in deciding whether the time is right for your Company to consider a new ERP or accounting software, the total cost of ownership and plans necessary to make the potential leap to these systems.

article thumbnail

5 Reasons to Move off of Excel for Financial Close and Consolidation

Planful

Here are five ways to know when you’ve outgrown Excel for financial close and consolidation and it’s time for EPM software. 1. Closing in Excel is Too Time-Consuming and Tedious. As the business grows and expands, Excel spreadsheets quickly become too large, cumbersome, complex, and error-prone to close out with confidence. When you begin the process of closing, you start by exporting trial balance data out of the general ledgers or ERP software and collect the data into spreadsheets

article thumbnail

Selecting a Scalable, High-Performance EPM System

Planful

When you’re first getting started, ensure that your EPM system is designed for high performance and scalability and that you won’t outgrow your next EPM system. A mistake that many organizations make is selecting an entry-level EPM solution that meets current requirements but provides limited functionality and scalability to meet future ones. The system is quickly outgrown.