Rolling Planning / Forecasting

Until a few years ago, the planning process was relatively static. In the fall of each year, or sometimes even earlier, companies began preparing the budget for the following year, sometimes combined with a multi-year plan. This may have been appropriate in times of a stable economy, but it no longer meets the needs of modern corporate management and governance. Once the annual financial statements were completed in the spring of the following year, they were compared with the budget and a plan/actual variance analysis was carried out. As a result, differences between budget and actual figures were only recognized very late on an annual basis, unless the budget was split down to intra-year levels such as months or quarters.

As a result, companies have adopted two fundamental measures to optimize planning. Firstly, they have established a forecasting system. This involves forecasting the result of the current quarterly and/or annual budget on the basis of the actual figures at a specific point in time during the year, past experience and current estimates by those involved. On the other hand, a rolling planning system was introduced. In this case, budgeting does not take place once a year, but the twelve-month budget is generally rolled forward on a quarterly basis for the next twelve months. In particular, this eliminates the time-consuming annual planning process.

Introduction of rolling planning or forecasting

Our services in the area of rolling planning/forecasting are particularly relevant for you in the following situations:

• During the year, you lack a clear view of the expected result at the end of the year
• When preparing the annual financial statements, there are often unexpected surprises regarding the actual annual result
• Your environment is very volatile and you have to react flexibly to rapid changes
• The organization is under a lot of pressure due to the annual budgeting process

• You want to have a view of the future earnings situation not only at the end of the year, but beyond that

We support you with the implementation of rolling planning or forecasting

Our services in the area of rolling planning/forecasting include in particular:

• Analysis of existing budgeting and planning processes with regard to the potential for rolling planning and/or forecasting
• Conceptualizing rolling planning and/or forecasting
• Support in selecting software for rolling planning and/or forecasting
• Implementation of rolling planning and/or forecasting with the appropriate software, if necessary

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested or have any questions.