Friend of Edsen, Is your company currently having difficulties with the use of spreadsheets with limited functions? In the digital age where all the company's business processes are connected to each other, the use of spreadsheets seems to be starting to be tiring due to error-prone and ineffective. 
 
In this article, we try to review the 5 weaknesses of business processes that still use spreadsheets. 
 
1. Risk of Human Error  
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Errors in inputting data made by very large employees occur when companies use spreadsheets. This is of course very risky and can have a chain effect ranging from the obstruction of financial statements making up to the delay in making strategic business decisions by the management and directors. Therefore, company data input using spreadsheets is considered to be ineffective due to the human error factor committed by employees within the company. 
 
2. Business processes are carried out manually 
 
The use of spreadsheets in a company makes business processes done manually like you have to input the company's manual data into a spreadsheet, not to mention other divisions in the company that have to do the same thing. Assets that are owned by the company certainly are not small and you can not input data assets at a time. This process will also be more difficult if the company's assets frequently move locations so information about these assets must always be updated according to the latest conditions. 
 
3. Without Connectivity 
 
One weakness of spreadsheets is the lack of connectivity. When one division in the company input data then this is not connected to the data in another division. This of course will hamper the company's business processes, especially in terms of making the company's annual financial statements. 
 
4. Inaccurate Data 
 
Another disadvantage of using this spreadsheet is that the data inputted is sometimes inaccurate. Take for example, if the company has entered complete asset information but does not record changes in asset information, there is a risk of inaccurate asset information. Especially if the previous asset information is not updated. This will result in an audit when the end of the year arrives. 
 
5. Takes a Long Time for Data Reconciliation 
 
At the end of the year, the company will close its books and audit activities. The audit process is comparing the previous data with the results during the audit. Reconciling between divisions within the company using spreadsheets certainly takes a long time because they have to compare one by one the existing data. 
 
With the weaknesses of spreadsheets, many companies have switched to using a connected planning platform that has a financial, strategic and operational solution for the company. These benefits include better control over company data, increased collaboration and productivity, reducing errors, speeding up business processes, simplifying data management, and the ability to make business more proactive and agile. 
 
Companies that link their plans can work through the planning process faster, plan and correct courses more often, and achieve higher visibility throughout their business. 

Connected planning technologies such as Anaplan can help achieve transformation by first linking the planning process in the finance department before finally connecting plans throughout the company. 
 
Companies that have already implemented Anaplan can continue to analyze business performance, making real-time adjustments to forecasts and plans in the midst of fluctuating market conditions such as the current pandemic corona. In addition, the team can directly communicate any impact of the change to the entire business. 
 
Edsen Consulting as a consulting company has an Anaplan planning platform as one of the services that can give your company the strength and flexibility to plan your business area, enabling collaborative decision making to drive increased business performance throughout the company. 

​Friend of Edsen, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently published an article explaining interesting opportunities in corporate financial planning. With direct insights gathered from heads of finance from various industries, this article reviews some of the reasons why CFO directs their teams to abandon spreadsheets for the sake of cloud-based planning platforms.

In this article entitled "Head of Finance: Stop Using Excel", the heads of finance explain some of the shortcomings of using spreadsheets such as the laborious manual process of making a financial report. They seem to realize that in the world of business acceleration, planning and decision making must be connected in the financial and business operations they support.

Mark Garrett, chief financial officer at the Adobe software company, Inc., explained that the shortage of spreadsheets caused his team to struggle to track which jobs had been filled. He explained, the process could take days and requires his financial team to extract data from different systems.

"I don't want people who plan their finances to spend their time importing and exporting and manipulating data," he told WSJ. "I want them to focus on what the data says to us."

The use of spreadsheets has recently become an obstacle for the company's business processes. In addition to slowing down business processes, the use of spreadsheets is also error-prone, rigid and without connectivity. This of course makes the data processing process takes a long time even for months.

Later, the heads of finance began to switch to using a cloud based planning platform that has many advantages such as increased collaboration and better data transparency that can increase the productivity of their business.

They illustrate the financial, strategic and operational benefits that they get with the planning platform. These benefits include better control over company data, increased collaboration and productivity, reducing errors, speeding up business processes, simplifying data management, and being able to be more proactive and agile.

In fact, even greater benefits await because companies use planning platforms to link plans - both in the financial function, and throughout the business for sales, supply chain, and several other functions.

Companies that link their plans can work through the planning process faster, plan and correct courses more often, and achieve higher visibility throughout their business.

Connected planning technologies such as Anaplan can help achieve transformation by first linking the planning process in the finance department before finally connecting plans throughout the company.

Its flexible modeling platform can connect various processes with business drivers related to demand plans, and align corporate objectives with financial plans and operational tactics.

The financial team that has implemented Anaplan in his company can continue to analyze business performance, making real-time adjustments to forecasts and plans amidst fluctuating market conditions such as when the pandemic corona is like now. In addition, the team can directly communicate any impact of the change to the entire business.
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Edsen Consulting as a consulting company has an Anaplan planning platform as one of the services that can give your company the strength and flexibility to plan your business area, enabling collaborative decision making to drive increased business performance throughout the company.

Friend of Edsen, It's been imperative to digitally transform our places of work and education to be able to operate effectively. Those companies able to use technology well to keep going and rethink their business model for the future by fast-tracking digital transformation will be ones ahead of their competition.

​How does Oracle NetSuite with Cloud Technology help your organizations to make a transformation?
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With cloud-based technology and tools, the benefits are many—from mobility to accuracy of digital project data. These tools will ultimately help you level the playing field in the short-term and when facing any potential economic downturn. With cloud tools, you can gain seamless integration for applications across your business workflows—plus you get robust security and data storage. 

Using cloud technology, Directors, Managers, Supervisors can maintain closer relationships with their subordinates and head off any miscommunication. This will save your business time and money—a win-win in boom or bust times. 

Oracle NetSuite technology who are developing these ERP for the businesses have one goal in mind: delivering a faster, more efficient experience. Some organizations are already using more advanced cloud-based technologies to manage all their businesses workflows from a single platform. No matter the economic climate, these tools will make it easier to build stronger relationships and increase collaboration between all parties. 

For example, the Finance department could record the transactions anywhere, and the Director could give an approval remotely, or Finance Department could settle the payment after getting remote approval from the CFO.

If you need some advice and information how to transform your businesses, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Register here

Friends of Edsen, since the middle of March the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially established the covid 19 virus as a pandemic. The rapid spread of the virus turned out to have a profound impact on various sectors including the business world.
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A recent survey by Gartner showed that only 12% of the more than 1500 respondents believed their business was well prepared for the effects of coronavirus, while 26% believed that the virus would have little or no impact on their business.
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 "This lack of trust shows that many organizations approach risk management in an outdated and ineffective way," said Matt Shinkman, Vice President in the Gartner Risk and Audit practice. "Organizations that are best prepared will manage disruptions caused by coronavirus far better than their counterparts who are less prepared." He added.

As quoted from www.gartner.com, the majority of respondents (56%) rated themselves somewhat ready, and 11% said they were relatively unprepared. Only 2% of respondents believe their business can continue as usual.

Highlighting a variety of businesses that could be affected by the plague, twenty-four percent of respondents expected a little disruption, while the majority expected business to continue but at a slow pace (57%), would be severely restricted (16%) or had to be stopped altogether ( 1%).

Only three months to a year of global outbreaks and the rapid spread of the new corona virus have sent shock waves throughout the industry, market and economy. As a result, the strategies developed in the last months of 2019 are largely outdated and on the contrary business is determined by the company's ability to transform and adapt in real time to unstable and unprecedented disruptions such as the corona virus.

Then, in a global economic landscape where change is the only constant, a surprising number of companies still rely on long-term planning and take longer to incorporate impactful market changes.

Opening Business Agility
The first three months of 2020 have proven, however, business agility is crucial for success and companies must be far more agile than ever before. Market forces have shortened the planning cycle, making decision-making times almost zero and obsolete long-term planning.

Businesses that are transforming by adopting a more agile and smart planning approach can help companies rediscover the way they operate in the midst of a pandemic corona virus. By removing manual, time-consuming processes and creating a single source of truth for data throughout the company, smart planning solutions encourage collaboration and encourage end-to-end visibility. That means that at certain times, leaders have a clear view of their entire business and understand how decisions in one part of the organization impact on another.

With increased productivity and integrated decision making, businesses can react quickly to disruptions and encourage sustainability in a rapidly changing market.
Companies use smart and agile planning to balance the rapidly developing global regulatory landscape so they can quickly reconcile regulatory changes back into their financial planning and budgeting.

Future of Planning
Companies that carry out business transformation with smart planning enable businesses to continue to change according to market demand. Decision makers can model various scenarios, working with all potential variables to understand the impact of sudden changes that might occur on the bottom line of their organization. Leaders can feel confident acting quickly and decisively in the midst of disturbances like the current Pandemic.

The need for agile business operations cannot be denied because companies are increasingly determined by their ability to react and respond to uncertainty. In 2020 and beyond, agile organizations that can plan in real-time will be better equipped to navigate disruptions, encourage sustainability and adapt to success amid a rapidly changing business environment.

2020 also seems to show that businesses that can plan in real time will have the best chance to stay ahead of instability. Turning volatility into value is not an easy task, but abandoning long-term plans and adopting Connected Planning solutions gives business leaders the advantage speed. Smart, collaborative, and executed with precision.

The Connected Planning approach empowers businesses with their clearest and most accurate vision of the future in any market condition so they can confidently develop and progress in 2020.

Edsen Consulting as an IT consulting company is the only consultant in Indonesia that has Anaplan services, a platform that can do planning and budgeting and Connected Planning and can give your company the strength and flexibility to plan your business area, enabling collaborative decision making to drive improvement business performance throughout the company.

To further introduce the solutions Anaplan provided to the company, Edsen Consulting, Anaplan, and CFO Club Indonesia  held a Webinar on Business Continuity Planning During the Corona Virus Pandemic on April 23, 2020 at 10 am.

If you are interested in joining, please register yourself here:

​https://cfoclubindonesia.co.id/id/events/cfo-club-april-2020-webinar-business-continuity-planning-during-the-corona-virus-pandemic/