1. After implementing the consolidation in Tagetik, you automated the planning process. What brought about the reorganization of the planning process?
Right from the beginning, we also wanted to have a budgeting tool, in addition to the consolidation solution. The reason for this was the fact that both processes took place exclusively in Excel. As Tennet was growing, this became less and less convenient. A common problem is version management; which excel document is the most recent? So, we began looking for a tool that could streamline the process and at the same time provide a uniform way of documenting and reporting. Moreover, via the automated processing of mandatory links between the P&L and the balance sheet, we wanted to provide the budget with consistent data.
2. We first worked out the project in general terms, after which we complemented the sub-plans in more detail. What was the benefit of this approach?
We wanted to deploy a budgeting process in Tagetik within a tight time frame; this implied that choices needed to be made. In order to make informed choices, we needed to obtain a clear picture of the building blocks of the budget and of the most urgent improvements to be made. This provides a roadmap and enables us to prioritize and to focus on the subsequent steps.
3. What improvements did the new budgeting process bring about?
Qualitative improvements, a significant reduction of errors and a more effective process. The uniformity of the process and the data is a big improvement. We now have a structured documentation that visualizes who made which changes; all entries are recorded with the date and the name. In addition, we could cancel a significant number of interfaces. On top of that, the answerability and accountability are now clearly defined. HR now has the task to provide the costs per FTE, while the other business units are responsible for the number of employees that is required. It is also very user friendly; it is easy to adapt elements yourself and it is compatible with PowerPoint, which facilitates the making of reports.
4. After an extensive selection procedure, you have chosen Tagetik for both the consolidation and the budgeting process. What were the main reasons for choosing Tegetik?
All existing CPM tools offer, broadly speaking, the same features. We haven chosen Tagetik because it offers one single integrated solution instead of separate modules. On top of that, maintenance by IT is very straightforward and the costs are lower than for other packages. All this leads to low Total Cost of Ownership.
5. Finally, I am curious about the plans for the future. What can you tell us about the follow-up steps?
We would like to build a cockpit in which all successive reports are incorporated. At this point in time, we have automated the staff plan, the investment plan and the energy & capital purchase plan. We would also like to keep automated records of the time spent on investment projects. In addition, we want to optimize reporting, both the data entry and the output.
