One of the major challenges besetting local enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions deployment is that companies often implement their strategies in isolation while overlooking the organisation as a whole.
So says Charles de Jager, a senior manager at Accenture SA, who also happens to be one of the keynote speakers at the SAP Accenture EPM Executive Forum scheduled for 8 February at the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg.
The executive forum sets its tone from the realisation that in today's business environment, the ability to closely monitor and adjust the levers of value - allowing executives to cut through the complexity of their operations and act at speed - is more critical than ever.
According to de Jager: “Information in isolation does not enable business, but rather can be a time consuming overhead.
“The issue is that most strategy solutions are isolated, geared at only a handful of top-level executives, and only report on what was or what should be,” he says.
De Jager explains that instead of being carried out in isolation, EPM solutions must aim to provide collaborative, integrated solutions that are organisation-wide.
“They enable strategy to execution while focusing on risk management, cost containment and 'auditability'.”
However, he points out, portions of EPM solutions are currently in use within most companies. “The majority of organisations use budgeting, planning and financial consolidation systems.”
He adds that strategy management, a function of EPM, has been around for a while; including balanced score carding and dash boarding.
According to SAP, in today's increasingly global and competitive business environment, businesses must plan faster and do more - often with less budget and fewer resources.
At the same time, it adds, they must be incredibly efficient and precise with every decision, while complying with regulatory requirements.
“Everyone in your organisation needs access to the right information at the right time in order to gain a competitive edge and ensure greater control of business operations,” it says.
For EPM solutions to pay dividends, SAP advices that enterprises need to close the gap between strategy and operational execution by cascading corporate goals down into department-relevant metrics; ensuring accountability; enabling intuitive modelling, monitoring, and analysis; and streamlining execution of strategy-guided plans.
The SAP Accenture EPM Executive forum will also be held in Cape Town at the Table Bay Hotel on 3 March. For more information, click here.
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