Historically, accounting and finance teams harness the power of enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions to support functions such as:
- Closing and consolidation
- Account reconciliation
- Planning
- Reporting
How FP&A Has Changed in Recent Years
Over the last several years, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) has undergone significant shifts. FP&A and how it is managed within a company has evolved in two innovative ways:
- Platforms have offered an option called Software as a Service (SaaS). Many software vendors have begun to host solutions themselves, which helped these tools and systems make their way into organizations with less IT overhead.
- Technologies have morphed together, creating multi-dimensional platforms that provide several solutions. For instance, you can have modules for budgeting forecasts, closings and consolidations, and another for account reconciliations. These have been standardized and centralized under a single performance management solution, improving analytics, streamlining data flows, and resulting in a less expensive solution that still works for various use cases.
Benefits to Clients with Access to Evolved Performance Management Tools
There are several compelling benefits to the new performance management tools on the market:
Improve Supportability
One of the primary benefits of upgrading to new technologies is moving to a SaaS platform. That means you get a turnkey solution that requires no installation or upgrades, allowing organizations to minimize IT overhead and have real-time access to enhancements and bug fixes.
The Number of Possible Use Cases
Another critical advantage is the vast number of use cases these solutions can fit. You can manage all your planning, budgeting, forecasts, closing and consolidations, account reconciliations, and more within a single platform. In the past, these functions were performed by assorted products that you had to purchase individually and figure out how to share data between them. By re-platforming to an evolved solution, you can unify several functions under one application, ensuring seamless data sharing between each facet of your company’s infrastructure.
Cost Savings
Cost is another compelling benefit, particularly because you can buy one that covers several bases instead of purchasing multiple systems to execute distinct functions. The cost is about the same as individual applications and singularly unites functions and performs analysis as one performance management platform. Consequently, you quickly realize a solid return on your investment.
How eCapital Has Evolved with Recent Technologies
eCapital has been in the performance management space for decades, constantly evaluating existing solutions and identifying the most effective new platforms for individual clients’ needs. eCapital continues to search out the best platforms, always keeping a finger on the pulse of the industry.
As an organization dedicated to EPM, eCapital Advisors ensures that they understand performance management technologies and ensure that when a new solution comes out, we understand what it is capable of doing. To see how you can leverage the expertise of eCapital, reach out today for a consultation.
