Corporate performance management could unlock value and consolidate data systems

This article has been updated as of October 2020.

There are many organizations that use multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) or accounting systems. In some cases, it’s due to mergers and acquisitions — and other times it’s due to structuring a business across multiple legal entities. One of the biggest challenges for these organizations can be obtaining timely, consolidated views of their financial and operational data.

Instead of pursuing a new ERP solution, or merging ERP systems that are currently in place to solve this problem, organizations may want to consider corporate performance management (CPM) — a category of software solutions that offers a layer of reporting and analytics across all systems.

Challenges with multiple systems

Compiling data across multiple ERP systems can be a time-consuming process that uses resources better occupied performing higher-value activities. Since the process can take so long, results rarely are current enough for agile business control.

This can result in the following issues:

• Lack of confidence that resources are fully optimized
• Delayed trend spotting
• Management team feels more reactive than proactive

In many companies, the process is completed with the use of a complex series of spreadsheets presenting additional challenges such as:

• Safe-sharing issues throughout the enterprise
• Report customization for managers at varying levels across departments
• Optimal relaying of departmental changes that have down-stream effects on other parts of the organization
• Material delay in compiling and validating information

However, multiple ERP solutions don’t have to be viewed as a hindrance to effectiveness, optimization, and business agility when a CPM solution is deployed.

The CPM solution

A CPM solution enables data to be consolidated continuously; it provides management with full organizational visibility and a platform for communicative data analysis.

An example of a CPM solution is Workday Adaptive Planning. This solution is able to integrate data from different financial and operational systems, which gives management the ability to view and analyze results across all levels of the organization — both on a micro and macro level.