Hyperion Implementation Questionaries

(1)

[Business Cost Control S

ystem/Planning Automation]

Amit Sharma

l

(2)

1

_Introduction

The idea of this documentation is to make people familiarize the building blocks of Hyperion Planning, Budgeting and Consolidation process. The document points some important consideration about the first steps towards building a Hyperion Planning process. Understanding the reuirement clearly is the first process towards successful business application. The success lies in how better we understand the business needs and maps the needs to the software tool. The document could be considered as a starting point which can be used in the initial phases of reuirement gathering.

This document contains uestions that can help you understand the processes that ha!e to be addressed when you implement Hyperion Planning process to manage and control costs system. By answering these uestions, you can determine many of the factors that are critical for the success of your pro"ect. #n addition, you can use the information that you gather to create a strong foundation for an effecti!e Business $euirements %ocument.

Requirement Flo

The uestions in this document reuest information in the following areas& '. (rganizational )et*up

B. Chart of 'ccounts and Hierarchies C. %ata #ntegration and +arehousing %. Performance anagement Process

-. Planning, Budgeting, and orecasting /PB0 . Consolidation #ssues

1. inancial, anagement $eporting and 'nalytics

'mit )harma Hyperion (B#-- Trainer learnhyperion.wordpress.com aloo2a34yahoo.com

(3)

Organizational Set-up

Please answer the following uestions.

5. %escribe your organization /corporate, di!isions, entities0. #nclude an (rganization Chart.

3. 't what le!el of granularity do you !iew the data in your financial models6 #s it at a lower le!el of than the corporate le!el6

• #f yes, at which le!el of granularity do you !iew your data6 %i!isions6 unctions6

-ntities6

• How are those specificities reconciled to the core business models6

• #f rele!ant, could you describe the maintenance flow between those business

models6

7. %o you manage specific dimensions at some le!el of your organization6

8. %o you manage different le!els of granularity and details for dimensions depending on the le!el of the organization /di!ision, entity 906

:. %escribe a typical data flow, such as internal reporting data flow, from the source of the data to the corporate le!el.

;. <umber of entities, and describe the entities.

=. %oes the legal structure reflect the management reporting structure />?<06 #f no @ could you describe the differences and the relationships between the management and legal units6

A. 're all entities fully owned />?<06 . How often 9

• %o acuisitions take place6 • 're new entities established6 • 're entities sold off6

5. %o certain entities ha!e specific DrolesE, such as purchasing, sales, in!entory, manufacturing

55. <umber of reporting units6

53. <umber of di!isions?EconsolidationE points6 57. #dentify management hierarchy.

58. <umber of budget*responsible managers6 5:. <umber of report recipients6

5;. <umber of people responsible for management reports and budgets6 5=. +hat groups is the eFpected solution going to ser!e6

(4)

B – Chart of Accounts (COA) and Hierarchies

Please answer the following uestions&

5. #s the C(' the same across all entities />?<06 #f no @ identify the main differences 3. %o you change the predefined rollups /groupings0 from your system6

7. %o you manage area*specific C('s at some le!el of the organization6 #f yes, describe how those C('s are mapped to the core group C('6 8. +hat is the mechanism to submit and control the submission of data6 :. #s there a consolidation?reporting C(' in place />?<06

• #f yes * is it reflected in the -nterprise $esource Planning /-$P0 systems6 • #f no @ where does the consolidation C(' appear6 How are reporting lines

identified /for eFample, in spreadsheets60 ;. How is a potential mapping defined and used6 =. <umber of accounts in -$P&

A. <umber of accounts in consolidation . #dentify focus areas /dimensions0&

• Products /groups0 • Customer /segments0 • 1eography

(5)

C – Data Integration and Warehousing

Please answer the following uestions&

5. #s data sourced from -$P?G(B systems6 Please list the main systems 3. #s data sourced from eFisting data marts6 Please list&

• ain data marts • $%B) used

• )ub"ect area, such as H$

7. #s data sourced from flat files or G sources6

8. #s data sourced from outside your company6 /customers, !endors, 7rd party publishers0

:. How often will you need to see updated?refreshed data from the specific systems6 +hat is the freuency of data loads /daily, hourly, etc0 and what is the anticipated !olume6

;. 're there other important data sources for reporting and analysis /e.g. unstructured data from web sites or email0

=. #s the data from the current systems clean6

A. %o you ha!e a need for data profiling and cleansing tools6 #f >es, for what type of data /e.g. Customer data0

. %o you ha!e a need to integrate data from two or more sources6

5. #f yes, for what type of data /e.g. Customer data0 and what data sources6 55. How much history /years0 do you keep in your data warehouse6

53. +hat are the most critical reporting and analytics areas /Customer, )ales, Human $esources, and so on06

57. +hat are the most critical dimensions I facts for each area /Time, 1eography, Customer, and so on0

58. 't what le!el /group, di!ision, or company0 are data warehousing solutions implemented6

5:. 't what le!el /group, di!ision, or company0 are reporting and analytics data models defined6

5;. +hat is the current database platform6

(6)

D-erfor!ance "anage!ent rocesses

Please complete the following table.

Reporting

Cycle !"ternal #nternal

$aily/ %ee&ly 'onthly (rimester/ Quarterly/ )al* year +early Formal *inancial reporting

Budget -stimate orecast 'ctual lash reports (ther, please specify ,perational reporting )ales reports anufacturing (ther, please specify (ther, please specify (ther, please specify

(7)

1.1

_{D - erfor!ance "anage!ent rocesses# continued}

Please answer the following uestions

5. +hen are books closed for 'ctuals /onthly?Juarterly?>early06

3. Please describe the different submissions reuired for your reporting and consolidation process

• or Balance sheet reports • or #ncome statements • or %isclosures

• or #ntercompany transactions

're they part of distinct submissions with different !alidations and deadlines6 %efine fiscal year, i.e. start* and end*date for fiscal year

7. #dentify key employees in a gi!en reporting process, their roles and which tasks they perform

8. #nternal reporting deadlines

:. +hat is the high*le!el process that your organization performs during its reporting re!iew cycle6 How are scorecards and reports used during this process6

1.2

_{$ – lanning# Budgeting# and %orecasting}

5. #dentify the sub"ect areas that your company addresses in planning, budgeting, and forecasting /PB0&

• Profit and Goss /PIG0 • Balance )heet • Cash low • Products • Customers • Pro"ects • $egions?Gocations?1eography • (thers @ detail

3. #dentify le!el of in!ol!ement in different areas of the organization&

• )ales?marketing • Production

• Human $esources • Cost center budgeting • (thers

(8)

• )preadsheets • -ntry into -$P • +eb entry • (ther @ detail

8. %escribe the planning processes and differences between budgets, plans, estimates and forecasts. #nclude differences in le!el of details in these, and rolling forecasting methods used.

:. %escribe the budget appro!al processes.

;. #dentify the key business dri!ers used in a gi!en budget preparation. or eFample&

• )ales K units sold L pricing • Cost of )ales K )ales L C()M

=. #dentify allocation issues. To what eFtent is costs?re!enue allocated6 +hich items6 How is it currently done6

A. #dentify the reports produced and distributed for a PB budget, and differences /if any0 between plans, budgets, and forecasts

(9)

(10)

1.3

_{% – Consolidation issues}

5. +hich reporting cycles /refer to Performance anagement Processes section0 are being consolidated, and how often6

3. +hat is the !olume of intercompany transactions6 7. +here are the inter company transaction elements6

• #n!entory6

• )emi*manufactured items6 • inished goods6

• $ecei!ables?payables6

8. 't which le!el are intercompany transactions declared /account, account?product906 :. %escribe the intercompany reconciliation process /who is doing it, at which le!el, do you

reconcile at the transaction le!el, where ad"ustments are made 960

;. 're the intercompany transactions reconciled in the transaction currency6 =. #s the consolidation process performed in se!eral currencies6

A. #s there a need for reporting in different target currencies6

. #s there a need to report by using 1enerally 'ccepted 'ccounting Principles /1''P06 5. 're specific accruals?deferrals issues accounted for6 #dentify and describe.

55. #s the consolidation occurring only on a legal organization or also on a management structure6

53. 're there circular references6 57. +hat type of "ournal entries eFist6

58. 't which le!el of detail is the consolidation performed6

5:. How are transactions tracked from the general ledger /drill through906

5;. %escribe the different steps of the consolidation process, from the collection of the information to the audit of the financial statements6

5=. +here are ad"ustments performed6

5A. 're ad"ustments written back into the general ledger6

5. Pro!ide eFamples of what if scenarios that you run using the consolidation data such as pro*forma or constant?current rate9

3. How many users are performing "ournal entries6

35. 're "ournal entries prepared and entered by the subsidiaries or by corporate6 33. +hat is the appro!al process for a "ournal entry6 /)ubmission, appro!al, sign off...0 37. %o you ha!e automatic "ournal entries6

38. 're "ournal entries in both local currency and group currency6 3:. 're "ournal entries processed after the consolidation process6 3;. 're there top entries that need to be allocated down6

3=. 're there "ournal entries in budgeting business models6

(11)

1.4

_{& – %inancial# "anage!ent 'eporting and Analtics}

5. #dentify which areas of the business that a PIG statements is prepared for

3. #dentify which areas of the business that a Balance )heet statement is prepared for 7. #dentify which areas of the business that a Cash low statement is prepared for 8. #dentify cost center budget follow*up reporting. <ote how this budget is distributed to

in!ol!ed managers /-$P report, paper based06

:. #dentify any other profitability or cost centric report produced. ;. #dentify the current management reports&

• Types of reports • $ecipients

=. %escribe your internal reporting process&

• *reuency

• *ain dimensions analysis

• *#s it separate or in con"unction with the eFternal reporting process 9

#f they are distinct processes, what is the process to reconcile internal reporting with eFternal 1''P reporting6

A. %escribe management reporting processes

• +ho are the users6 • onthly?+eekly reports6 • (thers6

. #s there a current Performance anagement in place6 #f yes identify which, and deployment

5. +hat are the organizational, di!isional, etc goals that are outlined for the coming year6 #f they ha!e been defined, what are the Ney Performance #ndicators /NP#0 that will align with those goals6

55. +hat are the NP#s in place6 How do they relate to each other6 +hom do they ser!e best /primary owner0 within the organization6

53. How are NP# results ualified ? eFplained during the re!iew cycle and then on an ongoing basis to the leaders or general audience6

57. #s there an eFisting reporting solution in place6 How is it being le!eraged6

58. +hat are the distinct needs of the !arious audiences of the Business #ntelligence solution6 /functionality, granularity, etc0 How much ad*hoc uerying is eFpected, etc6 5:. )ecurity needs based on audiences, groups, etc6

5;. 're there peak reporting times and down reporting times6 +hat are they6

(12)