Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting (Hardcover)

by David A. J. Axson (Author) "Imitation is not only the sincerest from of flattery, as Colton remarked, but also is the essence of using best practices to improve performance..." (more)
Key Phrases: management reporting processes, performance management model, forecast process, The Hackett Group, New York, General Electric (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Put your numbers to work

"Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting is a must-read for anyone contemplating finance transformation. David Axson provides an insider’s view into the successful techniques and transformational strategies of The Hackett Group and their parent company, Answerthink."
–Michael Geltzeiler
CFO, Reader’s Digest

"In this new era of corporate governance, where the need for more and better information is a heightened priority, David Axson’s book provides timely insight and instruction for companies looking to leverage technology to enable best practices. When combined with process and organizational changes, companies can achieve significant efficiencies and dramatic improvements in information transparency, business planning, and performance management."
–Renee Lorton
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Financial Management Solutions
PeopleSoft, Inc.

"David Axson’s insights into the practical application of best practices combined with The Hackett Group’s benchmarks provide a valuable guide to implementing effective planning and management reporting processes. Organizational learning and improvement in this area is crucial to manage effectively in today’s volatile business world."
–Richard B. Kelson
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Alcoa Inc.

From the Inside Flap
For anyone who has questioned the value of the budget process, been frustrated at the inability to get good information quickly, wondered why so much time is spent developing forecasts that are always wrong, or been angered by the repeated failure of technology to deliver on its promises, there is a solution. Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting unites the disparate functions of strategic planning, management reporting, budgeting, and forecasting, reducing critical time lags, capitalizing on new technology, and giving new meaning to organizational strategy.

David Axson’s forward-thinking text defines clear action plans for successfully developing, implementing, and profiting from the strategic application of key performance metrics. Part One, "Unlocking the Potential of Best Practices," makes the case for best practices as a vehicle for performance improvement, describing the evolution of benchmarking research and advancing a basic framework for putting best practices into action. Part Two, "Best Practices," describes the principal best practices for each element of the planning and management reporting process, including strategic, operational, and financial planning; management reporting; and forecasting. For each, the advantages of appropriate technologies are discussed. Part Three, "Moving from Data to Decisions," analyzes the critical success factors for implementation and offers predictions of the future evolution of planning and management reporting. This book also:

• Shows how the planning and reporting processes use performance measures to define requirements
• Describes how to build an information delivery process to support best-in-class management reporting
• Explains how leading companies are rethinking and redesigning the overall financial planning process to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage
• Contains practical, usable benchmark metrics and tools

As cofounder of The Hackett Group, the originator and industry leader in benchmarking best practices, the author draws upon years of experience in helping clients streamline their operations and realize their organizational strategies. Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting will help any business unite its reporting and budgeting functions, thereby achieving its strategic objectives.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471224081
• ISBN-13: 978-0471224082
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,382 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rehash..., July 18, 2003

By A Customer

This is another consultant's attempt at what I learned in my business practice. The book does not rise above the obvious, but is, for the most part, a survey of ideas. The best practices discussed have little depth or meat to them. If you are an executive with planning experience or have read other books on the subject, the read adds very little.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical & easy to read, July 29, 2003

By A Customer

Axson's book offers a practical and easy to read review of best practices in one of the most maligned areas of management. Combining useful benchmark data and implementation guidance this book provides a useful companion for anyone attempting to navigate through a tough change process

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to shorten cycle time and implement decisions, November 14, 2006

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

According to David Axson, traditional planning and management reporting processes "are simply too slow, too detailed, and too disconnected for today's competitive world. Managers are seeking new decision-making processes and tools that enable them to shorten the cycle time to make and implement a decision." This book offers processes and tools to meet that need, what Axson characterizes as "the current "state of the art" practices, based on the benchmarks and client experiences of The Hackett Group of which Axson was a co-founder. As with so many other business books, this one responds to an important question, in fact to two:

What is the best level of performance to be achieved?
How is it to be accomplished?

Axson organizes his material with three Parts. First he explains why best practices can be "a vehicle for performance improvement," then describes the best practices for "each element of the planning and management reporting process - strategic planning, operational and financial planning, management reporting, and forecasting." Finally, in Part III, he provides insights into "the steps required to design a benchmark, build a best practices process, understand the critical success factors for implementation, and the importance of effective leadership. As I read Axson's book, I felt as if I were examining the contents of a "tool kit," with the book serving as an instructions manual.

Over recent years when retained by corporate clients to help them reduce cycle time while improving first-pass yield, I was frequently aware of the fact that the cycle time and first-pass yield of those initiatives were themselves "too slow, too detailed, and too disconnected for today's competitive world." I mention this because the same may be true of initiatives to identify and then implement best practices. Quite properly, Axson does not suggest which best practices to select but he offers invaluable advice as to how to ensure that their implementation is both effective and (key word) efficient.

He asserts that best practices must effect a measurable improvement of performance, be applicable across a broad spectrum of comparable organizations, be proven in practice, take full advantage of proven technologies, ensure an acceptable level of control and risk management, and get the skills and capabilities of the given organization in proper alignment. It is important to note that (a) his observations and recommendations are anchored in an abundance of real-world experiences and (b) are best viewed within a continuous and integrated process rather than as separate, autonomous initiatives.

On pages 19-20, Axson identifies the basic steps of best practice marketing: identify an opportunity for improvement, determine whether or not it justifies taking action, investigate the reasons for a "shortfall" in performance, identify the best practices which can be applied, and then focus on implementing the change(s) to achieve substantial improvement of the given organization's operations. To me, some of the most valuable material in this book is provided in Chapter 6, "Operational and Financial Planning: Translating Ideas into Action." He guides his reader through the step-by-step process.

In this context, I am reminded of what Peter Drucker once said in an article written for the Harvard Business Review in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Hence the importance of determining, first, which "shortfall" in performance is in greatest need of reduction, if not elimination. However, when making that determination, beware of responding to symptoms rather than to root causes. It is often helpful to use the "fishboning" technique: When discussing with associates a specific question or problem, ask "Why?" and in response to the answer, ask "Why?" again and continue to do so in this manner to each of least five subsequent responses to it. This admittedly an irritating but frequently productive process.

Decision-makers in any organization (regardless of its size or nature) will benefit substantially from the information, insights, and suggestions which Axson provides in this volume. To repeat, he does not suggest which benchmarks to select but does correctly emphasize that benchmarks must meet four primary requirements. They must be objective, quantifiable, credible, and actionable. Implicit, presumably, is another requirement: that a benchmark is relevant. One final point: What is a best practice today can soon become the norm and then the "shortfall" in need of attention. In that event, Axson's book will have provided an excellent preparation to respond to it effectively.