What is Extended Planning and Analysis (xP&A)?

⇨ xP&A is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, facilitating the management of budgets, plans, and forecasts.

⇨ SAP helps supports the xP&A process by integrating all SAP applications.

⇨ xP&A provides a unified platform for data access facilitating the real-time flow of information and empowers businesses and finance teams to make better decisions.

The role of the finance function has transformed into that of a strategic advisor as organizations face economic headwinds, geopolitical turbulence, and shifting consumer habits. One constant is a finance department that is empowered to capitalize on emerging opportunities and increase shareholder value. Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A) is the most pervasive and impactful tool, revolutionizing planning, analysis, and collaboration across enterprises.

Extended Planning and Analysis broadens the reach and impact of traditional Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) with an integrated set of applications that allow for the seamless flow of data from various departments across an organization for the effective management of budgets, plans, and forecasts. It is also a process that enables the unrestricted flow of data and information with complete trust.

Implementation

By implementing an xP&A process supported by the appropriate software solution finance and other planners no longer face blind spots when it comes to operational data. They make informed decisions, recommendations, and predictions leveraging plans, budgets, and targets set by sales, marketing, human resources, supply chain, and others.

Once sales sets targets, marketing can easily access what the targets are by region and/or product and setup the appropriate campaigns to help support. Operations reconciles the demand of goods needed to support sales and human resources provides the right staffing for production.  Ultimately, finance gets full visibility on the impact of targets to better steer the organization.

xP&A is a powerful process and set of tools for businesses of all sizes. xP&A provides a unified platform for data access facilitating the real-time flow of information and empowers businesses and finance teams to make better decisions. Finance becomes the quarterback guaranteeing that all departments work together efficiently and effectively.

SAP helps supports the xP&A process by integrating all SAP applications, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Integrated Business Planning, and others, in real-time with SAP Analytics Cloud. Planners can instantly view financial data from SAP S/4HANA and compare it against operational data from SAP SuccessFactors, supply chain information from SAP Integrated Business Planning, and Sales and Customer targets from SAP CX.  This comparison enables a detailed assessment of actuals, and plans, and the potential impact of what was once disjointed plans, brought together in the short, medium, and long term with meaningful analysis behind it.

In conclusion, xP&A is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, facilitating the management of budgets, plans, and forecasts. xP&A provides a common platform for data access and trust, enabling the real-time flow of information by empowering businesses and finance teams to make better decisions. To learn more about xP&A, visit SAPInsights for additional information on the topic and explore SAP solutions for extended planning and analysis that help support this critical process.

Takeaways

By implementing an xP&A process supported by the appropriate software solution, finance and other planners no longer face blind spots when it comes to operational data.

xP&A is a powerful process and set of tools for businesses of all sizes. xP&A provides a unified platform for data access facilitating the real-time flow of information and empowers businesses and finance teams to make better decisions.

SAP helps supports the xP&A process by integrating all SAP applications, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Integrated Business Planning, and others, in real-time with SAP Analytics Cloud.