Variables

The pages in the Financial View category facilitate a best practice approach to planning that allows organizations to link strategic goals to operational activities/budgets. For example, you can assess the bottom-up financial impact of a strategic/operational plan in advance of creating a budget. You do this by establishing variables that are available in a common pool. You can then attach a variable to a plan object/unit combination by specifying data for that variable.

These variables can include:

  • Financial information, such as revenue, staff costs, marketing costs, and expenses
  • Capital cost information, such as land and machinery
  • Statistical data

Variables are only displayed in the Financial View pages where data has been specified for a particular plan object/unit combination. If data has not been specified, the variable is not displayed.

There are three steps to defining variables:

  • Create the variable in the database. The Success and Cost variables are included as part of the basic application.
  • Edit the variables.
  • Specify the data.

Select Menu Options > Edit Variables to edit the variables.

These are the options:

Options Description
Define Type of Measure Choose:

Specific Values. This option is selected by default.

Yes/No. This option does not apply to variables.

Specify the number format to use in displaying the actual and target values. Select None to display the number as a general numeric value. Other options include:

  • Integer
  • Decimal
  • Currency
  • Percent

When the plan was created, the specific format setting was established for the plan, for example, number of decimal places.

Select Unit Consolidation Method

Specify how the actuals and targets are to be aggregated from children units to a parent unit.

Select Sum to sum all values over all associated units.

Select None and data can be entered at both leaf node and consolidated organizational units. No summing occurs over the organizational structure. You must define a measure source if you select this option.

If the Measure values accumulate over time check box is selected, then the unit consolidation method is also used to determine the actual or target value for the year from the four quarter values, or for a quarter from the supporting monthly values.

Select Object Consolidation Method

Specify how the actuals and targets are to be aggregated from children objects to a parent object.

Select Sum to sum all values over all associated units.

Select None and data can be entered at both leaf node and consolidated organizational units. No summing occurs over the organizational structure. You must define a measure source if you select this option.

If the Measure values accumulate over time check box is selected, then the object consolidation method is also used to determine the actual or target value for the year from the four quarter values, or for a quarter from the supporting monthly values.

Define Time Setting Select the Measured values accumulate over time check box if periods are to be considered accumulated values. This affects how the performance calculations are done for specific value type of measures.

For most measurements, you will want to compare the consolidation of the values from the current interval and previous intervals when looking at YTD or Total Year performance calculations.

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