Concepts of System Design - Setup and Configuration
The implementation process of Axiom Financial Planning is an eight to ten week time line. The goal of this process is to design an efficient and dynamic system that will allow flexibility in applying strategic changes to the long-range plan in a timely manner. Common questions asked of the long-range plan are:
- What will our financials look like in the next five to ten years?
- When would be a best time for the organization to launch these strategic decisions?
- How do we compare to the rating medians?
- What are the organization’s strategic capital requirements? Are we in a position to take on a new capital project and when?
- How much cash should the organization have?
- How much debt can the organization afford?
- What is the magnitude of the organization’s capital shortfall?
- What short- and long-term profitability targets are necessary to resolve the shortfall?
- What is the level of operating change required to meet the targets?
- What value does the strategy add?
- What are the risk elements?
The following diagram provides an overview of the tasks included in the Axiom Financial Planning implementation process:
The following diagram displays the relationship between the Axiom Financial Planning inputs and the outputs of the system.
System design is the foundation in building standards and efficiencies in Axiom Financial Planning. This step makes updating and manipulating your organization’s financial plan more manageable, regardless of complexity and size.
The terms setup and configure are commonly used during this phase. Setup is the thought process by which an organization reviews its internal financial statements, chooses which entities are included, and determines the level of detail that drives the financial forecast. Deconstructing the financial statement is another approach to this process and an opportunity to begin identifying data sources for this level of detail, which may change how the financial plan is designed.
Configuration is the act of building the setup into the software through Dimensions Maintenance, Financial Planning Commands, and Financial Assumptions functions. Kaufman Hall provides an offline setup and configuration template tool to facilitate this process. Your Kaufman Hall Implementation Consultant will provide direction on how to configure the system.
The setup and configuration process includes the following tasks:
A. Setup – Input category definitions
B. Setup – Defining financial nodes and models
C. Configuration – Dimensions maintenance
