-- 73% of Best-in-Class companies take a combination of a top-down and bottom-up approach to planning and budgeting -- Best-in-Class companies are 102% more likely to utilize budgeting and forecasting applications and 102% more likely to employ workflow automation to guide employees through the budget process -- Best-in-Class companies are more than twice as likely to support budgeting/planning processes through the use of budgeting and forecasting applications rather than relying primarily on spreadsheets"Forecasting has become the mode by which companies report their expected performance based on recent actual performance combined with knowledge about the future, such as revenue backlog movement and sales pipeline integrity. The accuracy of forecasts is becoming more important as top management, board members and investors demand more predictability," says Cindy Jutras, VP and Group Director, Aberdeen. "Best-in-Class companies are far more likely to have ad-hoc 'trial close' capability (the ability to produce an income statement, cash flow report, and balance sheet in a 'if our fiscal period were to close today' scenario). This allows a more immediate and accurate picture of actual business performance, and therefore an improved ability to use that information to produce more frequent and accurate forecast reports," adds David Hatch, Research Director and co-author of the report. A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to the following underwriters: Infor, Prophix, and Satori. To obtain a complimentary copy, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4722. About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions. As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.
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Contact Information: Media Contact: Cindy Jutras (617) 854-5247 Cindy.Jutras@aberdeen.com David Hatch (617) 854-5329 David.Hatch@aberdeen.com Aberdeen Harte-Hanks