The original idea for Mattsskk’s current iteration can be traced back to more than a decade ago. When working for the nth time on a budget, it became once again fully clear how far the actual way of preparing the budget (for which as a CFO we were responsible) was from what the business really needed in terms of detail (KPIs, drivers) and interaction with the business partners.
It also fell short in terms of financial data, being exclusively focused on the P&L. There was a real need to monitor cash and working capital closely on a monthly basis.
The budgeting tool (Excel, Access, and VBA) was also totally insufficiently automated for an effortless handling of data between input data, the modeling spreadsheet, and the reporting/presenting of the output data.
And of course, there is the fact that the quality of a budget is generally a function of the quality of the actual data and the way these data are shared on a regular basis with the stakeholders, understood, challenged, and finally adopted as a relevant KPI or driver of business.
In other words, it became once again clear that a budget should not be a once-a-year, months-long herculean effort, but rather another run of a routine data-driven practice, which consists of asking (simulating) permanently what the future will look like under different scenarios.
As we like to build tools that make life easier and more comfortable (i.e. which easily provide answers to complex questions, automating the data handling and calculations), we slowly set out to start building a better way of doing things.
The current tool is thus the result of the gradual implementation of key features (still ongoing as of today), followed by the use of it in interim projects as CFO or financial consultant, providing useful feedback on its effectiveness, power, and weaknesses.
We feel today that the tool has sufficiently evolved to a solution that can quickly generate this routine data-driven practice we once envisaged, and can deliver, through its simulations, quick answers to complex questions and of course also those budgets, but now as the result of a quick, effortless routine procedure.
In the next posts, we will specify further the philosophy behind and features of the solution, and obviously try to generate any more buzz we can. At the moment, we just feel happy to be able to present the result of years of experience, ideas, the desire for change, and the ambition to find better ways of doing the same old things.
What do you think? Are you also dreaming of delivering better budgets and insight into the company’s position, direction, and pace?
Please have a look at the next posts and feel free to let us know your thoughts and comments. They guide us on the path to better things.