The developers of Analysis-One are pleased to announce the launch of a new application – Open Measures.
 
Open Measures is an online tool which gives business decision-makers the ability to easily assess the performance of multiple entities – such as a business divisions, branches, franchises, schools or individuals – relative to their peers over time. It provides a meaningful framework to measure performance in reference to peers and targets. Because expectations constantly change – and what was rated as good performance in the past may not be as impressive today – Open Measures allows for regular and timely repeat assessments.

Open Measures is designed to support mid‐market enterprises which are keen to keep a close watch on how their operations are performing.  This new application is a secure turn‐key offering deployed via the web as a ‘Software as a Service’ solution. It is simple, cost effective and data rich.

 

Sue‐Ella Prodonovich, Principal, Business Development Services, WHK Horwath Sydney, said the new software will allow everyone from CEOs and COOs to operational managers to better manage their businesses. “This product is perfect for companies with multiple operating parts – for example a franchise network, a firm with regional or State‐based branches or simply an organisation with a number of different divisions.”

“Management can use this software to track KPIs, compare targets, monitor trends and even identify high and low performing staff. ‘Open Measures’ really is an ‘operating dashboard’ for companies.”

“We believe ‘Open Measures’ is the best product of its type available on the market,” added Prodonovich. “Companies can now rank their performance via easy‐to‐view charts that will provide visual interpretation of how the business is tracking in comparison to peers. This will allow management to identify opportunities and risks more readily – and then refine strategy if need be to address any problems.”

For more information please visit www.openmeasures.com  or contact us.

In the current economic climate, businesses are likely to encounter conditions which will threaten the health and viability of operations. Exposure to such conditions will probably cause a decrease in the demand for products and services and cause an increase in operating costs. As a response, decision makers could place a renewed emphasis on lean management principles and undertake cost cutting measures (ie. seeking staff redundancies) . To further protect the bottom line, decision makers may also seek to extend supply terms (creditor days) in anticipation of higher inventory days and slower collection of receivables.

In this example, the impact of the current economic climate is modelled using Analysis-One (www.analysis-one.com). Using the Analysis-One forecast tool, we are able to model the likely impacts of changes to key business drivers and generate a view of forecast financial performance.

We will assume the following adverse impacts will affect performance:

Adverse Factors

Prices will be forced down	-4 %
Volumes of sales will decrease	-6 %
Cost of Sales will increase	+3 %
Debtors will pay slower	+15 Days
Inventory will be held longer	+20 Days

We can also assume that management will undertake the following mitigating steps in response:

Mitigating Factors

Creditors will be paid later	+10 days
Staff will be retrenched	-10 %
Overheads will be cut	-5 %
Funding costs will decrease	-4 %

Screenshot : analysis-one forecasting tool


Using the Analysis-One forecast tool (see screenshot), we are able to model the impact of these assumptions on key performance indicators (see table below).



In this example, we clearly see the impact of the adverse factors on performance, while also considering the potential effect of efforts undertaken to mitigate these adverse factors.

Modelling allows management to plan for reduced demand and rising costs and to predict the impact on profitability and cash flow. Importantly in this modelling scenario we are measuring the impact on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as EBIT, Gross Profit %, Profitability % (income statement), while also considering the impact on cash flow and funding (balance sheet).

Accurate and timely modelling is a powerful tool for decision makers and businesses in the current economic climate.