Strategy Planning The Top Concern For 2015

 

A global survey has revealed the main trends that will be affecting senior managers in the new year, with strategy planning, budgeting and forecasting all featuring highly in the list.

The study, from the global consulting firm Protiviti, tracked the main issues that companies are looking to address in 2015 that will have a direct impact on their financial analysis. First place in the future issues for companies was the question of strategy planning.

Budgeting and periodic forecasting also ranked highly within the study, taking second and third place respectively.

Ryan Senter, a managing director with Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement practice, suggested that alignment between company strategy and finances is a major concern for organizations.

“Amid a changing operating environment, companies are now placing an increased emphasis on the holistic alignment of their strategy, risk management capabilities and performance management processes,” said Mr Senter.

“Rather than applying patchwork fixes to individual processes, finance functions want to manage and improve related processes in a comprehensive manner to ultimately improve overall corporate performance management.”

While alignment of company strategy and finances is an increasingly important area for individuals, the study also tracked the issues that are emerging for organizations in the future. For this category, environmental concerns topped the list, while globalization and an increasingly mobile workforce are both also major concerns.

Finally companies are also looking for ways to ensure they are more vigilant over issues like financing throughout the year. Respondents to the survey suggested they are increasingly interested in developing constant monitoring practices throughout the year so that important issues don’t slip under management’s radar.

While companies are clearly facing a number of issues heading into 2015, there is also a clear move towards resolving these strategic issues.z