Recognize causes, set priorities and take targeted countermeasures

The monthly report is available. EBIT is below plan and turnover has fallen slightly. The obvious reaction: the sales department has to deliver more.

But is turnover really the cause or just the most visible symptom?

In practice, both are possible. While a moderate drop in sales can hardly be significant, sometimes a single cost item is enough to have a significant impact on the contribution margin. If you only react to the most conspicuous figure, you are not necessarily taking the right action.

In this free live webinar, we will use a specific practical example to show you how to systematically identify relevant deviations, analyze causes in a targeted manner and base decisions on a reliable foundation.

What the webinar is about

The focus is on a non-industry-specific example company. The target/actual comparison shows what many reports show: Sales slightly below plan, earnings below expectations. But what is really behind this?

Using this example, we show why the most conspicuous deviation is not automatically the most effective one and which cost item actually impacts the contribution margin. We show live in Corporate Planning how deviations can be analyzed step by step: how to differentiate between structural and one-off deviations, at which threshold value a deviation is worth reacting to and which analysis steps help to separate causes from symptoms.

This involves a clear control logic: Which deviations actually have an economic impact? Where is there a concrete need for action and where not? And how can targeted measures be derived from this instead of pressing the first available lever?

We also provide an outlook on how artificial intelligence can help to classify company data more quickly and interpret relevant correlations more efficiently in the future.

Typical questions from practice

Many companies recognize deviations quickly, but much less often which ones are really relevant and where the actual cause lies. In the webinar, we therefore address questions that are regularly crucial in practice:

• Which deviations actually require a reaction and which do not?
• Is a decline in sales the cause or just the most visible symptom?
• Which cost items have a particularly strong influence on earnings and contribution margin?
• How do I distinguish structural deviations from one-off effects?
• Which analyses help to derive the right measures?
• How can artificial intelligence support the interpretation of company data in the future?

Your advantages in everyday working life

After the webinar, you will be able to evaluate deviations in a more structured way and prioritize them in a more targeted manner. You will be able to recognize more quickly which developments require your attention and where a measure is actually having an effect.

You will receive concrete analysis approaches for your daily work with Corporate Planning and see how causes can be comprehensibly investigated in just a few steps. This includes how to separate structural from one-off deviations, which key figures help and how to set priorities before taking action.

The main practical benefit is not only to react more quickly, but also to make a more informed decision before initiating a measure that misses the actual problem.

As an additional working aid, you will receive a compact checklist with two key questions that you should ask before each measure.

Who is the webinar suitable for?

The webinar is aimed at CFOs, controllers and managing directors of medium-sized companies who want to focus their controlling more on effective management. It is particularly relevant for companies that want to use their plan/actual comparisons more efficiently, evaluate deviations more quickly and derive more targeted measures.

Previous knowledge from the previous modules is not required.

Your benefits at a glance

You will learn,

• How to identify and prioritize relevant deviations more quickly
• Why the most striking figure is not always the actual cause
• how to distinguish between structural and one-off deviations
• which analysis approaches have proven themselves in everyday work
• how causes can be traced directly in Corporate Planning
• what role artificial intelligence can play in data interpretation in the future

Part of our webinar series on integrated corporate planning

This webinar is module 3 of a modular series. The modules build on each other in terms of content, but can each be understood independently.

Why TD Trusted Decisions?

TD Trusted Decisions supports medium-sized companies in making their planning, reporting and corporate management clearer, more integrated and more decision-oriented.

Our experience shows: The biggest challenge rarely lies in recognizing deviations themselves. The decisive factor is whether the right questions are asked – about cause, effect and the actual need for action. Only then does a plan/actual comparison become a reliable basis for decision-making.

In the webinar, we combine professional experience from consulting with a practical live presentation in Corporate Planning. This makes it clear how integrated planning works in practice and how companies can identify and manage deviations in a targeted manner.