Take the Survey

Integrated and effective PBF processes have a fundamental role to play in identifying and exploiting new growth opportunities. But how does your PBF approach compare to our global survey respondents? We have identified some common data points to rank your organisation against and you can see how your results compare to different company sizes, industries or global regions.

Your results will be highlighted in the section colour, as demonstrated:

Ownership

Who owns planning, budgeting & forecasting in your organisation?

Planning & budgeting

How long does planning & budgeting take in your organisation?

Forecasting

How long does forecasting take in your organisation?

How often do you forecast?

How far forward does your organisation forecast?

Forecasting accuracy

How accurate are your forecasts, what is the variance between actual revenue and your forecast revenue?

Managing uncertainty

How do you track and manage forecast accuracy in your organisation?

7. The use of technology

What is the main technology that your organisation uses for budgeting and forecasting?

Which of the following key data sets are integrated with your forecasting model?

Filter results by region, industry or company size

Take the survey – See how you compare against your peers

Company Size

$0 - $5bn $5 - $10bn More than $10bn
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2Seen as key operational exercisesowned and led by the operational organisation with support from finance13.7%Seen as key operational exercises owned by the operational organisation but led by finance46.5%Seen as largely financial exercises led by finance with some involvement of operational managers35.7%Seen as purely a financial exercise led by finance with minimal if any involvement of operational managers4.1%
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2<1 month16.3%2 to 3 months41.6%4 to 6 months32%7 to 9 months4.4%10 to 12 months2.5%12+ months1.2%Don’t know2%
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2< 2 WEEKS3 TO 4 WEEKS2 TO 3 MONTHS4 TO 6 MONTHS7 TO 9 MONTHS10 TO 12 MONTHS12+ MONTHS66.5%20.1%6.2%1.2%1%1%4%

How long
does forecasting
take in your
organisation?

Created with Raphaël 2.1.2EVERY WEEKEVERY MONTHEVERY QUARTEREVERY 6 MONTHSONCE PER YEAREVENT/EXCEPTION-DRIVENFORECASTING IS NOT PERFORMED AT ALL2.9%37.1%40%10.6%7%2%0.4%


How often do
you forecast?

How long does planning & budgeting take in your organisation?
  • To the end of the current month
  • To the end of the current quarter
  • To the end of the current financial year
  • Beyond the current financial year
  • Rolling three months
  • Rolling six months
  • Rolling 9-12 months
  • Rolling 18-24 months
  • Rolling beyond 24 months
  • Don’t know/not applicable
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2 6.6% 5.1% 56.4% 6% 3.7% 2.7% 8.4% 4.5% 4.7% 1.9% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%
Created with Raphaël 2.1.21.1%More than 40% below forecast2.3%21-40% below forecast8.2%11-20% below forecast15.1%6-10% below forecast26.6%0.1-5% below forecast3%No difference between actual and forecast16%0.1-5% above forecast9%6-10% above forecast1.6%11-20% above forecast0.9%21-40% above forecast16.2%Don’t know/not applicable1.1%More than 40% below forecast2.3%21-40% below forecast8.2%11-20% below forecast15.1%6-10% below forecast26.6%0.1-5% below forecast3%No difference between actual and forecast16%0.1-5% above forecast9%6-10% above forecast1.6%11-20% above forecast0.9%21-40% above forecast16.2%Don’t know/not applicable
Created with Raphaël 2.1.242.1%We respond to issues as they arise31.2%We maintain a list of possibleactions to address any potentialperformance gaps to target18.8%We test different possibleoutcomes or scenariosand agree a set ofcontingency plans7.9%Don’t know/not applicable
What is the main technology that your organisation uses for budgeting and forecasting?
  • We mainly use spreadsheets
  • We mainly use spreadsheets but with a vendor
    planning tool for collection, analysis and reporting
  • We use a vendor planning tool
  • We use an in-house, custom-built tool
  • We use a financial accounting tool rather than a
    specific vendor planning tool
  • We use a cloud-based solution
  • Don’t know/not applicable
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2 36.9% 19.3% 33.2% 5.8% 3.1% 0.4% 1.3% 10%20%30%40%50%
Which of the following key data sets are integrated with your forecasting model?
  • Sales & operations forecast
  • Production data
  • Economic data
  • Market data (e.g. research organisation databases)
  • Customer data
  • Distributor data
Created with Raphaël 2.1.2 64.3% 38% 35.7% 27.6% 18.1% 14.1% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%