Setting Up Planning Target Rules

This chapter provides an overview of planning targets for bottom-up scenarios, lists prerequisites, and discusses how to define planning target defaults.

Understanding Planning Targets for Bottom-Up Scenarios

This section discusses:

• Planning target defaults.

• The association of planning target rules in the planning model with a bottom-up budget.

• The treatment of starting balances in targets.

Planning Target Defaults

When a scenario group used by the planning model contains a top-down scenario type, it can be used to do one of the following:

• Set targets or spending limits for bottom-up budgets, such as limits placed on expenses by an operating unit or department.

• Create a budget base for a proposed bottom-up budget.

  The budget base serves as a starting point for the proposed bottom-up budget or plan (nonhistory scenario type). In this case, dimension levels of the bottom-up budget must be at the same level or at a higher level in the tree than the top-down plan.

Association of Planning Target Rules in the Planning Model With a Bottom-Up Budget

To use the planning target rules in the planning model with a bottom-up budget, perform the following steps:

• Open the planning model in the Planning Model component and verify the scenario group tied to the model contains scenario types for both a top-down plan and bottom-up budget.

• For a line item activity and bottom-up scenario in the planning model, link the planning target control definition and top-down target scenario.

  This is done by accessing the Data Source page for the bottom-up activity scenario.

• In order to view the targets and use them with the bottom-up budget, the top-down scenario must first be exported back to the budget ledger.

• Select the View Targets link to define and review the dimensions used as targets to include in validation, view target details, and allow any target overrides by the planning center during budget submission.

Note. To use planning targets with a control budget type, you must define an annual budget period that represents the proposed budget year, then associate that budget period with the scenario when you define the top down target scenario. For example, if the proposed budget period range is 2004M01 to 2004M12, which represents July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004, you would need to define a single budget period, such as 2004MALL, with a start date of July 1, 2003 and an end date of June 30, 2004. With control budgets, it is not possible to set the target for each year in a multiyear scenario . Therefore, In the case of a proposed control budget that contains multiple years, if you enter a range of yearly budget periods in the top down target scenario, the process will aggregate the periods. This is in contrast to standard or project budget types, which can distinguish between and summarize the different fiscal years when planning targets are set at that level.

Note. A formal business process should be placed around the use and order in which top-down plans and bottom-up budgets are prepared. For example, target data must be available to the bottom-up plan, but if this top-down target data changes during the preparation of the bottom-up plan, the target data can be refreshed by rerunning the export process. But if using active control around budget submissions, keep in mind that budgets may already be in differing states of approval and submission.

See Defining the Planning Model.

Treatment of Starting Balances in Targets

Because targets are always annual totals, they are in essence ending balances for all accounts. Whether the starting balance (period 0) of balance sheet accounts is included in the annual totals depends on whether the target is defined at an account node value that is a balance forward account (as defined by the account type). For example, if the planning target is set against an account node called ASSETS, but the balance forward flag is not enabled for the ASSETS account node, then the starting balance is excluded from the aggregated annual total amount that serves as the ASSETS target.

Note. The line item activity must be flagged as including Balance Sheet Planning to use a starting balance.

Prerequisites

Complete these prerequisites before setting up planning targets:

1. Set up the scenario group in which to include the planning target rules by defining a unique top-down scenario and by linking it to the bottom-up scenario.

2. Use Allocation Manager in PeopleSoft EPM Warehouses to allocate to the appropriate level in order to use the data as the budget base when top-down plans exist at a higher level on the dimension tree than bottom-up budgets.

   Allocate this data to parameters (such as fiscal year, ledger, and GL scenario) recognized by a scenario within the scenario group that can be selected and used as the data source or seed for a bottom-up budget.

Note. Top-down scenario types or plans cannot use planning targets; only bottom-up scenario type budgets can reference planning targets by indicating which top-down plan is its target.

Defining Planning Target Defaults

This section discusses how to:

• Validate and verify planning target details.

• Define planning target tolerance rules.

• Assign planning target controls.

Pages Used to Define Planning Target Defaults

Validating and Verifying Planning Target Details

Access the Planning Target Inquiry page (Planning and Budgeting, Planning and Budgeting Setup, Planning Target Defaults, Planning Target Validation, Planning Target Inquiry).

The system displays only the details from the top-down scenario to be used as a planning target for a bottom-up budget. The planning target details are associated with the planning model ID, activity, and scenario that you select.

Defining Planning Target Tolerance Rules

Access the Planning Target Tolerance page (Planning and Budgeting, Planning and Budgeting Setup, Planning Target Defaults, Planning Target Tolerance, Planning Target Tolerance).

Currency Code	Enter a currency code that is the base currency identified for the business unit.
From Account and To Account	Enter the account range, which must include the value or roll-up value associated with the planning center target amounts. The system does not permit overlapping account ranges.
Tolerance Type	Select whether the planning target is allowed to be above target or below target.
Percentage and Amount	Enter the percentage and/or the amount that the tolerance type is allowed to be above or below the planning target.
And/Or	Select whether the percent or amount variances must pass one (Or) or both (And) the percentage and amount values that you specify. If you do not enter a value in either the Percentage or Amount fields, the system uses only one value to validate the planning target tolerance. If you are specifying either the percentage or the amount, do not select a value from the And/Or dropdown list box.

Assigning Planning Target Controls

Access the Planning Target Control page (Planning and Budgeting, Planning and Budgeting Setup, Planning Target Defaults, Planning Target Control, Planning Target Control).

Currency Code	Enter the currency code that is the base currency identified for the business unit.
Role Name	Select the role to which you are assigning the planning target control.
Target Control	Select the target control. Values are: Active Control: Requires that you validate the budget against the planning targets before submitting it. If the budget totals are not within the tolerance levels, the system indicates that the status is invalid and you cannot submit the budget until you modify the budget and the amount is within the tolerance range of the planning target. No Control: The system tracks the budget against the defined planning targets but does not generate any warnings or validations. You can still compare their planning targets against the budget amounts using the Planning Targets page in line item budgeting. None (or if field is left blank): The system does not track or validate planning targets against the budget. The system does not display the Planning Targets page link in line item budgeting. Also, the role is unable to run a Planning Target Analysis report. Passive Control: Enables you to submit a budget even if the budget is not within the planning target and its tolerance rules. If you selected to use an email template for the Planning Target event on the Assign Email Templates page, the system sends an email to the user of the next planning center level indicating that the budget exceeded tolerance levels.
Tolerance ID	Select the desired tolerance ID for role names with active or passive target control. You define tolerance IDs using the Planning Target Tolerance page. The tolerance ID must use the same currency code as the defined target control. You cannot assign a tolerance ID to user roles with No Control, None, or a blank setting in the Target Control field.

Note. Regardless of the target control defined for each of the role names, planning target validation and control for the budget will only occur or start at the level in which preparation began in the top-down scenario.

Note. If the coordinator has setup secondary security for the line item activity, you will not be able to access planning target information from the Line Item Details page when it is available. Users with only partial access to the data for a planning center budget will not be able to access the page.