Managing Time Period Details

You can define the start and end year, last historical period, years for historical average, and base period for a model. You can also configure time periods to include the detail required for your financial models.

To manage time period details:

1. Open a model.
2. In the Account View, from the Actions menu, click Time Period, and then click Manage Details.
3. Perform a task:
   • Define time period parameters. See Defining Time Period Parameters.
   • Configure time periods. See Configuring Time Periods.
   • Add sub periods. See Adding Sub Periods.
   • Add trailing periods. See Adding Trailing Periods.
   • Add periods to date. See Adding Periods to Date.
4. When you finish managing time periods, click Apply in Manage Time Period Details.
5. When you apply your changes, you can select whether to calculate inputs for all scenarios, only for the current scenario, or to not calculate any inputs. Select a calculation option, and then click OK.

   Calculated data is displayed based on updated time periods.

Tip:

To view time period properties, in the Account View, from the Actions menu, click Time Period and then click View Properties. Time Period Properties displays the model’s smallest time periods available, the calendar type, the number of months per year, and the end month for the fiscal year.

Note:

Strategic Modeling now requires that the first period in a model be a Beginning Balance period designed to hold the initial values for Balance accounts. Therefore, it is labeled as the first year in the model but is a snapshot period with no length. Therefore, Flow accounts will not hold values (nor be calculated) in the Beginning Balance period as they measure value accumulated over time.

For example, Cash (v2000) and its associated funds flow account, Increase in Cash (v2000.01). Ignoring all the other accounts that are related to Cash, Increase in Cash computes in any period as follows:

Increase in Cash = Cash in the current period - Cash in the prior period

Since the value of Cash before the Beginning Balance period in the model is unknown, there is no way to compute Increase in Cash in the Beginning Balance period. However, in any period following the Beginning Balance period the value of Increase in Cash can be found.

Defining Time Period Parameters

To define time period parameters for a model:

1. In Manage Time Period Details, in the Parameters section, click Edit .
2. Define the parameters, and then click OK.
   1. Select a Start Year and End Year to add or remove years from the model.

   2. In Last Historical Period, select a year to be the last historical year of the model.

   3. In Years For Historical Average, enter a number to define the number of historical years in the model.

   4. In Base Period, select a year to be the base period of the model.

   5. Click Apply.

Configuring Time Periods

To configure time periods for a model:

1. In Manage Time Period Details, in the Configure Period section, in the Period column, click the year you want to configure.
2. Click the level of detail to include in the time period—weeks, months, quarters, or halves, and then click Apply in the Configure Period section.

   • All years have Yearly selected by default.

   • For any year other than the beginning balance year, you can select and combine periods of years, halves, quarters, months, and weeks (if the model was created with weekly enabled) for historical and forecast data.

   • The Input option is cleared for upper level time periods when you add time detail, because the time period becomes an aggregate.

3. Click Apply.
4. Each period, other than the beginning balance year, allows for additional customization from the Actions menu . You can add sub periods, trailing periods, and periods to date.

Adding Sub Periods

Define sub periods for input periods when transactions such as acquisitions or leveraged buyouts occur. For example, for a leveraged buyout that took place on April 15 in a yearly period, the sub-period length is 105 days.

To add sub periods:

1. In Manage Time Period Details, in the Configure Period section, in the Period column, click the time period for which you want add to sub periods.
   • Expand the time periods to see the level of detail you want.
   • You can add sub periods only to the lowest level time period. For example, if you've defined a year to include Halves, Quarters, and Months, you can add sub periods only to months.
2. From the Actions menu , click Sub Period.
3. Click Add Period, enter a name for the sub period, and then enter the number of days in the sub period.
4. Continue adding sub periods until Unallocated days is zero.

   • To remove a sub period, click Delete next to the sub period.

   • Sub-periods must be at least one day long.

5. Click Apply.

Adding Trailing Periods

Trailing periods are time periods that collect the most recent number of time periods. You can set up trailing periods to occur in either a historical or a forecast period. With trailing time periods, you can measure business performance over a specific time duration.

Note:

Trailing period input status can be toggled On or Off. When on, values can be entered into the trailing period as aggregate, and back-solved to included periods.

To add trailing periods:

1. In Manage Time Period Details, in the Configure Period section, in the Period column, click the time period for which you want to add trailing periods.
   • Expand the time periods to see the level of detail you want.
   • You can add trailing periods only to the lowest level time period. For example, if you've defined a year to include Halves, Quarters, and Months, you can add trailing periods only to months.
2. From the Actions menu , click Trailing Period.
3. Click Add Trailing Period, enter the length of the trailing period, and then click OK.
4. Enter as many trailing periods as you need.

   To remove a trailing period, click Delete next to the trailing period.

5. Click Apply.

Adding Periods to Date

Use period to date to create year-to-date, half-year-to-date, quarter-to-date, or month-to-date periods. You can create a period to date on any period other than year. For example, if the time period detail for 2020 is months, you can create a period to date on months.

All financial accounts in period to date periods are calculated by default. You can view period to date periods in the Accounts view and in Reports.

To add a period to date:

1. In Manage Time Period Details, in the Configure Period section, in the Period column, click the time period for which you want to add a period to date.

   Tip:

   Expand the time periods to see the level of detail you want.
2. From the Actions menu , click Period to Date.
3. Click Add Period to Date.

   Period to dates are created for the current period and every upper level time period defined except Year. For example, if you've defined a year to include Halves, Quarters, and Months, if you add a period to date on a month, then Quarter to Date, Half to Date, and Year to Date are created.

   • Enter period to date names if you want.

   • To remove a period to date, click Delete next to the period to date.

   • To add a period to date, click Add Period to Date.
4. Click Apply.