Introduction

This 30-minute hands-on tutorial shows you how to perform trend-based planning in Financials. The sections build on each other and should be completed sequentially.

Background

Enhance your ability to manage and analyze finances at any business level using driver-based or trend-based income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow planning, or simply plan revenue and expenses. With the best practice, out of box drivers and accounts, Financials accelerates your planning process. You can also bring in your own chart of accounts while retaining the benefits of an integrated Financials framework.

With Financials, enter trend-based assumptions that let you plan and forecast based on trends. For example, you can plan by using current, projected, or past values (such as Forecast Average or Year Over Year Increase) and estimate the percent by which each value is likely to change.

You can readily spot trends because every period has the same number of weekdays and weekends. The retail business in particular benefits from this consistency across years. Forecast market trends, sales projections, interest rates, and inventory requirements using accurate historical information and key performance indicators. With trend-based planning, you can use measurable and verifiable data to plan effectively.

Prerequisites

Cloud EPM Hands-on Tutorials may require you to import a snapshot into your Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance. Before you can import a tutorial snapshot, you must request another Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance or remove your current application and business process. The tutorial snapshot will not import over your existing application or business process, nor will it automatically replace or restore the application or business process you are currently working with.

Before starting this tutorial, you must:

  • Have Service Administrator access to a Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance.
  • Upload and import this snapshot into your Planning instance.
  • Save this compressed file locally and extract the (csv) data files. You will be importing data using the extracted data files.

Note:

If you run into migration errors importing the snapshot, re-run the migration excluding the HSS-Shared Services component, as well as the Security and User Preferences artifacts in the Core component. For more information on uploading and importing snapshots, refer to the Administering Migration for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud documentation.
Trends Description
Current Year Actual Average Calculates the average for an account for the current fiscal year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation
Current Period Actual Takes the value for an account for the month or week specified as the Current Period for the Current Fiscal Year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation.
Hold Forecast to Current Year Plan For the Forecast Scenario only, compares how much has been spent year to date for an account to the Plan for the current year, and spreads the remainder evenly over the remaining months in the Forecast.
Prior Year Actual Average Calculates the average for an account for the year prior to the Current Fiscal Year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation.
Prior Year Actual with Seasonality Takes the value for accounts for the month using the value for the same month in the prior year.
Forecast Average For the Plan Scenario only, takes the average for the Forecast from the prior year.
Forecast with Seasonality For the Plan Scenario only, takes the monthly values from the Forecast from the prior year.
Year over Year Increase/Decrease Applies a percent (%) increase or decrease to the prior year’s value.
Clear Trend Removes the trend and clears the data from a previously set trend.
Monthly Growth Calculates year over year change for an account using current year and prior year as the basis to calculate the growth.
Prior Month Run Rate Takes the value of the prior period.

Setting up the foundation for your plans and forecasts

In this section, you review the enabled features and time frame granularity, and set values for user variables in Financials.

Reviewing enabled features

In Enable Features, you select which parent key members, accounts, and drivers you want to enable for your Financials business process, as well as add and map custom dimensions. Based on your selections, dimensions, drivers, forms, and accounts are created.

Note:

You must define all custom dimensions the first time you enable features. You can’t define these later.
  1. On the Planning home page, click Application then Configure.
    2. Home Page
  2. From the Configure drop-down, select Financials.
    3. Configure Page
  3. Click Enable Features.
    4. Select Enable Features Button

    Revenue and Expense planning is enabled. Expenses are configured so that you can plan with drivers and related accounts.

    Top Part of Enable Screen
  4. Scroll down.

    5. Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow are configured.

    Middle part of Enable Screen

    Currently, rolling forecast and weekly planning are not configured.

    Middle part of Enable Screen
  5. Scroll down.

    6. Existing dimensions and custom dimensions are displayed. Product dimension is enabled for Revenue and the Services dimension is enabled for Expense. Cost Center is enabled for Expense. Channel is enabled for both Revenue and Expense. Funding Segment is enabled for Balance Sheet and Cash Flow.

    Map Dimensions Section
  6. Click Close.
    7. Enable Features Close Highlighted
You can’t disable features later.

Reviewing time periods and granularity

In Planning and Forecast Preparation, you select the current fiscal year, period (month), and plan start year to control the beginning and end duration of your scenarios. You also set the period granularity for the Plan, Forecast, and Rolling Forecast (if enabled) scenarios in your business process.

  1. On Configure: Financials, click Planning and Forecast Preparation.
    2. Configure Page

    Notice the Current Fiscal Year is FY23, the Period is January, and the Plan Start Year is set to Next Fiscal Year.

    Plan Forecast Preparation
  2. Click Forecast.
    3. Click Forecast

    The Forecast starts in February FY23 and runs through December of FY24. The two year forecast is set on a monthly basis.

    Forecast Granularity
  3. Click Plan.
    4. Click Plan

    The four year Plan which runs from January FY24 through December of FY27, has each year's data planned on a monthly basis.

    Plan Granularity
  4. Click Close.
    5. Close Granularity

Selecting values for user variables

User Variables were added when the business process was created. User variables act as filters in forms, enabling planners to focus only on certain members. In this section, you set values for users values.

  1. Click Navigator Icon (Navigator), and under Tools, select User Preferences.
    2. Navigator Menu
  2. Click User Variables.
    3. Preferences Page
  3. For each variable click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the variable's value as specified below:
    • Currency: USD
    • Entity: 1 US
    • Reporting Currency: USD
    • Scenario: OEP_Plan
    • Version: OEP_Working
    • Years: FY24
    • Expense Account: OFS_Operating Expenses
    • Expense Drivers:OFS_Travel and Entertainment Expense Drivers
  4. Click Save.
    5. Save Variables
  5. At the information message, click OK.
    6. Info Prompt
  6. Click Home Icon (Home).

Loading and calculating data

In this section, you load historical and plan data, calculate actual data, and roll up scenario data. You also review the loaded data.

Loading revenue and expense data

In this section, you load revenue and expense data to create a basis for your forecasts.

  1. On the Planning home page, click Application, then Overview.
    2. Home Page
  2. On the Application page, click Actions, and select Import Data.
    3. Import Data
  3. In Import Data dialog, click Create.
    4. Create Import
  4. Keep all the default selections and select Include Metadata.
  5. Click Browse to select a file.
    6. Browse to select file

    Note:

    Depending on your browser, the button label may display Choose File or Browse.
  6. Locate and select Revenue_Data FY22_FY23_FY24.csv, and click Open.
  7. Click Import.
    8. Click Import
  8. At the information dialog, click OK.
    9. Click OK

    Tip:

    The data files provided in this tutorial have been validated against the loaded business process. For newly created or modified data files, Oracle recommends that you validate the files before running the import process.
  9. In Import Data, click Update.
    10. UpdateFile
  10. Click Browse to select a file.
    11. Update File Browse to select file

    Note:

    Depending on your browser, the button label may display Choose File or Browse.
  11. Locate and select Expense_Data FY22_FY23_FY24.csv, and click Open.
  12. In Update File, click OK.
    13. ClickOK
  13. Click Import.
    14. Click Import
  14. At the information dialog, click OK.
    15. Click OK
  15. Click Close twice.
  16. Click Jobs.
    17. Select Jobs Card
  17. Verify that the jobs completed successfully.
    18. Verify Job
  18. Click Home Icon (Home).

Calculating actuals

In this section, you calculate actual data to calculate drivers and aggregate data. After loading data, you run this rule to ensure that you're working with the latest figures and calculations.

  1. From the Planning home page, click Rules.
    2. Click Rules
  2. On Business Rules, for the Calculate Actuals row, click Launch.
    3. Launch Rule
  3. For Entity, click Select Member Icon (Select Member).
    4. Select Entity Member
  4. Click the arrow to the right of OEP_Total Entity, and select 1 US, and click OK.
    5. Select Entity
  5. For Periods, click Select Member Icon (Select Member).
    6. Select Period
  6. For YearTotal, click Function Selector Icon (Function Selector), select Level 0 Descendants, and click OK.
    7. Select Period
  7. For Select Years, enter FY22, FY23, FY24 and click Launch.
    8. Select Year
  8. At the Information dialog, click OK.
    9. Information Dialog
  9. Click Home Icon (home).
  10. From the Planning Home page, click Application then Jobs.
    11. Home Page
  11. Verify that the job completed successfully.
    12. Jobs page
  12. Click Home Icon (Home).

Rolling up data for scenarios

In this section, you run a rule to rollup the loaded data.

  1. On the Planning home page, click Rules .
    2. Home page
  2. For Rollup, on the right, click Launch.
    3. Business Rules page
  3. For Scenario, select OEP_Actual. Then for each member click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the value as specified below, and click Launch:
    • Years: FY23,FY24
    • Currency: USD

    Tip:

    Change the value of the scenario dimension first.
    Rollup Rule
  4. At the information message, click OK .
    5. Info Message
  5. Click Navigator, and under Application, select Jobs .
    6. Navigator Menu

    The rollup job completed successfully.

    Jobs Page
  6. Click Home Icon (Home).

Reviewing loaded data

In this section, you verify that actual data was loaded.

  1. On the Planning home page, click Financials, then Analysis.
    2. HomePageAnalysis
  2. Select the Forms vertical tab.
    3. Analysis Dashboard
  3. Click Revenue Actuals.
    4. RevenueActuals
  4. Click Product, select All Product, and click OK.
    5. POVandGo
  5. Ensure the POV is set to the following and click GoIcon (Go).
    6. POVandGo

    The loaded revenue data is displayed.

    RevenueData

Preparing plans and forecasts

In this section, you run business rules to update plans and forecasts.

Preparing plans

In this section, you calculate all driver and trend based data for the selected plan years. Typically, you run Prepare Plan to create a new year plan as years change, or you can use it if you have prepared a multi-year plan and have updated data for trend and driver basis.

  1. Click NavigatorIcon (Navigator), and under Financials, click Rules.
    2. Navigator Menu
  2. In the Prepare Plan row, click LaunchIcon (Launch).
    3. BusinessRulesPage
  3. For each member, click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the value as specified below, then click Launch:
    • Entity: "1 US"
    • Currency: USD
    • Years: FY24
    PreparePlanDialog
  4. At the Information message, click OK.
    5. InformationMessage

Preparing forecasts

In this section, you run the Prepare Forecast rule to copy selected months from the Actual scenario to the Forecast scenario. The rule also recalculates drivers and trends based on actual results. This rule also copies current forecast to the prior forecast version for comparison. You can use this rule when rolling over to a new year as the starting point for a forecast.

  1. On Business Rules, for the Prepare Forecast row, click LaunchIcon (Launch).
    2. Launch Rule
  2. For each member click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the value as specified below, then click Launch:
    • Entity: "OEP_Total Entity"
    • Actual Months: Jan
    • Currency: USD
    • Years: FY24
    Prepare Forecast Prompts
  3. At the Information message, click OK.
    4. Information Message
  4. Click Home Icon (Home).

You can plan revenue based on trends and increase or decrease those values to calculate plan data.

Basing plans on actual data

With trends, you can develop your plans by basing them on loaded actual data.

  1. On the Planning home page, click Financials then Revenue.
    2. Home Page Revenue
  2. On the left, select the Driver and Trend Based vertical tab and then select the Trend Based Revenue Planning horizontal tab.
    3. Revenue Trends Page
  3. Make POV selections based on the following, and click GoIcon (Go):
    4. POV
  4. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Current Year Actual Average.
    5. SelectTrend

    Current Year Actual Average calculates the average for an account for the current fiscal year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation. The current fiscal year is FY24 and has actual data loaded.

  5. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 8%.
    6. EnterIncrease
  6. For Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Current Period Actual, and for Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 9%.

    7. Current Period Actual takes the value for an account for the month or week specified as the Current Period for the Current Fiscal Year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation. The current period is January and the current fiscal year is FY24 and has actual data loaded.

    EnterTrendandPercentIncrease
  7. For Material Cost, in Trend Assumptions, select Prior Year Actual Average, and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 10%.

    8. Prior Year Actual Average calculates the average for an account for the year prior to the Current Fiscal Year specified in Planning and Forecast Preparation. The current period is January and the current fiscal year is FY24 so the prior year prior is FY22.

    MaterialCost
  8. For Stock Adjustments Net, in Trend Assumptions, select Prior Year Actual with Seasonality, and for Stock Adjustments Net, in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 4%.

    9. Prior Year Actual with Seasonality calculates the value for accounts for the month using the value for the same month in the prior year. The current fiscal year is FY24 so the year prior is FY22. To calculate monthly data using this trend, the monthly data from FY22 is used.

    StockAdjustments
  9. Click Save .
    10. SaveChanges
  10. At the Information message, click OK.
    11. Information Dialog

    The data is calculated based on the selections.

    ActualTrendResults
  1. Click Product and change the product to 3 SUV 78, and click OK .
    2. Choose Product
  2. Click GoIcon (Go).
  3. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Forecast Average and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 7% .
    4. SelectForecastAverage

    Forecast average is valid only for the Plan scenario, and takes the average for the Forecast from the prior year. The prior year is FY24.

  4. For Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Forecast with Seasonality, and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 5% .

    5. Forecast with Seasonality is for the Plan Scenario only, and takes the monthly values from the Forecast from the prior year, FY24.

    ForecastwithSeasonality
  5. Click Save.
    6. SaveChanges
  6. At the Information message, click OK .
    7. Information Dialog

    The data is calculated based on the selections.

    UpdatedTrendResults
  7. Click Product and change the product to 2 Hatchback 456, and click OK.
    8. Choose Product
  8. Click GoIcon (Go)
  9. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Year over Year Increase/Decrease and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter -3%.
    10. SelectYearoverYearDecrease

    Year over Year Increase/Decrease applies a percentage increase or decrease to the prior year’s value. You need to have data for the prior year, in this case FY24.

  10. Click Save.
    11. SaveChanges
  11. At the Information message, click OK.
    12. Information Dialog

    The data is calculated based on the selections.

    YearoverYearResults
  12. Click Scenario, select Forecast, and click OK.
    13. SelectForecast
  13. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Hold Forecast to Current Year Plan and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 5%.
    14. Hold Forecast to Current Year Plan Example

    Hold forecast to current year plan is for the Forecast scenario only. It compares how much has been spent year to date for an account to the Plan for the current year, and spreads the remainder evenly over the remaining months in the Forecast. You need to have plan data loaded for the current year.

  14. For Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Monthly Growth, and in %Increase/(Decrease), enter 4%.

    15. Monthly growth calculates year over year change for an account using current year and prior year as the basis to calculate the growth. You need to have data for the prior year, in this case FY24.

    Monthly Growth
  15. Click Save.
    16. SaveChanges
  16. At the Information message, click OK.
    17. Information Dialog

    The data is calculated based on the selections.

    ForecastTrends
  17. Click Years, select FY23 to see the data in the prior year (FY23), and click OK.
    18. SelectYear
  18. Click GoIcon (Go).
  19. For Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Current Year Actual Average.
    20. ForecastFY24Data
  20. Click Save, and at the Information message, click OK.

    21. The prior year data is calculated based on the selections.

    PopulatePriorYearForecast
  21. Click Years, select FY24, and click OK.
    22. SelectYear
  22. Click GoIcon (Go).
  23. For Product Income Existing Products Other Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Prior Month Run Rate, and click Save.

    24. Prior month run rate takes the value of the prior period. The current month is January and the first period for forecast is February, so the January value is applied to February.

    Prior Month Run Example
  24. At the Information message, click OK.

    25. The data is calculated based on the selections.

    Prior Month Run Rate Results
  25. For Product Income Existing Products Key Customers, in Trend Assumptions, select Clear Trend, and in %Increase/(Decrease) delete the percentage. Then click Save, and in the Information message, click OK .
    26. Clear Trend

    Clear trend removes the trend and clears the data from a previously set trend.

    Trend Data Cleared

Rolling up data

In this section, you roll up data after planning with trends.

  1. Click the Total Revenue - Plan horizontal tab.
    2. NavigatetoTotRevPlan
  2. Click Product, select All Product, and click OK.
    3. SelectProduct
  3. Click GoIcon (Go).
  4. From the Actions menu, select Business Rules.
    5. Select Biz Rules
  5. Select Rollup.
    6. Select Rollup
  6. For each member click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the value as specified below, then click Launch:
    • Years: FY24
    • Entity Variable: "OEP_Total Entity"
    • Scenario: OEP_Plan
    • Version: OEP_Working
    • Currency: USD
    MembersSelectedforRule
  7. At the Information message, click OK.
    8. Information Message

    Plan data is rolled up.

    RolledUpPlan
  8. Click the Total Revenue - Forecast horizontal tab.
    9. NavigatetoTotRevForecast
  9. From the Actions menu, select Business Rules.
    10. Select Biz Rules
  10. Select Rollup.
    11. Select Rollup
  11. For each member click MemberSelector (Select Member) to set the value as specified below, then click Launch:
    • Years: FY24
    • Entity Variable: "OEP_Total Entity"
    • Scenario: OEP_Forecast
    • Version: OEP_Working
    • Currency: USD
    MembersSelectedforRule
  12. At the Information message, click OK.
    13. Information Message

    For Forecast, Total Revenue and Gross Profit are calculated for all products.

    TotalRevenueAfterCalc