Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) encompasses an organization?s activities around:
- Planning, budgeting, and forecasting;
- Financial close, reporting, and disclosure; and
- Performance measurement, analysis, and business intelligence.
A 2014 survey of IMA members examines the use and perceptions of the functionality and technology to support EPM.
It endeavors to answer questions such as:
- What are the common technologies employed by organizations to support EPM?
- What are the trends toward the adoption of new technology to support EPM activities?
- How satisfied are accounting professionals with their EPM systems?
- How does the adoption of cloud-based technology to support EPM compare to its adoption rates for other business support functions?
Key Insights:
- There remains a large dependency on the use of spreadsheet-based tools to support EPM activities, especially for support of planning and budgeting, and business intelligence and analysis.
- Those relying on the use of spreadsheets and manual processes express the lowest levels of satisfaction with their EPM technology. Respondents using cloud technology to support EPM activities expressed the highest overall level of satisfaction.
- The adoption rate of cloud technology for EPM is lower than the adoption rate of cloud technology in general. There appears to be a recent increase in applying cloud technology for EPM activity, particularly to support business intelligence