Users can see what made up the actuals from prior months

Description

Drill-down transactions in Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software allow users to click on data points and obtain more detailed information. Specifically, when it comes to understanding actuals from prior months, drill-down transactions enable users to dissect the numbers and see what contributed to the final outcome. This functionality enhances the thoroughness of financial analysis and audits, greatly helping users understand spending trends, identifying possible cost savings, and monitoring budget compliance.

Example Use Case

Scenario: An international company is using CPM software to review its financial performance over the past year. The CEO identifies an unusual increase in operating costs from one particular month and wants to understand the specifics behind it.

Solution: With the drill-down transaction functionality, the CEO can dig deeper into the data straight from the CPM software. By clicking on the relevant actuals for that month, she could observe that the spike was due to higher raw material costs. This insight enables her to strategize for potential future scenarios and communicate effectively with shareholders.

Considerations

Transactions may be loaded into a CPM system for the purpose of drill-down, or will allow the user to jump back into the source system to see the transactions in full. Some systems do both, showing a more simplified transaction view in the CPM tool before allowing drill-through to the source system.

This feature is popular for finance teams who are tired of researching their ledger when asked questions by department heads. With this functionality, these department heads can simply click on an actuals field and see the results. This saves a phone call, potentially an hour of research, and the associated arguing.

When viewing a demonstration, make sure the transactions shown in the demo actually add up to the amount in the field being drilled. If not, there could be a disconnect between the values and the transactions or a security feature blocking certain transactions. Either way, make sure you understand the limitations of the drill-through.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Drill-Down Capability: How far down can a user drill to understand what made up the actuals from prior months? Can this be customized based on our unique needs?
• Source System Drill-Through: How can we see the transactions in our source system?
• Security: What mechanisms exist to prevent certain users from accessing certain transactions?