Ask FERF (financial executives research foundation) about ... budgeting software.

An FEI member from a privately held company recently submitted a question to FELIX PC (Financial Executives List Exchange for Private Companies):

"Can anyone recommend a good budgeting software package?"

This question motivated Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) staff to research what was new and exciting in the world of budgeting software. Representatives from four budgeting software vendors all agreed that budgeting has been complex, complicated and time-consuming. Said Tom Malone, president and CEO of SRC Software, "Budgeting used to have three primary characteristics: it took five or six months to complete, it was always late, and everyone hated it!"

One key theme emerged from the interviews: budgeting is no longer just for accountants. Operating managers are encouraged, and even expected, to enter their own data. Some sample solutions:

* Budget Maestro, Centage Corp.

Budget Maestro, by Centage Corp., is a Windows-based product that does not require spreadsheets, formulas or macros. It is based on databases that are updated with data entry screens by either accountants or operating managers.

Holly Intravia, Centage director of sales and marketing, says Budget Maestro was designed for greater productivity, with the managers closest to operations in mind--managers who may not be skilled in spreadsheets or even understand accounting. Intravia believes that this is consistent with the general trend to push the whole budgeting process towards the operations managers. Budget Maestro can be used by a single individual or can be scaled for hundreds of users, so it can be used by small to mid-sized companies.

For information on Budget Maestro, go to: www.centage.com/budget.asp.

* FRx Forecaster, by Microsoft Business Solutions

Gregg Gracheck, product marketing manager, says a good budgeting software package has three characteristics: quick implementation, immediate control of the entire process and capability to quickly adjust to changing business conditions.

Forecaster is a Web-based application that allows line managers to participate directly in budgeting. Finance sets up the responsibility or cost centers, and users are given passwords so they can enter their own data through the Internet or the company's intranet, then analyze and modify that data.

Gracheck recognizes that some users are skilled with spreadsheets and some are not--and notes that Forecaster does not require their use.

Information for Forecaster, which is designed for mid-market users, can be found at: www.microsoft.com/Business Solutions/Financials/Solomon/Modules/sol omon_frx_forecaster.mspx.

* SRC Budgeting

SRC's Malone says, "It is not easy to define budgeting today, because the boundaries between budgeting, scorecarding, strategic planning and long-range forecasting are blurring. In fact, SRC offers a 10-product suite, of which Budgeting is just one software package that interfaces with all of the other products." Malone adds that SRC Budgeting can forecast non-financial as well as financial metrics. Other products in the suite provide productivity planning, sales planning and report writing. SRC's customers are mid-sized to large companies.

SRC Budgeting combines the user acceptance and modeling sophistication of a live spreadsheet interface with the power and controls of industry-leading databases (such as SQL Server or Oracle). The result is a user-defined system, with everything set up to the user's precise requirements, that is easily adaptable for future changes. SRC Budgeting's system design is able to offer this level of adaptability without changing the source code.

For more information on SRC Budgeting, go to: www.srcsoftware.com/budget ingsoftware/budgeting.aspx.

* Hyperion Planning 

John O'Rourke, director of product marketing for Hyperion Solutions Corp., describes the trends he sees in budgeting and planning: "Companies are trying to get away from the six-month budget process. It is now a continuous process, and companies are moving to a rolling forecast scenario."

In response, Hyperion has developed a Business Performance Management Suite, which includes modeling; planning, budgeting and forecasting; financial consolidations and reporting; and a performance scorecard. In addition, Hyperion recently acquired Alcar Software for its Strategic Finance module, which does cash flow planning. The entire suite is Web-based, and anyone can enter data through a Web browser. Most of Hyperion's clients are medium- to large-size companies.

For more information on Hyperion Planning and the Business Performance Management Suite, go to the Web site: www.hyperion.com/products/

William M. Sinnett ([e-mail]) is Manager of Research for Financial Executives Research Foundation Inc., (FERF).