FINEXT LINQ MAGAZINE

LINQ > focus on
the essence
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
THE ART OF OMISSION
5 QUESTIONS FOR TERBERG
BUSINESS INSIGHT AT PERFETTI VAN MELLE
3 TRENDS IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
CAN YOU DO IT SMARTER? 33 FINANCE HACKS

Run Simple
HOW DO
YOU PROVIDE
STRATEGIC
VALUE WITH
INSTANT
INSIGHT
ACROSS
FINANCE?
IT’S SIMPLE.
THE ANSWER IS SAP SIMPLE FINANCE.
Transform financial management with the
ultimate sophistication: simplicity. As part of
SAP S/4HANA, a new, next generation business
suite, SAP Simple Finance solution powered by
SAP HANA is designed to provide strategic
value with instant insight across finance –
all via a personalized and simple user
experience.
For more, go to www.sap.nl/simplefinance

03 / INTRODUCTION
Simplicity has been the keyword in design for many years
now. Whether you look at a web design - e.g. the most
used website in the world: the Google search page - or at
hardware - think about any Apple product - or at interior
design - Scandinavian design is highly fashionable at the
moment. Designers work with the motto ‘less is more’.
What can designers teach us?
At Finext, we believe that creating simplicity really works. We believe in reducing
unnecessary complexity and not bothering each other with ‘hassle’. Simplicity also
means transparency and structure. Displaying information in a way that shows the
essential figures at a glance, instead of rows and rows of numbers.
Designers use a few principles which we can use daily in Performance Management:
deleting, hiding and relocating.
Deleting elements that are unnecessary or even better: forcing yourself to continuously
think about whether you really need this extra functionality to support the process.
Hiding functionality that is not relevant for the target audience. Use options in the
software to only select the information that is necessary.
Relocate functionality. Sometimes it can be very clarifying to relocate an activity of a
department. We often hear that outsourcing support aids controllers since it gives them
confidence and room to breathe, which improves the quality of their work.
Simplicity is not a magic trick. It helps us to look at the core of the organization and to
focus on the essence.
Enjoy the read!
Martijn Meuling
FOCUS ON
THE ESSENCE
> MARTIJN MEULING IS
A DESIGN-ENTHUSIAST,
CAPTIVATED BY THE COMBI-
NATION OF FUNCTIONALITY
AND ESTHETICS.

CONTENTS
In this magazine:
06
08
12
14
19
24
28
30
32
36
40
42
47
50
54
56
58
62
ACTUALS
new petrol stations
opened in 2013
lubricants blending
capacity
100
100.000 ton
Shell licensee in
in Africa
16 countries
in Africa
Vitol is sold at
21 airports
full-time employees
2.000
Shell service stations
in Africa
1500
storage capacity
900.000 m3
BUDGET &
FORECAST
SUPPLY/DEMAND
PLANNING
Ksh
GHC
Gce
Cfa
62 /50 /
24 /14 /
From the construction budget to
regular finance at RWG
Transparent collaboration at Telfort
Integrated information landscape at
Vivo Energy
Streamlined migration process at
Attero
The art of omission
Fluent financial statements process at Brabant Water
Dare to choose
Streamlined migration process at Attero
Trends in Performance Management
Integrated information landscape at Vivo Energy
Business planning: a matter of focus
Can you do it smarter? 33 finance hacks
Business insight at Perfetti Van Melle
Tranquility during the reporting process at First Wind
Measuring models
Uniform monthly reporting at Royal Reesink
New players in the field
Transparent collaboration at Telfort
The business at... Omron
What is the value of a customer?
5 Questions for Ivo Jansen of Terberg
From the construction budget to regular finance at RWG

THE
ART
> EVERY DAY MONICA HARMSEN PREPARES A HEALTHY MEAL
WITH PURE INGREDIENTS FROM THE SUPERMARKET CHAIN THAT
SHE HAS IMPLEMENTED A PLANNING SOLUTION FOR.
06 / VISION

OMISSION
OF TEXT: MONICA HARMSEN
Want to continue on this topic with Monica?
You can reach her via monica.harmsen@finext.nl
or at +31 70 - 300 3000.
Every good chef chooses only a few
ingredients for a dish. Adding more
ingredients does not necessarily add
anything to the taste. It may even divert
the taste buds from the main flavor.
How can you apply this art of omission
as a business controller?
A good company starts with a good product and its
success will depend on the quality of the product.
It has never been the intention to set-up a well-organized
financial department. As your company develops, more
and more departments are created, but most of them are
not involved in the primary process. Over time, an
increasing number of employees are not directly involved
in the core business of the company: creating, marketing,
and selling your product.
Reason for existence
The purpose of a financial department is to process,
analyze and report information. Revenues, expenses
and profits are calculated, analyzed, budgeted, planned,
and estimated. The available models, spreadsheets,
Performance Management-systems and datasets are
becoming larger and more complex. The initial reason for
having a finance department is valid, but only too often
the focus is lost. The data handling seems to become more
important than the very reason the company exists:
the product.
A symphony of flavors
In order to cook a good meal, you start with pure, healthy,
and fresh ingredients. The art of creating a great dish is
more delicate. Each ingredient needs to contribute to the
dish and enhance the harmony between the ingredients.
The perfect meal is a symphony of flavors that are
balanced. They do not require sauces or other additions.
Reporting sets within large organizations are usually so
jam-packed with data that it is hard to get the gist of it.
In order to be balanced, you need to find the pure
ingredients of your reporting process. To accomplish this,
you could ask yourself questions like:
>> Which reports contain the essence of the information
needed to make the best decisions? And which ones are
better left out?
>> Do you really need to separate costs into different
categories like education, adverts and office supplies?
Or does the category ‘other costs’ suffice?
>> Should you perhaps focus more on information that
gives you insight into which products you should
release next year, which products generate the most
revenue and which products should be taken out of
the assortment next year?
A balanced menu
How wonderful would it be if the budgeting and
reporting process would be fast and smooth, so your
organization could really focus on the core of your
business: producing and selling products to satisfied
customers? This is the art of a balanced menu of infor-
mation. A menu that represents the core values of the
organization, with reports that show a balanced amount
of information. As in cooking, the art of omission works.
How does this taste?
07 / VISION

The drinking water company Brabant Water
wanted to improve the quality of their annual
financial statements. The implementation of
a Disclosure Management solution
accelerates the process, ensures accurate
version control and provides an automated
audit trail. This increases the quality and
reliability of their figures.
Brabant
Water
financial
statements
process
at
Fluent
TEXT: DANIELLE GRUIJS
09 / INTERVIEW

We wanted to be able to focus on
the content of the financial statements
instead of version control
Improving the process
In the long run, Brabant Water is also striving to reduce the time
it takes to prepare the annual financial statements. “The
possibilities provided by the Disclosure Management solution
enable you to apply changes to the process,” says Wesley
Schulte of Finext. As Performance Management consultant he
has been closely involved in the implementation of SAP
Disclosure Management at Brabant Water.
The new system encourages people to take responsibility. “If
you plan the design of the solution carefully, you can place the
responsibility for the comments in the financial statements at a
much lower level in the organization. In the past, these
comments were all written by the person who was ultimately
responsible. Now, entry is possible at the source and, therefore,
the responsibility can be placed at the source,” tells Henk.
Henk de Boer, Head of Financial Economic Affairs at Brabant
Water, tells us: “Last year was the first time I got involved in the
annual reporting process. Version management needed a lot of
attention and was prone to error. The final straw was the
moment I put our latest version next to the test copy from the
printer’s office and noticed that a modification had accidentally
not been included.” With 800 employees, Brabant Water
provides drinking water to 2.4 million inhabitants and
companies in Noord-Brabant, a province in The Netherlands.
“We wanted to be able to focus on the content of the financial
statements, instead of version control,” tells Adinda te Veldhuis,
consultant Accounting and Internal Control systems at Brabant
Water. “Our first priority was to increase the quality of the
annual financial statements. We wanted to avoid situations in
which the auditor and our department would be using different
versions,” tells Henk.
10 / INTERVIEW

More than just tooling
Brabant Water wants to add even more steps in the annual
financial statements process to the solution. For example by
exploiting the workflows in the Disclosure Management tool.
“Everybody is collaborating on one final document, in which
each individual can work on their own chapter of the financial
statements simultaneously,” tells Wesley. “By using the built-in
workflow properly, all stakeholders can collaborate even better
in the process.” “A Disclosure Management solution is more
than just tooling,” Henk says. “We did buy it for that purpose,
but in the end it is a way to improve the process.”
The annual financial statements bring different worlds together;
Finance, Communication and IT. “We often see the separate
departments working as islands while creating the annual
financial statements,” Naida says. “By providing one product
using one process, you involve the other parties to a larger
extent.” “Bringing together the small islands is an added value
of the new solution,” says Adinda. “It is important to first set a
baseline, in order to determine who performs which role in the
current process.”
“Moreover, the new tool provides the audit trail which you
normally have to create manually. It automates a part of my job.
As a result I can focus more on the quality,” tells Adinda. “For
the auditor it is much better if the audit trail has been recorded
thoroughly,” Naida Sadžak of Finext, also closely involved in the
project, says. She is able to look for improvements to the
processes from an auditor’s perspective, having been an
auditor herself.
In addition to improving the quality, the new version man-
agement also has a large impact on the workload pressure.
“Now we present version 96 with a ‘big smile’,” says Adinda.
“In the near future we will significantly reduce the number of
versions, at the moment we are still gradually adjusting. Every
text modification creates a new version.” “Further standardi-
zation of the process can bring even more improvements, which
will lead to a drop in the number of cross checks,” Naida says.
Teamwork within the organization
The Executive Management at Brabant Water is very pleased
with the new reporting process. “The management is positively
surprised. Now, they can see all changes in the report at a
glance,” Henk says. Moreover, also the auditor indicates in his
reports that big improvements were made with respect to
version control. “We can now focus on the statements, as a
result of which the internal control will be at a higher level.”
If you plan the design of the
solution carefully, you can place
the responsibility for the com-
ments in the financial statements
at a much lower level in the
organization
Interested in implementing a Disclosure
Management solution for your annual
financial statements? Contact Wesley Schulte
via Wesley.schulte@finext.nl or at
+ 31 70 - 300 3000.
Brabant Water
Extraction 2014:
Noord-Brabant
m3
2.4 million
174,757,000
inhabitants and
companies in
provides
in
to
drinking
water
11 / INTERVIEW

DARE
> ON HIS TRAVELS, STIJN GABRIËLS TRUSTS THE MAINTENANCE
OF AIRPLANE PARTS DONE BY HIS CLIENT FOKKER TECHNOLOGIES.
12 / VISION

Step by step
The first step in consolidation and reporting is creating
a well designed data model, with accompanying elements
such as movements for the balance sheet and
specifications for the P&L. Subsequently, pay attention
to the connection of your consolidation and reporting
solution with various source systems. This should make it
easier to report for the whole organization and to define
the KPIs clearly.
The next question is: which information is relevant, what
is important, and in what level of detail? Think about
external reporting requirements on the one hand, and
internal management reporting on the other hand.
Consolidated monthly reports are easily 40 to 50 pages.
But would a limited reporting pack also suffice? A small
orderly booklet with a few one-pagers and graphs or tables
provides more information than an encyclopedia-sized
book with figures in font size 8.
Set a limit
An airplane has a clear limit on weight and number of
passengers. It is simply not possible or allowed to take
more. Imagine limiting the length of your reports in the
same way. What would you bring with you on your
reporting trip if you are allowed to take only 10 pages
of financial information?
Does ‘less is more’ also apply to
reporting? Personally, I prefer a good
one-pager with the most important
information at a glance over a long
disorderly report. Which information is
relevant, and for who? And what can we
learn from the luggage-limits of airlines?
Often, we see that the design of consolidation and
reporting models starts lean & mean. But 2 to 3 years
later, we see more and more additions that have been
made to these models. Information needs keep changing,
for example due to new insights or changes in
management. These are legitimate reasons to add changes
to the information model. However, old elements are
often not removed.
Figures for the sake of figures?
In order to go back to a controllable and suitable data
model, the goal of the reports is essential. Are figures just
requested for the sake of requesting figures? Or does
reporting actually add value? Removing irrelevant details
will save time and money.
Put the interests of your stakeholders first; what
information do they need? Three factors are important
to consider. First of all, the type of company and the
organizational structure. There is a clear difference in the
reporting needs between corporations, private equity
firms and family-owned businesses.
Likewise, the line of business is crucial. Retailers need
more detailed weekly margin analyses and are strongly
P&L driven, while companies active in real estate are
more balance-sheet driven and report per quarter.
The third factor that needs to be considered concerns
economic and social developments. There has been a
change towards better monitoring cash flows since the
financial crisis of 2007 in order to manage liquidity in
a better way.
Want to continue on this topic with Stijn?
Contact Stijn via stijn.gabriels@finext.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3000.
CHOOSETEXT: STIJN GABRIËLS
TO
13 / VISION

> BERT SNIPPE AND PIETER BAS TER MAAT
AT ONE OF ATTERO’S WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS.
14 / INTERVIEW

Streamlined
Attero processes commercial and domestic
waste into useful raw materials and durable
energy. During the migration to SAP BPC
10, the innovative organization exploited the
‘migration desk’, a method to achieve a
streamlined upgrade. To be able to test with
actual data and processes, the end-users
were trained during the migration.
Attero
migration
process
at
15 / INTERVIEW

If you are not up-to-date with
your upgrades, you need more
customized solutions
tells Pieter Bas ter Maat, Project manager IT at Attero. “We
want to update with each new version, and make a step every
year. This way the impact is smaller and the upgrade is easier
to control. It is our policy to always use the latest version -1.”
“By always using one of the latest versions we also gain
access to new functionality,” Bert adds. This gives more
possibilities. “If you are not up to date with your upgrades, you
need more customized solutions. In the end you’ll have to find
a solution for your requirements. If you use a recent version,
you have the possibility to solve the requirements by using
new functionality in the software.”
When asked about the reason for migrating to SAP BPC 10, Bert
Snippe, Head of Reporting and FA at Attero, tells us: “At Attero,
we have the policy to be up to date with technology. Also, with
out-of-date software you do not get service from the software
supplier. It is evident that at some point you need to upgrade to
a new version.” Spread across fifteen operational sites, 750
Attero employees process, among other things, the waste of
millions of Dutch citizens. The aim is to recover raw materials
as much as possible, to provide durable energy and to produce
useful products.
Latest version -1
During the migration, the timing of this project in combination
with other projects was an important consideration. “For half a
year, we focused on bringing our software to the correct level.
We did a large SAP upgrade earlier this year, including CRM,”
16 / INTERVIEW

‘Migration desk’
To guarantee a smooth migration process to SAP BPC 10, the
organization used the `migration desk’. This is a specific method
for migrating to newer versions, developed by Swap Support
and its sister organization Finext.
“It is a big step to SAP BPC 10”, Naida Sadžak of Finext says.
“This should be tackled as a project, but it is not a new
implementation. A migration balances exactly on the inter-
section of support and implementation. This is the added value
of the ‘migration desk’; it combines the support expertise of
Swap Support with the implementation knowledge of Finext.
“The hardest part of the migration process is rebuilding the
input schedules and reports,” tells Julia Heinemann of Swap
Support. “To take pressure off the organization, we prepare
both the rebuilding and the technical steps at the Service
Desk.”
In this approach Swap Support is the primary contact point for
Attero. “Swap Support, the business and ICT cooperate as
three equivalent partners in a triangle,” tells Pieter Bas. ICT
does not lead the project; first we agree on the allocation of
tasks, and then together we make this possible.”
Training and testing
Testing the application and training the end-users was done
simultaneously. Julia: “Testing is frequently done in happy
views, for example by someone with full access. In this case,
we tested with actual monthly data, instead of an example data
set. Specific users were trained by going through their own
processes, testing the application at the same time.” “Everyone
brought their own items which they would also have used to
generate the coming monthly reporting,” tells Bert. “In this way,
you run into the little things from the day-to-day work.”
“This approach turns it into a training on-the-job, with real data
in the new environment,” Pieter Bas says. He sees clear
advantages of this approach. “The closer you come to reality
during the training, the more effectively people can relate to
their job.”
During the combined training and testing Julia and Naida
were present to answer end-users questions immediately.
Meanwhile, people were available at the Service Desk to
promptly make small adjustments to the application when
necessary.
Short implementation time
The migration process was characterized by its short
implementation time. “We were able to accomplish this over a
particularly short period of time. Approximately between 6 to 8
weeks.” tells Bert. “The big advantage with this is that you can
accurately plan daily, even hourly, as a result of which you can
claim the right capacity within the organization.”
The results are positive. “Shortly after going live we had to
prepare the half year financial close, and we didn’t run into
any problems,” says Bert. “The users were able to smoothly
continue their activities and that actually is the biggest
compliment when doing a migration.”
Curious about using the ‘migration desk’
for the upgrades within your organization?
Get in touch with Julia Heinemann via
julia.heinemann@swapsupport.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3035.
domestic waste
of
millions
of Dutch citizens
a total of
3,3million
tonsof waste
annually
the plants generate energyfor
approximately
350,000households
and
provide heating
to some
local companies
17 / INTERVIEW

18 / TREND
Welcome to the new world of BOARD.
Today there is a business decision environment that is
very different from all others. An extremely advanced
environment, yet simple and intuitive, where you can finally
have all the benefits of Business Intelligence, Predictive
Analytics and Corporate Performance Management within
a single software solution.
The secret is called the “toolkit”, a revolutionary approach
that provides you with your custom tailored applications: from
reporting to analysis, from dashboards to scorecards, from
planning to simulation. You can not only create your own
solutions, but also modify them in a simple, fast and secure
way. Enter the World of BOARD. Discover how easy it is to
embrace this ALL IN ONE environment, where everything
works perfectly and where the most advanced technology will
provide you with the solutions you need.
Make the right decision with BOARD.
Better decisions. Better business.
Welcome to the new world
of Management Intelligence
www.board.com
The new world of BI & CPM

19 / TREND
The world of Performance Manage-
ment is continuously changing.What
are the latest developments? Are
they relevant for your organization?
Jethro van der Veer, Olaf Looije
and Tiemen van der Tuijn share
their vision on three trends.
in Performance
Management
Trends

20 / TREND
Tax reporting:
the 5 trends TEXT: JETHRO VAN DER VEER
01
The world of tax reporting is always shifting.This is not only
due to changing legislation, but also due to growing social
interest in the tax choices of organizations. How will this affect
tax reporting? And the collaboration of the tax and finance
department?
The five most important trends:
1. Country-by-country reporting
For the year 2016, multinationals with revenues higher
than 750 million euros have to submit a country-by-
country report to the tax authorities.
2. Higher demand for transparency
Social developments demand more transparency
concerning tax payments and fiscal structures.This
leads to more and more online publications of fiscal
strategies. Furthermore, fiscal key figures are being
incorporated in sustainability reports, for instance
insights into tax remittances, the added value to the
economy and tax payments per employee.
3.The necessity for accurate data within
the whole organization
There is a strong need for accurate data within the
organization. Besides information requests from
other parts of the organization, it is crucial to be able
to estimate future tax positions and remittances
accurately.
4. Collaboration between tax and finance
The tax and finance departments are mutually
dependent in order to deliver correct financial
reporting and tax statements.
Their dependency is moving progressively towards
collaboration in data collection and analysis.
5.The rise of corporate tax reporting
applications
By using corporate tax reporting applications, the
tax department can take big steps in collecting,
analyzing and optimizing information.The corporate
tax reporting tools can be used independently or
completely integrated in an existing Performance
Management solution.
The perfect level of detail
Summarizing, these trends demand and offer a
smooth and effective tax reporting process.
The correct level of detail needs to be collected
and reported without any effort. For today and
years to come.
Would you like to know more about
corporate tax reporting and the software
possibilities? You can reach Jethro via
jethro.van.der.veer@finext.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3000.

21 / TREND
Until recently, the best cloud option for Performance
Management applications was a private cloud at a
specialized hosting company. However, we see two
new options that may be worth exploring. First, the
public cloud by companies like Microsoft Azure is
improving, which makes it a serious option for hosting
your financial applications.We also see software
providers supplying their applications within their
own cloud, sometimes in addition to their on-premise
applications. Some suppliers, such as Anaplan, are
already completely cloud-based.
Computing power
This results in a change of computing power; CPUs
(Central Processing Units) are being sold as a
commodity.You can use the CPUs you need at will and
at any time. It is like electricity; you can just flick a
switch, and the light goes on.You can use electricity
without buying a specific amount of kilowatts
beforehand.
Support in the cloud
These changes do not mean there is no need for
support though. Although the public cloud can supply
CPUs, they do not provide application - functional - or
technical support. Even within a vendor cloud the
functional support design is still essential, since no
software provider knows the content of the platforms
and financial processes of all its clients.
Computing power is becoming a commodity, just like
cacao beans. However, producing quality chocolate
still requires craftsmanship.Whether doing it yourself
or outsourcing it. In the cloud, support will remain
crucial to the proper functioning of your Performance
Management applications.
Olaf Looije works at Swap Support.Would
you like talk with Olaf about hosting and
support in the cloud?You can reach Olaf
via olaf.looije@swapsupport.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3035.
The cloud is becoming more and more common. At the
same time multiple variations of the cloud are developing at
a breathtaking pace. In no time, computing power will be a
commodity, just like cocoa beans.What are the consequences
for your financial applications? How will this affect
maintenance?
The next step
in the cloud
TEXT: OLAF LOOIJE
02

22 / TREND
Integration of variety
To guarantee a complete understanding of the perfor-
mance of your company, information is needed from
all parts of the organization.This information is
usually available in all kinds of shapes and formats,
such as the ERP-system, local Excel-sheets or ancient
IT-structures. BI is, after the successful building of the
extraction, transformation and loading models (ETL),
able to reconcile and integrate loads of data
automatically.
Fast analyses from your pocket
Integrated data increasingly offers you specific
performance-relevant insights, besides the traditional
(KPI) dashboards. BI provides the methods and means
to do (ad hoc) analyses which can be used to find,
describe and predict (undiscovered) relations.
Because of increasing computing power, you can
even do this in real-time from your pocket.
Management with financial effects
The developments mentioned above are especially
relevant to finance.The available data enables the
CFO to bridge the gap between strategy and action.
Analyses of trends, changing circumstances or
calculated strategy effects enable direct, integral
management of marketing, price-setting, production
and supply-chain. Being able to make the right deci-
sions results in higher profits, quality, and satisfaction.
The right question leads to the right
answer
Finding and using the right information is only
possible by asking the right questions in order to find
the right answers.You will need close collaboration
between Performance Management and BI in order to
ask the right questions.With the right interaction, BI
offers the key to the answers for continuously
improving the performance of the organization.
Tiemen is BI-consultant at Plainwater, the
newest company in our value chain of Per-
formance Management solutions.
You can reach Tiemen via
tiemen.van.der.tuijn@plainwater.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3080.
Can Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management
exist without each other? Performance Management is nothing
without the reliable facts from BI.Therefore Performance Ma-
nagement is the most important reason for the existence of BI.
Business Intelligence:
the basis of
Performance
Management
03
TEXT: TIEMEN VAN DER TUIJN

23 / TREND
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ACTUALS
new petrol stations
opened in 2013
lubricants blending
capacity
100
100.000 ton
Shell licensee in
in Africa
16 countries
in Africa
Vitol is sold at
21 airports
full-time employees
2.000
Shell service stations
in Africa
1500
storage capacity
900.000 m3
BUDGET &
FORECAST
SUPPLY/DEMAND
PLANNING
Ksh
GHC
Gce
Cfa

TEXT: DANIELLE GRUIJS Vivo
Energy
Integrated
information
landscape
at
Vivo Energy is the Shell licensee in 16
countries in Africa. To support the Finance
Transformation Program, this fast growing
company implemented an integrated
landscape with business planning,
consolidation and integrated reporting.
Implementing four different applications
at the same time called for a structured
approach.
25 / INTERVIEW

Vivo Energy chose Oracle HFM for consolidation, Oracle
Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) for business
planning and Oracle Demantra for operational planning. “As JD
Edwards was already in house, it was a logical choice to
integrate more Oracle products like Demantra, HFM and PBCS,”
says Roy Piek of Finext.
To support the integration, the role of FDMEE is key. “FDMEE is
the latest version of Financial Data quality Management, aimed
at supporting the data integration between PBCS, HFM and
Demantra,” explains Roy.
International environment
As any international organization, Vivo Energy has to deal with
different cultures in different countries. “This is achievable if
you have the previously mentioned processes standardized, the
right teams in place, and the right systems implemented,” says
Jan Timo.
“We are a young and ambitious company; currently we are in
the middle of a Finance Transformation Program,” says Jan
Timo Rebisch, Group Controller at Vivo Energy. The Shell
licensee is a joint venture between Vitol (40%), Helios
Investment Partners (40%) and Shell (20%). “One of the main
elements of the finance road map is to absorb both the actuals
and the planning in an integrated landscape that connects
both worlds.”
The right foundation
From the start of the program, the business was involved in
the finance road map. “A finance organization has two roles;
compliance & governance as well as business partnering.
For the business partner role you will need the right fundament:
the right processes and teams, as well as the right systems,”
explains Jan Timo. “We needed to make sure that within our
processes we can report accurately and on time. At the same
time, we wanted to integrate the most important KPIs that drive
our business in the internal management reporting.” Therefore
the design of the model was based on requirements set by the
business itself.
Integration is key
“In order to achieve the goals set in the Finance Transformation
Program it was essential to align the requirements across the
full landscape at an early stage,” says Jan Timo.
We need this ‘backbone’ of
metadata and dimensionality
to achieve the goals of the
integrated landscape and to
make support in the future as
easy as possible
We always stuck to one core
principle: JD Edwards is
the foundation. If a change is
made, it is made there first
26 / INTERVIEW

The international environment played a key role in defining the
application setup. “We have to consider our virtual organiza-
tional structure and environment, and ensure that not only the
system landscape but also the network is capable of supporting
the chosen approach.”
To support the international program, Sonum International, a
sister company of Finext, specialized in international
Performance Management implementations, played a role in
the implementation as well. “In my opinion, this is working very
well. Both teams are working closely together to find the best
solutions for HFM, PBCS, and JD Edwards. They are very
experienced and know exactly what is needed from the other
tools. They make sure that it is the best solution for integration,
rather than the best solution for separate silos,” says Jan Timo.
“Integration is never easy, but combining both the HFM and
PBCS project teams made my life easier.”
Another Finext sister company, Swap Support, also participated
in the program. “Swap Support helped with the technical
installation and supported the parts of HFM that were already
implemented,” says Jan Timo. “We wanted to split forces for
support and for the project.” The comprehensive package of
Finext as implementation partner, Sonum International for the
international experience and Swap Support as support partner
was one of the reasons to choose this combination for the
implementation.
A structured approach
The various applications were implemented at the same time.
“We are a fast growing organization, which requires a very
fast implementation. Different parts of the organization needed
different applications to achieve the goals of the finance
transformation,” continues Jan Timo. “It wasn’t a dilemma,
but certainly a challenge and integration was even more
important.”
“Because the alignment was of such importance, we structured
the project in a way that requirements from one part of the
application were shared with the other teams as well.
Communication between the different stakeholders was
essential within the project and within the business of Vivo
Energy,” explains Roy. This called for a structured approach.
“We always stuck to one core principle: JD Edwards is the
foundation. If a change is made, it is made there first. The same
goes for the actuals; they are leading. The dimensionality of
both the HFM and the PBCS model are identical where possible.
We need this ‘backbone’ of metadata and dimensionality to
achieve the goals of the integrated landscape and to make
support in the future as easy as possible,” explains Roy.
User friendly
Even though phase 2 of the implementation program has not
yet been completed, Jan Timo already sees results. “We can
already see how it supports us; in the automatic flow, in
analyzing numbers and also in data integration. The data quality
is improving, and it will be even better when we have finalized
phase 2.”
The feedback from the business is also positive, especially
on Smart View, the Excel add-in of HFM and PBCS. “Our
colleagues really appreciate these tools. Smart View is clearly
a strong tool,” says Jan Timo. “It is user friendly. Furthermore,
both the ad hoc analyses and pre-defined reporting books are
very useful.”
Aligning processes
An additional benefit is that the integrated approach also aligns
the processes. Roy: “Every country in the organization now
uses the same reporting book during the closing. At the same
time they have the flexibility to analyze their numbers using
Smart View. All based on the same source of data.”
“Standardizing processes and systems makes life much easier
for any organization,” agrees Jan Timo. “As you standardize,
it is easier to analyze and integrate your information. This
foundation is freeing up time and sets the basis to fulfill the
business partnering role you need to play as a finance
organization.”
One of the main elements of
the finance road map is to
absorb both the actuals and the
planning in an integrated
landscape
Interested in integrating the IT landscape
in your organization? Get in touch with Roy
Piek via roy.piek@finext.nl or at
+31 70 - 300 3000.
27 / INTERVIEW

> MAUD VERMEULEN FOCUSES ON THE QUALITY OF THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE USER, EVEN WHEN POURING A BEER OF ONE
OF HER CLIENTS.
BUSINESS
PLANNING:
A MATTER
NickVollebregt,JazzCafé,Laren
28 / VISION

FOCUSThe chosen level of detail provided all the relevant details
necessary to calculate revenue, cost of goods sold and
transportation costs at the required level.
In addition to determining a meaningful level of detail, it
is crucial to create a model that supports the user.
>> Use common terminology that is recognized by the
business;
>> Make clear instructions available within the planning
model;
>> Make sure there is a clear distinction between manage-
ment accounting and legal accounting. Integrating all
the details necessary for both processes generates
complex models, that do not support the purpose of
the models;
>> Align the planning process as much as possible with the
business processes.
Focus on the user experience
Is a good business planning model easy? No!
Unfortunately, supporting the often complex processes
in a company is never simple. The trick is to move
the complexity to the back-end in order to make the
front-end recognizable for the end users.
Implementing an efficient business planning model
should start with a very simple question: Who plans what
and when? This crucial question is often forgotten.
The result: the new solution does not adequately support
the process and the business. A valuable planning model
reaches the most accurate estimation of future results
and scenarios based on limited manual input. Limiting
manual input can be achieved by following the next steps:
1. Focus on the most relevant elements
Detailed information is necessary to provide insight into
those items that have a big impact on the results. The
elements that cannot be influenced or are less significant
don’t need that detail and can be planned on an aggre-
gated level. Ask budget holders for information which is
in their field of expertise and under their control. At an
insurance company, the controllers were asked to plan the
whole P&L for each cost center, even though the budget
holder could only influence 15% of the items directly.
2. Offer alternatives for exceptions
Use relevant drivers that can be applied to groups of
products or groups of customers. Provide the possibility
to change the drivers or adjust the figures for products
or customers that deviate from the benchmark.
3. Choose a relevant level of detail
An international brewery now plans at the level of brand
and packaging type (bottle, can, keg, bulk), instead of at
the level of the final product. They used to plan 5,000
stock keeping units (SKUs) on customer level, per month
and per brewery. This resulted in millions of data points.
The simplification toward working on brand and
packaging level created space to focus on the growth
of the different brands.
TEXT: MAUD VERMEULEN
Interested in exchanging ideas about effective
planning with Maud? You can reach her via
maud.vermeulen@sonum-int.com or at
+ 31 65 068 3244.
How to keep the planning process on the right track? A planning
process involves huge volumes of data, complex calculations and
various data sources that need to be linked. Additionally, there are
many people involved in the planning process. How to reach the
final goal: a clear insight in future developments?
OF
29 / VISION

The building
blocks of a good
dashboard
are only partially
technical; it is
mainly about the
intelligence hidden
within the data.
Organize backfillfor the daily activities
and take part in the project team.
Drop by your
IT-department.
Understanding
each other creates
better overall
solutions.
Sometimes, a cash
flow statement
says more than a P&L
and Balance Sheet.
During tool
selections, ask the
software
vendor what
will be in the next
release. Chances are
that this element is
not yet performing
as well as it
should.
Use Excel for
what it is
intended.
Focus on the top line. Higher revenue has
more effect than lower costs.
Disclosure Management solutions
are not just helpful for your annual report, but for
your entire (internal and external) reporting process.
finance
hacks
Stay focused! What would the business miss if
you stopped certain activities?
Take care of your small data
before starting with big data
Don’t forget that you
can drill down;
avoid showing too much
detail straight away.
New
tax
reporting
apps make
country-
by-country
reporting
easy.
The migration of historical
data into a new solution takes twice as long as
you might think.
. Don’t ask a software
vendor during the
selection if they can
solve it, but how they
will solve it.
Dare to restrain
yourself; avoid drowning in
data, starving for information.
Choose simplicity,
even in your
project approach.

Combine the different dataflows within your organization.
What level of detail do you
really need? In your planning, your
reports and your dashboards?
Consider a
temporary
hosting
provider
to keep progress in your project;
it does take time to set up
an IT infrastructure.
Make a
conscious
choice between
‘best of breed’
and one single
EPM solution.
Consider the cloud as a
platform.
Talk to a
colleague
at another company;
what are her experiences?
Discuss definitions in advance, not
during the hectic reporting
period.
An
international
rollout demands knowledge of
local cultures.
GOOD SUPPORT is more
than an insurance policy; it also
prevents issues from happening.
Opt for a
combination of
specialists.
Each to his/her
profession.
Cleverly connect
BI and Performance
Management.
Stop with the stress of
version control
in Excel; choose a smart
planning solution.
Limit
yourself:
something
in =
something
out.
Actively involve
your line
organization
in your project; it creates
easy knowledge sharing. One good picture says more
than 1,000 rows and columns.
Where do you stand on the
scale between 'one size
fits all’and
‘my organization is unique’?
Simplicity in
finance is not easy.

> BART HONTELÉ ENJOYS HANDING OUT
MENTOS, ONE OF THE WELL-KNOWN BRANDS
OF PERFETTI VAN MELLE.
32 / INTERVIEW

Perfetti
Van
Melle
insights
at
Business
Perfetti Van Melle, known for Mentos, Fruittella, Chupa
Chups and Smint, supplies candy and chewing gum to over
150 countries worldwide. To compare the actual results with
the budgets, the multinational wanted to implement an
integrated business OLAP-tool. SAP BPC supports this,
bringing insights and speed.
33 / INTERVIEW

Moreover, we can immediately
discuss the why-question; what did I
want to happen, what has happened,
and why has this happened?
“During the pilot we carefully explored if SAP BPC fulfilled the
requirements of Perfetti Van Melle,” tells Maud Vermeulen of
Sonum International. As lead consultant she was closely
involved in the design and international roll-out of the planning
model. Siebe: “An important requirement was the compatibility;
is it possible to upload from SAP and to integrate with BI?”
Siebe van Geel, Sales Controller Export & Travel at Perfetti Van
Melle, tells us: “I realized that there should be a more practical
way to set up the budget and the latest estimates than
calculating these in Excel.” He is the self-declared ‘instigator’
of the project to improve the budget process. “I spontaneously
jumped on board because the current BLX-planning system
started to show considerable performance problems,” Christina
Verdonck, Sales Controller Benelux at Perfetti Van Melle, says.
Combined action of IT and finance
This resulted in a pilot for a new business planning tool, in
which IT was involved from the start. “As IT we have assisted
finance with decisions related to the technical choices in the
project. To achieve this, we mainly focused on the back end,”
tells Casper Nieuwenhuizen, Team Lead Business Intelligence
& Application Development at Perfetti Van Melle. “One of the
goals of the new solution is to anchor the knowledge of various
people in the system.”
Calculations are 25 times faster;
we have gone from forty-five
minutes down to a couple
of minutes
34 / INTERVIEW

Responsibility with the business
“A second aim is to place responsibility with the business
owners; the salespeople”, tells Bart Hontelé of Perfetti Van
Melle. “Now, sales and marketing can see top-line where the
deviations between actuals and targets occur. They can
thereafter drill down to the lowest level. This provides a lot of
insight. Moreover, we can immediately discuss the
why-question; what did I want to happen, what has happened
and why has this happened?” As the Senior Sales Controller
Benelux, Bart initially implemented the project in the Benelux.
After transferring to the United Kingdom he wanted to start
using SAP BPC over there too. By now, he has also rolled out
the new solution in the UK.
The project was characterized by the large amount of input
from its users. “Both the key-users and the end-users have had
the opportunity to contribute ideas concerning the solution.
As a result the user can obtain as much information as possible
from the tool,” says Gert-Jan van den Berg, consultant
at Finext.
Choices
During a planning implementation, the aim is to keep the model
as simple as possible. “There is always the temptation to use
and exploit all of the technical possibilities of the new solution,”
Maud says. “However, this is not always sensible.”
“We want to keep the complexity low and the performance
high,” Casper agrees.
The industry in which Perfetti Van Melle operates also
influences the model. “It is important for us to analyze the
impact of promotional and regular volumes,” tells Christina.
“Promotional campaigns must be evaluated carefully: what do
we give away and what are the returns?” “These promotional
campaigns influence the volumes and margins,” Bart says.
Maud: “It is fantastic to see that Perfetti Van Melle does not
merely look at the costs, but also at the returns. The pricing
model assists in looking at both.”
25 times faster
The stakeholders are positive about the results of the new
planning solution. “It is a multidimensional model which has the
potential to create millions of records,” tells Bart. “SAP HANA
has really helped to improve the performance when we ran into
serious performance problems.”
“We envision the use of SAP HANA throughout the
organization, being one of the reasons to centrally implement
SAP BPC. It required a lot of patience and understanding the
bigger picture. Fortunately we are now seeing the results,”
says Casper. “We are pleased to have made this choice.
Calculations are 25 times faster; we went down from forty-five
minutes to just a few minutes”.
Sellscandy and chewing gum
in
morethan 150 countries
Mentos(Gum), Fruittella,
Klene,Look-O-Look,
Chupa Chups,
Smint and Frisk
Factoriesin
Breda,Weert,Sittardand
Leuvenproduce
Mentos,
Fruittellaand Frisk
Curious about the possibilities to fasten
your planning process?
Please contact Maud Vermeulen via
maud.vermeulen@sonum-int.com or
at + 31 65 068 3244.
35 / INTERVIEW

during the
Tranquility
reporting
process
36 / INTERVIEW

First Wind is a supplier of wind energy. Every
quarter, the energy utility company produces 30 US
GAAP standalone financial statements and reports
for each of the 16 wind energy projects.The energy
provider chose Vena Solutions to gain more control
over the many spreadsheets.
at
First
Wind
37 / INTERVIEW

What were the main reasons for First Wind to im-
plement a Performance Management solution?
We wanted to gain more control and confidence in
First Wind’s financial statements. Also, we wanted to
reduce the stress our accountants experienced from
manually reviewing spreadsheets for human errors.
The accounting team was always trying to catch
up and had little time to sit and actually review the
information. Instead of doing 20% work and
80% review and analysis, it was always 80% work,
20% review; there just wasn’t enough time available.
Vena Solutions is a new player in the market.The
new solution combines a Microsoft Excel platform
with enterprise-grade features like a centralized
database, workflow-engine, audit, security and
process management. Existing Excel sheets can
be (re)used.Why did you choose this solution?
We wanted to lighten the workload. I knew these
issues existed in the accounting department and I was
wondering how to organize all the spreadsheets and
how to get it to work.We wanted to adopt a solution
that was easy to learn, would improve the working
conditions of a strained team and, most importantly,
leverage the financial and training investments
already made in Excel.We also wanted a solution
that was easy to use, so the accounting team could
independently manage it instead of constantly
turning to our small IT department for support. After
a conversation with Vena Solutions it was obvious that
they could provide the structure we needed.
First Wind uses more than 100 spreadsheets for
her financial statements.With this solution you
stay very close to your familiar Excel environ-
ment.What is your opinion on this?
Obviously, we thought we were going to have to make
a few process changes but one of the key reasons
we bought Vena was because it tightly integrates
with Excel; it is intuitive, and at the same time not a
complicated system. Before we missed sufficient
version control, edit tracking and auditing features.
And because the spreadsheets were all dependent
on one another, an error in one spreadsheet could
affect the outcomes elsewhere in the operation.
Naturally, this meant that employees had to manually
review spreadsheets one by one and fix any data
discrepancies they discovered.
Wim Heuvelman, consultant at Finext Performance
Management, in conversation with Caroline Rubin,
controller at First Wind.What are her experiences
with this new solution?
Vena Solutions combines
a Microsoft Excel platform
with a centralized data-
base, workflow-engine,
audit, security and process
management function-
ality, in which existing
Excel sheets can be
(re)used
38 / INTERVIEW

Vena Solutions provides a centralized, secure
repository of financial data, which auto-populates
controlled spreadsheets with real-time figures and
commentary.What are the results for First Wind?
We see significant cost and time savings - the
accounting team no longer has to check and recheck
data accuracy and integrity. Next, we have observed
reduced risks; accountants and external auditors can
thoroughly test the spreadsheets and compare them
on a cell-by-cell basis. Finally, we have noticed a huge
boost in confidence – both within finance as well as
across the company thanks to the trust in numbers
and instantly available reports.
What is the impact on your finance department?
After implementing Vena, financial reporting became
an efficient, centralized and locked-down procedure
at First Wind. Now, the accounting team can
effortlessly create reports that everyone can confide
in. Having Vena Solutions allowed us to free our time
to improve our processes while taking away a lot of
the fire drills that we constantly lived with.Things are
so much better now!
We see significant cost and
time savings, the account-
ing team no longer has to
check and recheck data
accuracy and integrity
Would you like to discuss the possibilities
of new Performance Management solutions
withWim? Please contact Wim via
wim.heuvelman@finext.nl or
at + 31 70 - 300 3000.
39 / INTERVIEW

MEASURING
> ALSO WHILE RENOVATING HIS FLOOR AT HOME, WIETSE MOL
BENEFITS FROM THE STANDARDIZATION THAT MAKES THE WORK OF
HIS CLIENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS MORE EFFICIENT.
40 / VISION

MODELSStandardize where possible
While measuring out my floor I learned that every extra
meter of floor would match exactly with the next size
beam. This only works though, if you use the standard
sizes at the DIY shop.
This standardization also makes life easier in the world
of information. However, this demands sufficient
attention from the people in finance, support and IT.
To make the right distinction between ‘this will fit in
the standard model with a small process change’ and
‘this standardization will go at the expense of the process’,
financials need sufficient knowledge of IT and the
information architecture.
Consequences for support
Far-reaching integration has consequences for the support
of your financial applications. Every organization goes
through change: changes in organization, changes in
information needs and changes in technology. These have
to be processed in the financial systems. We witness more
and more that an adjustment in one system does not only
affect the system concerned, but also impacts other
applications.
Benefit from integration
In order to really benefit from the integration possibilities
that systems offer, you need a clear information model
and be careful not to customize too much. Ensure finance
is involved in the design of the information model. This
allows you to use the newest technological developments
to their full potential, and to obtain better management
information with less effort.
Technological developments like HANA
and the continuous price decreases in
RAM-memory allows us to process larger
amounts of data faster. This enables us to
create more complex models. Information
systems integrate more and more, causing
an increase in complexity and mutual
dependency. This progress has many
advantages, but it also brings challenges.
In the world of modeling, we used to be limited to the
maximum size of the model. With the progress of
technology, that limit has disappeared. Additions can be
done on the fly, and there are unprecedented possibilities
in analysis; technology is no longer pulling the brakes
on the complexity of the data model.
A new limiting factor
Therefore, a new limiting factor is needed, otherwise you
will lose focus and users will not understand the results
of the calculations. The new limiting factor is not
technological, but rather human. It will be in your own
mind. This takes us to a hybrid model, in which you
take advantage of technology, if you choose a clear
information strategy.
Reporting booklets are based on data layers, in which all
systems come together. Even when an element in one of
the systems changes, the results in the reporting booklets
still have to be correct and reliable. An apparently easy
request to change the week numbers might disrupt all
the connected systems.
TEXT: WIETSE MOL
Would you like to talk with Wietse about im-
proving the performance of your systems?
Contact Wietse via wietse.mol@swapsupport.nl
or at +31 70 - 300 3035.
41 / VISION

> RONALD RUESINK AND RONALD
LAMBERTS AT ONE OF ROYAL REESINK’S
AGRICULTURAL MACHINES.
42 / INTERVIEW

TEKST: DANIELLE GRUIJS
Uniform
Royal
Reesink
monthly
reporting
at
After a big takeover, Royal Reesink
grew so fast that an improved
planning-, consolidation- and report-
ing process was needed. The imple-
mentation of a new Performance
Management system offers flexibility
and an integrated platform. Every
month, the system automatically
creates reporting booklets, giving the
local end-user much in return for the
effort they put into the new system.
43 / INTERVIEW

The dynamics within the organization also added to the wish
for a flexible application. “We are not operating in a stable
environment; we are still growing. Therefore, we want to be
able to easily adjust functional changes ourselves, for example
as a consequence of acquisitions,” explains Ronald Ruesink.
Striving for a uniformed monthly reporting process also played
a role while choosing a solution. “During the selection process
CDM (Collaborative Disclosure Management) of Tagetik came
into the spotlight,” says Alwin Berkhout, consultant at Finext
Performance Management. Alwin was closely involved in the
implementation of the new Performance Management system.
“Due to the many acquisitions the reporting was very unstable,
which meant that the CEO and the CFO received a different
format every time. We wanted to achieve uniformity in the
reporting process,” explains Ronald Lamberts.
Another consideration was the integration in Tagetik. “It is one
platform, so planning, consolidation and creating monthly
reports are not separate parts, but are completely integrated in
the Tagetik solution,” continues Ronald Ruesink. “This level of
integration results in one truth for the whole system.”
“In 2013, Royal Reesink did a big takeover that added activities
in the material handling and hydraulics sectors to our group.
The organization reached such a size that it was no longer
possible to consolidate in Excel,” says Ronald Ruesink, Group
Controller at Royal Reesink.
Royal Reesink consists of two segments, Reesink Equipment
and Reesink Industries. Companies within Reesink Equipment
distribute various premium brands and concepts for the agri-
culture, horticulture, landscape development, material handling,
and civil engineering markets. Companies within Reesink
Industries distribute steel, personal protection, and hydraulic
components and systems. Both branches of Royal Reesink
have multiple subsidiaries, 23 in total.
Flexibility
The organization selected Tagetik as their new Performance
Management system. An important consideration during the
selection process, which was guided by Finext, was the
flexibility of the new system. “We are used to an Excel-based
environment, which gave us much flexibility,” explains Ronald
Lamberts, Controller at Royal Reesink. “We were looking for a
tool for our reporting and we also wanted to be able to adjust
the configuration ourselves.”
It is one platform, so
planning, consolidation and
creating monthly reports
are not separate parts, but are
completely integrated
44 / INTERVIEW

On-time, accurate, and easy to read
The collaboration between Royal Reesink and Finext went well.
“We made all the decisions together with Alwin; he explained
the consequences of the various options. It is hard to see the
pitfalls when you are not familiar with a new system,” explains
Ronald Ruesink. “Designing the account structure for example.
We have many different companies within the group, how do
we find the common denominator?” Alwin: “During an
implementation you need to make many choices in the model,
like the set-up of the chart of accounts.” To facilitate this
process, the FIT-template was used, a standard application
developed by Finext based on best practices. By using the
FIT-template, choices regarding the consolidation process
could easily be made.
Ronald Ruesink and Ronald Lamberts are both positive about
the results of the new solution. “We wanted to report monthly
on the fifth working day, and we have managed to do that,”
explains Ronald Ruesink. “The full reporting cycle of budget,
actual and forecast was realized according to plan,” says
Ronald Lamberts. “The reporting is timely, accurately and easy
to read. Also, the uniformity of the figures is assured every
month. Our end goal is to tell the story behind the figures.
By also using Tagetik CDM we can fully focus on the
explanation and analysis of the figures,” says Ronald Ruesink.
Monthly reporting
The implementation of Tagetik really smoothed the monthly
process. “The end-users enter the figures, including the inter-
company figures. After submitting the figures they can add
textual explanations in Word,” explains Alwin. “This not only
happens at the quarterly or yearly balance, but every month.”
“You reflect and you look forward by using the monthly
reporting,” says Ronald Ruesink. “Added to that, the document
also shows your responsibilities, acting as a starting point to
talk to each other.” Alwin: “All the end-users do this on
their own.”
The whole organization now uses the same model, enabling ad
hoc analyses to perform better and faster. During this process,
you can always go back to the source. “The cell drill down is
often used, but there is another drill option that is less known:
the column and row drill down,” says Alwin. “The column and
row drill down is a valuable function that enables you to quickly
and easily plot a column or row in an existing report against
another dimension.”
Giving back to the end-user
The interest of the end-users was an important factor during
the selection process. “Think ‘what’s in it for me’ from the view
of the local users,” advises Ronald Ruesink. That is why the
system creates a reporting booklet every month. “To create
internal support Tagetik CDM really is an asset. It is a relatively
easy tool to give something back to the end-users for all the
effort we ask from them to deliver the data to us.
The monthly returning reporting booklet has a consistent
build-up for every part of Reesink Group. Local users could
potentially add extra details themselves, for example market
share or extra information about product ranges. “End users
can add these explanations, plain text as well as figures, in
Word in Tagetik,” explains Alwin. “This way every part of the
company can give extra clarification about relevant areas.
This turns the standard reporting book into a real
management report.”
The risk of giving people the freedom to add their own details
is that too many details might be added. A pragmatic solution
was found. “We consciously created a division between the
management summary and the attachments,” explains Ronald
Ruesink. It is not necessary to look at the attachments every
month, but it is useful to find extra details about a trend in the
management summary whenever needed. “Adding to that, the
history is stored safely, which means details are easily traced
back,” says Alwin. “Users do not have to search in old email
conversations, but can easily find details in Tagetik.”
Instant insight into the figures
Royal Reesink is excited about the new process. “In the
beginning the end-users had to get accustomed to it, as
everyone was used to their own set-up,” says Ronald Lamberts.
“Now, however, the speed and convenience are visible for all
of the people involved. Everyone talks about the same thing.
In addition, we have instant insight into the figures, including
the management explanations.”
Curious about the possibilities
of Tagetik? Contact Alwin Berkhout via
alwin.berkhout@finext.nl or
at +31 70 - 300 3000.
45 / INTERVIEW

Higher
quality at
lower costs
More time to focus on your
core business
Fast results without
complicated procedures
Integration of private and public cloud
Service Desk in The Netherlands
don’t want to
miss a thing
in the cloud?
Would you like to take advantage of the cloud without losing
your trusted Performance Management applications? You can.
Using our Cloud Enabler enables you to easily transfer SAP
BPC and Oracle Hyperion to your own private cloud.
Would you like to know more?
Please contact Jan Paul Verstraate:
078-619 0434 or cloudenabler@referit.nl.
www.referit.nl
“Our private-cloud provider Referit is proactive and quick to
respond. This assists us in creating stable and fast Performance
Management applications for organizations like Endemol and
Boskalis.”
Wietse Mol
at Swap Support

new
players in
the field
onestream
tom shea
vena
solutions
don mal
Tidemark
Christian Gheorghe
New software vendors are challenging the field of
Performance Management. What do they add?
What is their vision? And what major future developments
do they see?
Let’s ask the CEO’s of Tidemark, OneStream and
Vena Solutions.

What does your solution add to the field of
Performance Management?
CEO Tidemark
Christian Gheorghe
CEO OneStream
tom shea
tom
CEO Vena Solutions
don mal
don
-
Tidemark is a modern cloud, mobile-first analytical platform for financial and operational
performance management. Our vision is to empower everyone in the organization to
make better decisions, to democratize insights and to free the information in the context
of what matters, when it matters and to whom it matters.
As the inventors of both HFM and FDM in the late 1990’s, we have always been the
innovators and thought leaders in the EPM space. The unique single platform OneStream
XF is a result of a new level of innovation. Because all solutions leverage a single
platform, new solutions can be delivered at an incredibly rapid pace.
Unlike many Performance Management solutions we don’t want to replace Excel, but
embrace it. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we give organizations the tool their users
already love, with the control and reliability their management needs.
What is the way forward for financials who
are drowning in data and starving for information?
No matter the department or function (finance, marketing, development), effective
collaboration is a must-have for modern business solutions, and this comes down to
having the right workflow capabilities. A workflow needs to be intuitive and easy to
design, but at the same time backed up by strict version control, business rules,
user-level permissions and a detailed audit trail. With these ingredients in place,
finance professionals can free up to 50% of their time.
We believe the way forward for any corporation that is looking for better decision
making, is to take a realistic look at the time and energy that goes into maintaining their
current financial planning and reporting infrastructure in relation to the value it delivers.
The focus should be on delivering business value to the entire office of finance rather
than managing multiple technologies.

Christian
Christian
tom
don
What is the biggest, perhaps game changing,
technical innovation ahead?
The biggest technical innovation ahead is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will have a
profound impact for the EPM area and finance in particular. Finance has developed into
forecasting the impossible and improbable to outpace the competition. Machine learning will
greatly aid with this new era of finance, precisely because it can assist business by monitoring,
learning and then surfacing, in the moment. It shows what really matters and what to do about
it, forecast wise, without waiting until the month-end or year-end when it’s too late.
If you look at the future, what will EPM be like in
5 to 10 years from now?
We believe that EPM will be dominated in 5 to10 years by solutions that live on a single
platform. A similar transformation happened with the advent of smart phones. Multiple
gadgets and products were replaced by a platform approach where customers could
download apps for immediate use.
EPM in the next decade will undoubtedly be centered on the centralization of performance
information in a single, secure cloud database. Enterprise Performance Management is
quickly becoming a function of more than just financial data. Departmental KPIs, HR
management, operational drivers and other non-financial metrics will play an increasingly
important role in determining the true performance of an organization.
How does your company maintain speed on growth and
innovation while staying reliable?
I believe it’s important to have a solid product architecture that runs in the public cloud.
Companies like Netflix – a customer of ours – have shown the way in terms of reliability
and extensibility when one designs from a blank sheet of paper what a native cloud
infrastructure should look like. Tidemark is no different. From the beginning, we decided to
build this company leveraging the cloud as a computational platform and learn from
companies like Netflix and Google on how to properly scale it.
Curious about the possibilities of these new Performance Management solutions?
Get in touch with Benno van Ingen via Benno.van.Ingen@finext.nl
or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

> JOOST WIJERMARS BELIEVES IN THE
STRENGTH OF AN EQUAL COOPERATION WITH
THE BUSINESS PARTNERS OF TELFORT.
50 / INTERVIEW

Transparent
collaboration
at
TelfortHow to add more value to your business
partners? At Telfort Zakelijk the business
partners, who sell the Telfort services
to business clients, are of strategic im-
portance. A durable and equal relationship
between the telecommunications organi-
zation and its business partners is formed
by creating transparency. A dashboard
supports this cooperation.
51 / INTERVIEW

“With the help of Finext, the next thing we did was develop a
growth model, with which we introduced phasing to the
project.” “When climbing the Mount Everest, you do not walk
straight to the top,” Paul Damen of Finext explains. “At this
moment we have reached base camp and so, at this point, the
partners receive a weekly PDF with the dashboard.
In phase 2, we can determine whether we give the partners
access to the tool.”
Joost Wijermars, Sales & Distribution manager at Telfort
Zakelijk, tells us: “For a while I have been intrigued by the equal
way Finext has arranged its own organization. If you are
transparent, you get a lot in return. At Telfort I noticed that we
found it cumbersome to share our reports with our business
partners. At the same time, it was clear that the business
partners needed this information during the trimester in order
to achieve good results.”
The introduction of transparency became tangible with the
implementation of a dashboard containing all the relevant
information. The dashboard gives business partners insight in
the current figures, and the possibility to increase the turnover
during the rest of the trimester. “To bring partners on an equal
level, you must also give them access to equivalent
information,” Wim Heuvelman of Finext says.
Change of behavior
In spite of the strong reporting component, the project was not
approached from the report angle, but from the perspective of
behavioral change. “We started with a brainstorming session
with partner managers focusing on the question: ‘what are the
benefits of transparency?’ We had to let go of our old ideas
concerning cooperation,” tells Joost.
The dashboard gives business
partners insight in the current
figures, and the possibility to
increase the turnover during
the rest of the trimester
To bring partners on an equal
level, you must also give them
access to equivalent information
52 / INTERVIEW

Costs and competition advantage
By creating transparency, Telfort Zakelijk intended to
accomplish a number of objectives. “The new, equivalent way
of sharing information saves us time,” tells Joost. “In the past,
each partner manager spent 4 hours a week on gathering all
the information.” The implementation of the dashboard does not
merely bring cost advantages; the quality of the information
improves as well. “Each partner manager has his own focus;
one puts more emphasis on acquisition information, the other
pays more attention to the churn rate. Now, all business
partners get insight in all the information, regardless of the
preferences of the partner manager.
In addition, sharing information transparently offers a
competitive advantage compared to other providers, of which
the business partners sell the business subscriptions as well.
Joost: “We can now show, on a weekly basis, how the partners
are doing, and what the impact is on the fees. We openly
discuss what the business partner can do to earn more fees.”
Equal relationship
Apart from these ‘strong’ business goals there are also more
gentle targets. “It creates an equal relationship, in which you
can be successful together,” tells Paul. “You work on the values
within the telecom branch,” continues Wim. “Through more
transparency and sharing all the information, the loyalty
increases. At a certain moment, you can opt to increase
the insight even further for the best partners, and give them
additional tools to optimize their own business.”
Even in the new way of cooperation there will always be
discussions between the business partners and the partner
managers. “However, we do have these discussions earlier
nowadays, not only at the end of the trimester”, tells Joost.
“This leads not only to a more pleasant cooperation; it also
saves the partner managers many indirect hours of discussions.
This gives another cost advantage.” “We notice that by starting
the conversation early, the discussion tends to be much smaller
and therefore faster and easier to solve,” Wim says.
Don’t let go too soon
When asked for advice for other organizations wanting to
create more transparency, Joost mentions involvement as
essential. “It took us a little longer to get the project up and
running in order to make sure that people would be involved.
Being transparent remains scary. There is always the fear that
others immediately notice every mistake. But the fact is that this
also leads to a better control of the internal processes. To allow
this involvement to take shape you must show that you find this
important. Make sure your best people are involved, get the
new approach up to a level where people become dependent
on it for their work, and only then let it go.”
The implementation of the
dashboard does not merely
bring cost advantages; the
quality of the information
improves as well
Curious about the impact of transparency
on your business processes?
Contact Paul Damen via paul.damen@finext.nl
or at + 31 70 - 300 3000.
53 / INTERVIEW

THE BUSINESS
AT….
OMRONThis robot is used by Omron to train its clients
in the programming of industrial software.
The detection and automation technology is
frequently used in environments with assembly
lines such as biscuit factories.
Curious about the influence of finance on
product innovation at Omron?
Read the interview with Miriam Kampers,
Group Reporting Analyst at Omron:
www.finext.nl/cases/omroncase

WHAT IS THE
> STEPHAN DE WIT DOES NOT MIND GAMBLING AT THE POKER
TABLE OF HIS CLIENT HOLLAND CASINO. YET, WHEN DEALING WITH
CUSTOMER PROFIT MARGINS, HE RATHER PLAYS IT SAFE.
56 / VISION

What is the real value of a customer?
And what is the value of service; does it
contribute to your profits? Really knowing
what your margin is, becomes more and
more important with the increasing
pressure of competitors. Even casinos do
not gamble when it comes to calculating
the profitability of their customers.
Research at a well-known American casino concluded
that 85% of the profits were made off just 25% of the
customers. However, the most surprising result of this
research was the profile of the most profitable customers.
These are not the super-rich with expensive jewels and
limousines. On the contrary, the most profitable
customers are retired, average earning people. With
much time to spare and enough savings, this group
gladly plays often.
Are there possibilities within your organization to raise
revenue or to lower costs? 5 Tips for a higher client
profitability.
1. Implement a clear consistent way of measuring
Make sure all the necessary client related information is in
one place and in one format. Think about items like client
revenue, client details and client relations within the
organization. Not only sales related, but especially service
related information is important when setting this up.
2. Use client details for the profit margin
per customer
Start off with the selling price (list price) of every trans-
action. Subtract the discounts and benefits to calculate the
after sales price. Subsequently, subtract all the sales costs,
transportation costs and service costs to determine the
profit margin. Include all the costs you make in relation to
that client, for example special transportation, particular
specifications and services.
3. Analyze data of both individual clients and
customer segments
Analyze individual customers as well. Admittedly, this
requires a lot of time and money, but this will avoid
incorrect segmentation by building on unfounded
assumptions. This client data could be the basis for
accurate client segmentation.
4. Determine the customer value and growth
potential per segment
On the basis of trends in client patterns in the profit
margin, clients can be ranked from highest to lowest
profitable. This knowledge enables you to prioritize in
determining your client segment goals. Which kind of
customers do you want to pull closer to you, and which
ones rather not?
5. Implement growth strategies
There are many possible directions. First of all, dare to say
goodbye to your non-profitable clients. In the meantime,
strengthen your relationship with your most profitable
customers, by rewarding them for example.
Another direction is the cost side. Can you decrease the
service costs without affecting the customer’s behavior?
What does the customer want?
After further customer analysis, the casino reached a
second surprising conclusion. Loyal customers preferred
to receive a free bet of $60 over a night in the hotel
including two dinners and a free bet of $30. By really
understanding your clients, you can offer them better
service at a lower cost.
VALUE OF A
CUSTOMER?
TEXT: STEPHAN DE WIT
Would you like to talk to Stephan about
profitability management? You can reach him via
stephan.de.wit@finext.nl or at +31 70 - 300 3000.
57 / VISION

> IVO JANSEN OF TERBERG TOGETHER
WITH ROB VISSER OF FINEXT IN THE
BUSINESS OF TERBERG.

59 / INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
FOR
IVO
JANSEN
OF
TERBERG
5

60 / INTERVIEW
After an extensive selection process Terberg did not choose an
established Performance Management solution, but rather a new player.
Why did you select OneStream?
At first, we did not even put OneStream on the shortlist, since it is not well known yet.
However, now I can definitely recommend doing this. OneStream is an innovative solution
for various reasons. First of all, the look & feel.The software is visually attractive and
user-friendly.This makes it easily accessible for controllers. In addition, it is one unified
system; it contains consolidation as well as planning and budgeting functionality, which
means we do not have to buy other licenses in the future. Lastly, updates take our
customizations into account, which will save us much time.
Terberg Group is a family business which has been in business for
145 years. How do you, as a financial, make a difference?
This is done by providing management, in which the fourth generation of Terberg is
represented, with the right information.The most important factor in this process is the
information demand of the business.The business is leading. As a holding we act as
facilitators towards our companies.
When Terberg Group, known for, amongst other
companies,Terberg Leasing, was looking for a new
reporting and consolidation solution, they chose a
new player in the market: OneStream.That made the
worldwide supplier of special vehicles and lease cars
the second organization in the Benelux to implement
OneStream. Rob Visser of Finext meets with Ivo Jansen
of Terberg Group.
5 QUESTIONS FOR
IVO JANSEN
OF TERBERG
2
1

61 / INTERVIEW
Curious about the possibilities of
OneStream? Contact Edwin van Dalen via
edwin.van.dalen@finext.nl or
at +31 70 - 300 3000.
3
4
5
What will be the added value of the renewed process?
Speed, flexibility and a higher accuracy.We expect that the intercompany numbers can
be settled faster and more efficiently. In addition, it is a simplification of the consolidation
process.The current software package still has many manual consolidation steps, but with
the new software we will be able to consolidate automatically.This will surely save us
time.This enables us to report the key figures to the board of directors faster and to give
more attention to the analysis of the information.
Currently, we are working on the implementation of the software.What is
your experience so far with the software of OneStream?
Actually, our first experiences have been great.The setup of the software is easy.We have
already noticed that we can apply modifications quickly, for example moving entities or
changing the presentation of the information.We also greatly benefit from the direct link
with the ERP-system.We can obtain the figures rapidly. It is already useful during the
current implementation process to see whether the correct figures are uploaded.We have
already experienced the first update from 3.4 to 3.5, which happened swiftly.The update
was completed within an hour.
Where do you see the financial department of Terberg Group in
two years’ time?
We expect to have an even more professional financial department, in which we keep
improving the reporting process.While the business grows, we will move along with the
information needs of the business and the board of directors. In the future, we want to
maintain this high level of quality, speed and reliability of the reporting.
Terberg has been in business for 145 years.With 21 subsidiaries in
9 countries, Terberg is the leading worldwide supplier of special vehicles.
From shunting tractors to cars and from modifications to new vehicles.
>

> ENRICO DOUWENS AT RWG’S
DEEP-SEA QUAYS.
62 / INTERVIEW

to
construction
budget
Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) handles
the storage and transshipment of containers.
The new, entirely automated, container
terminal on Maasvlakte 2 was recently
inaugurated. This changed the information
need of the organization. The new planning
solution rapidly provided reliable figures to
both the business and the shareholders.
RWG
regular
finance
at
From the
63 / INTERVIEW

We want to move towards a new
way of reporting where we, at
the end of each month, are able
to add the actual number of
containers to the model
Another objective focused on security. Enrico: “Security is vital
in our organization. It is in our DNA that we want to ensure
nobody behaves unsafely. This includes that nobody acts in a
financially unsafe manner. After all, we are responsible for the
return on investment.”
Besides that, Enrico wanted to be able to model based on
changing operational information. “The expected volumes are
a key element in budgeting. However, the number of containers
changes during the budget cycle. I want to automatically
recalculate the cost when changes in the number of containers
occur. This ensures that everyone has the same up-to-date
insight, eliminating the need to send versions back and forth.”
Enrico Douwens, Finance Director at Rotterdam World Gateway
(RWG) tells us: “With the inauguration of the container terminal
we transitioned from a start-up into an operational organization.
Previously, planning and budgeting was not very complicated;
during the building phase a budget is agreed upon beforehand.
We only had to monitor and control the budget, something we
were able to do in Excel. This was fine for the construction
budget, but not for the regular reporting needs.”
RWG’s wish was a single, unified and user-friendly solution.
“I wanted one data source in which you set up your budget and
forecasts as well as report the actual financial results. At the
same time, the budget holders can also analyze their actuals,”
Enrico says.
Ownership of the figures
Allowing the budget holders access to the figures had two
objectives. “We want to provide the budget holders with the
information they need, and stimulate them to check the figures
on a regular basis instead of the traditional once a month
approach.” “It is important that the budget holders take
ownership of the figures,” tells Enno van Kampen, consultant
at Finext Performance Management and closely involved in
the implementation of the new solution.
The budget holders are
pleased they can view
the actuals and their budget
at a detailed level.
It increases insight and
facilitates their tasks
64 / INTERVIEW

Sales data and revenue mix
Both finance and the budget holders are positive about the new
process in Anaplan. “We have automated as much information
as possible, and we have simplified data entry,” Enno says.
Enrico: “Even though the budget holders had to get used to the
fact that they themselves had to work with the figures, they are
pleased they can view the actuals and their budget at a detailed
level. It increases insight and facilitates their tasks.”
Besides loading and unloading containers RWG also offers
the storage of containers and related services. Examples are
pre-scanning the containers for customs and providing
electricity for cold storage containers. “We want to know the
margins of all these additional services as well. This allows us
to make the sales data and the revenue mix truly transparent.”
Introducing harmony
An important principle during the implementation was to make
the models as user-friendly as possible. This led to a deliberate
decision to make the look and feel of all budget models as
similar as possible. “If you have seen one, you have seen them
all.” This approach helps the budget holders to efficiently
determine all revenues and expenses.
Another example of introducing harmony is related to staff
planning. “Our staff planning is extremely simple; we ensure
that all current employees are in the system, and that the
number of job openings corresponds with the organogram.
The only thing that remains to be done by the budget holders is
to indicate when they expect the job openings will be filled, and
when there are salary increases expected. Everything else is
calculated in detail by the model,” Enrico explains. “For the
end-user it is very simple indeed. However, there is a complex
model at work in the background,” Enno explains.
A new way to report
Enrico already envisions the future steps. “The traditional way
is to compare actuals with budget, after which the differences
are explained. However, if the number of containers changes
significantly, the budget is no longer correct. We want to move
towards a new way of reporting where we, at the end of each
month, are able to add the actual number of containers to the
model. The result will be a new standard, which will be used to
analyze the actual data. This new way of reporting accurately
indicates whether we have done a good job.”
Deep-sea quay
of
1,150 meterslong
and
20 meters
105automatic
truck handling positions
50automatic
stacking cranes
On-dock
rail terminalwith
2rail cranes
Barge quayof
550 meters
long and11meters
1deep-sea quay crane
of
127 metershigh
Interested in optimizing your planning
process? Get in touch with Enno van Kampen
via enno.van.kampen@finext.nl or
at +31 70 - 300 3000.
deep
water depth
65 / INTERVIEW

COLOPHON
Finext, Swap Support, Sonum International, and Plainwater
join forces in the field of Performance Management.
Performance Management consists of a chain; each ‘linq’
contributing to the strength of this chain. Finext, Swap Support,
Sonum International and Plainwater are all specialized in their
own ‘linq’. At the same time, we are united by our unique way
of working. This LINQ is an example of how we combine our
strengths and share our passion for Performance Management.
Here, you can read real stories from our clients, discover the
vision of our experts, and catch a glimpse of the latest
developments.
Park de Werve 1
2274 ES Voorburg
P.O. Box 81
2270 AB Voorburg
info@finext.nl
For additional copies and changes of address, please contact
us at + 31 70 - 300 3000.
Editorial:
Martijn Meuling
Monica Harmsen
Concept and text:
Danielle Gruijs, Springfish
Picture editor:
Jacqueline Wissing, Springfish
Photography:
Patrick Nagtegaal
Mariske Krijgsman
Kees-Jan Bakker
Illustrations:
Enchilada
Jacqueline Wissing, Springfish
Design:
Enchilada
Print:
Veenman+
This magazine is a joint publication of:
www.finext.nl
www.swapsupport.nl
www.sonum-int.com
www.plainwater.nl
www.qwinc.nl
This edition’s contributors:
Maud Vermeulen, Arjette Eenhuizen, Kasper van Dongen,
Jethro van der Veer, Patrick van Gerven, Tiemen van der Tuijn,
Olaf Looije, Wietse Mol, Stephan de Wit, Wim Heuvelman, Stijn
Gabriëls, Enno van kampen, Wesley Schulte, Naida Sadžak,
Julia Heinemann, Roy Piek, Rob Visser, Gert-Jan van den Berg,
Paul Damen, Ravi Santokhi, Alwin Berkhout, Bart Schermers,
Armijn van Dijk, Benno van Ingen, Jaap-Willem de Visser,
Maaike Brouwer, Roland van den Berg, Daria di Pede, Sebasti-
aan Bijl, Manuela Apostol, Jeroen Zeeuw, Martin de Haan, Luc
Cusiel, Farangis Darwesh and Rens Meerman.
We acknowledge that not everyone is alike and we respect dif-
ferent opinions. This magazine offers space for these individual
opinions, which do not necessarily exactly meet our joint vision.
Our partners:

ORACLE
CONGRATULATES
FINEXT
With the first implementation
in the Benelux of Oracle
Hyperion Planning Budgeting
and Cloud service (PBCS).

INTEGRATED VALUE CHAIN FOR
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
In-depth knowledge in all areas of Performance Management
is crucial to enable streamlined reporting and control. We
combine our knowledge and experience of information
synergy and architecture, advice and implementation, hosting
and installation as well as support in one integrated value
chain for Performance Management for both national as well
as international customers.
Each of us is specialized in our own disciplines and united by
our way of working. Realizing effective control, based on
reliable ﬁgures, fast reports, and secure applications for any
type of organization.
More information on our services:
www.ﬁnext.nl
www.swapsupport.nl
www.sonum-int.com
www.plainwater.nl
www.qwinc.nl
ADVICE &
IMPLEMENTATION
EFFECTIVE
CONTROL
RELIABLE
FIGURES
& ROLL-OUT
FAST
REPORTS
FAST
REPORTS
STABLE
SYSTEMS
GLOBAL PROJECTS
CLEAR
INSIGHTS
INFORMATION
SYNERGY &
ARCHITECTURE
SUPPORT,
HOSTING &
INSTALLATION

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