The new year is a time for planning, revisiting projects, and putting goals and dreams into practice. If in our personal lives we prepare for the renewals that this period brings, when it comes to business it cannot – and should not – be any different. For those who are entrepreneurs or work in management roles, the moment calls for strategic planning not only to guarantee the financial viability of the company, but also to provide sustainable growth.
Nowadays, the advantage is that technology is an ally. There are specific innovation solutions for strategic business financial planning: for insights, data collection and analysis, and the creation of reports that support managers in outlining the most appropriate actions and the best path for the business. All to avoid becoming part of a drastic statistic: every four minutes, a company closes its doors in Brazil, according to the Business Map of the federal government.
For executive Alysson Guimarães, founder and CEO of LeverPro, a company specializing in innovation and reporting solutions for the financial management of medium and large companies, methodology and discipline are fundamental. Therefore, the startup has developed and made available for free on the market a checklist for annual strategic financial planning.
The material, available digitally, can be accessed through a simple and quick registration via the link. “We know that annual financial planning is complex. However, it is strategic and fundamental to the sustainability of businesses. So, we decided to offer this first step, which is this checklist,” says Guimarães.
The checklist contains over 100 items, divided into nine groups: strategic planning, data collection, scenario planning, departmental coordination, independent finance tasks, preliminary budget creation, executive review, finalization and approval, and implementation and monitoring. Next to each item, the material includes a summary of recommended actions and steps.
The material also highlights steps for data collection. At this point, leveraging the organization's historical data, projecting according to current trends, involving stakeholders, using automation tools, and making adjustments in the face of potential events that impact the budget (such as hiring and investments) are among the guidelines developed by LeverPro. Tables listing revenue, expense, asset, and liability items, with explanations of what comprises these items, complement the "data collection" section of the material.
Finally, the startup highlights the importance of generating reports, offering tips on how to do so. For example, using financial planning software, preparing communications and other texts in advance, scheduling meetings in advance, planning multiple scenarios, and establishing standardization of reports. Similarly, relevant revenue, expense, asset, and liability items are explained in this section.
“Strategic financial planning lays the foundation for financial success throughout the year. Therefore, it deserves dedication, commitment, and care – an 'excess' of these ingredients is never too much,” notes the CEO of LeverPro. “To that end,” he continues, “it’s important to understand the key deliverables and create a timeline. The decisions made during the planning phase have repercussions throughout the year.”.
