Seminar In-Depth

Course Description

The built-in reports of today's accounting information systems rarely provide all of the information needed to manage business operations, but modern business performance measurement tools can make planning, measurement, reporting, and control processes much more effective. During this session, your instructor will review some of the top third-party tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the budgeting and forecasting process, such as Microsoft Forecaster, Budget Maestro, PROPHIX, and OutlookSoft. Additionally, your instructor will review some of the top business performance measurement and information reporting solutions, such as Microsoft FRx, BizExcelerator, Crystal Reports, and F9. Important concepts such as data warehouses, data mining, business intelligence, EVA analysis, and balanced scorecards will be discussed to improve your understanding. Your instructor will also show you how to enhance and supplement analysis and reporting using Microsoft Excel and how to speed up and improve information retrieval processes using open database connectivity (ODBC). Using PivotTables, charts, and PivotCharts, coupled with ODBC, may be all that is necessary to get the information that you need from your financial and operational systems. By the end of the day, you will be familiar with the tools and processes necessary to provide your organization or your clients with the information retrieval, analysis, reporting, and planning capabilities required to manage business more effectively.

“One of the best CPE courses I’ve taken.” T.D., CPA PA

“The program was a great experience.” J.H., CPA TN

Course Information

CPE Credit: Recommended for 4 hours Accounting and 4 hours Specialized Knowledge and Applications

Instructional delivery method: Group-live demo and discussion using color computer projection – NOT a hands-on course

Prerequisites: Basic Windows and Excel understanding

Program level: Intermediate

Advanced preparation: None

Designed for: Accountants who want to obtain more relevant financial information from their existing systems

Who should attend: Users who want to understand how to get more information out of their current systems as well as those who are seeking new information retrieval and analysis solutions

Course Highlights

• Define and differentiate key business reporting and analytical terms and concepts such as Data Mining, Data Warehouse, Balanced Scorecard, Economic Value Added, Open Database Connectivity, and On Line Analytical Processing
• Describe how to create PivotTables in Excel and their relevance to analyzing data and reporting on actual results compared to budgeted and forecasted results
• Recognize the importance of using charts – including PivotCharts – and dashboards to communicate results to interested parties and describe how to create dashboard-specific charts
• Identify and differentiate key technologies and applications used in reporting processes at the small business level
• Recognize key technologies and applications used in reporting processes in mid-sized organizations, including tools specifically designed to analyze risk and provide key performance indicators
• Identify and describe key technologies and applications used in enterprise-class reporting
• Describe the characteristics needed in effective budgeting and forecasting applications and differentiate between leading applications in this area, such as Prophix, Budget Maestro, Microsoft Forecaster, and IBM Cognos

Dates & Locations