Agile Planning: One Step at a time

As a controller, you have often relied on annual planning in the past. Companies developed annual budgets and then operated based on these fixed figures. But in a rapidly changing business world, this rigid approach can lead to bottlenecks or inefficiencies and cost you a lot of valuable time. Find out why a new approach is becoming increasingly important for you as a controller.

Agility sets new standards

A promising alternative is agile planning, which offers you a more flexible and adaptable method. In contrast to pure annual planning, agile planning allows you to continuously adapt and update your plans based on current data and market developments. So why stick to outdated models when you can become agile today?

As a controller, you can use a central component of agile planning: planning during the year. Instead of relying on a one-off annual plan, you can break your plans down into smaller time units, which are often updated quarterly or even monthly. This allows you to react quickly to changes and deploy your resources more effectively.

Actual, plan and forecast

To understand the dynamics of agile planning, it is important to know the exact difference between actual, plan and forecast. The actual state represents your current business figures and key performance indicators. The plan is the original target set based on the annual plan. The forecast, on the other hand, is an ongoing adjustment of the plan based on current data and developments to enable a more precise forecast.

Best and worst-case scenarios for more flexibility

Another important aspect for you as a controller is to consider best and worst-case scenarios. Instead of relying solely on a single plan, you should develop alternative scenarios to identify potential risks and opportunities. By integrating these scenarios into the planning process, you can react better to unforeseen events and increase your flexibility in order to remain competitive.

Opportunities and challenges in day-to-day controlling

Let’s now look at the specific advantages of agile planning for you as a controller. Three keywords take center stage here: speed, flexibility and efficiency. Agile planning allows you to react flexibly to specific situations and make well-founded decisions. A culture of transparency and learning is created, which can lead to more efficient processes and improved competitiveness. Real-time reporting, flexible planning and forecasting enable faster and more efficient results.

In addition to the advantages, there are also challenges when implementing agile planning. The knowledge level of your team members is particularly important here. Not everyone is familiar with the methods of agile organizations. In order to successfully implement agile business planning, it is advisable to bring all team members up to the same level of knowledge.

The expectations of the decision-makers are just as important. Efficiency is often seen as a decisive factor, but in agile business planning, effectiveness, adaptability and speed are of primary importance. An increase in efficiency will usually result from these improvements.