mattsskk blog
Why we build Mattsskk

The quick answer would be: because we love to build things, and this is certainly true.

But we are building Mattsskk for various other reasons which are related, as is usual, to unmet needs when working for years on budgeting, forecasting, reporting, analysis, and consolidation.

Having automated reporting and forecasting for many years on a budget through Excel and Access VBA, the need for a more comprehensive tool became apparent, for the following reasons:

• The need to have a single model which covers strategic planning periods, yearly planning periods, and quarterly forecasts, instead of building a separate model for each of them. The feeling of waste is quite prominent when, for instance, you have just completed the 3-year strategic plan, archive the results, and rush to start from scratch with a new model for the budget.

• Similarly, if you can integrate business cases in the same tool, it becomes easier to achieve coherence between projections used in business cases and the assumptions in the strategic planning projections. Many times we have seen games played by changing the rosy and optimistic outlook used for business cases to a more conservative approach when it comes to budgeting and planning.

• The need to have a 3D model which covers P&L, BS, and cash flow, a request often made by financial partners such as private equity or other sophisticated investors. As we know, it is relatively easy to project P&L data, but projecting coherent balance sheet data and related cash flows is not as straightforward.

• The need to cover a lot of dimensions (company, BU, cost centers, products, locations, etc.).

• The need to base the projections not on simple extrapolations of actual time series, but on more sophisticated calculations such as drivers, proper business logic, and zero-based budgeting techniques.

• The need to have all the information (and calculations) at the distance of a single click, avoiding losing time searching for files and navigating through different screens, and preventing confusion about where the right data is stored.

• The need to have simulated data at the same level as the actual reporting, in order to be able to report actuals, budgets/forecasts, and deviations using the same tools.

• The need to consolidate currencies for various companies and convert them quickly and automatically.

• The need to save different versions of a simulation, for comparing outcomes and having a better data-driven basis for decision-making.

• The need for speed and reliability, avoiding the dreaded and unfortunately frequent messages that Excel is not responding… for extended periods of time.

• The need for a light, inexpensive, and quickly deployable solution that can provide quick assistance without the need for big budget approvals and lengthy purchasing processes.

So, combining the drive to build automated solutions with a perceived need for better and more convenient tools, Mattsskk has been developed and used over the years in various projects and situations.

And it is being further developed to have a tool that fully corresponds to the vision of a powerful, fully integrated, automated, quick, affordable, and adaptable solution for FP&A professionals who dedicate their professional lives to the difficult art of predicting the position and direction of the ship they are trying to steer in the wild seas of progress.

However, apart from making complex projections easier and quicker, the main ambition of Mattsskk is to achieve greater accountability for decision-makers and resource allocators. The primary goal is to be able to link the effectiveness of daily operations to the future cash streams generated, and ultimately, the value of the company. The vision is to show each stakeholder how their continuous operational improvements contribute to the increase of future cash flows. Performance management should continually push for change and better solutions and fight against inertia and conformism.

Mattsskk wants to contribute to making this cultural shift easier.

What do you think? Do you agree that automated forecasting tools are important? Do you agree that perhaps the biggest task for FP&A professionals is to create a data-driven environment where accountability is the norm and individual contributions to future cash flows are monitored and challenged?

Please let us know your thoughts and comments in our LinkedIn post.