The new year is a time for plans, revisiting projects, and putting goals and dreams into practice. If in our personal lives we prepare for the renewals that the period brings, when it comes to business, it shouldn’t—and mustn’t—be any different. For entrepreneurs or those in management roles, the moment calls for strategic planning to not only ensure the financial viability of the company but also foster sustainable growth.
In today’s world, the advantage is that technology is an ally. There are specific innovation solutions for business financial strategic planning: for insights, data collection and analysis, and report creation, which support managers in outlining the most appropriate actions and the best path for the business. All to avoid being part of a drastic statistic: every four minutes, a company closes its doors in Brazil, according to the federal government’s ‘Mapa das Empresas.’
For executive Alysson Guimarães, founder and CEO of LeverPro, specializing in innovation and reporting solutions for financial management in medium and large companies, methodology and discipline are fundamental. That’s why the startup has created and made available for free in 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’s strategic; it’s fundamental to business sustainability. So, we decided to offer this first step, which is this checklist,’ says Guimarães.
The checklist includes over 100 items, divided into nine groups: strategic planning, data collection, scenario planning, departmental coordination, finance-independent tasks, preliminary budget creation, executive review, finalization and approval, and implementation and monitoring. Next to each item, the material provides a summary of recommended actions and measures.
The material also highlights steps for data collection. In this regard, leveraging the organization’s historical data, projecting based on current trends, involving stakeholders, using automation tools, and making adjustments considering potential events that could impact the budget (such as hiring and investments) are among the guidance provided by LeverPro. Tables listing revenue, expense, asset, and liability items, along with explanations of what constitutes these items, complement the ‘data collection’ section of the material.
Finally, the startup emphasizes the relevance of report generation, offering tips on how to proceed. For instance, using financial planning software, preparing communications and other texts in advance, pre-scheduling meetings, planning multiple scenarios, and standardizing reports. Similarly, in this topic, applicable revenue, expense, asset, and liability items are explained.
‘Strategic financial planning sets the foundation for financial success for the entire year. Therefore, it deserves dedication, effort, care—the ‘excess’ of these ingredients is never too much,’ notes LeverPro’s CEO. ‘For this,’ he continues, ‘it’s important to understand the key deliverables and create a schedule. The decisions made during the planning phase reverberate throughout the year.’
