Key Success Criteria for Hyperion Planning and HFM Integration

Chris Churchill, Practice Director

Ranzal & Associates

Quick Audience Poll - Do you use HFM, Planning or Both?

First Things First

• Technical Implementation vs.

Process Re-engineering• Planning vs. HFM

– What is Planning Good At?– What is HFM Good At?– Consolidations in Planning / Essbase?– Planning in HFM?

• Understand Your Current State

Hyperion Planning excels at:

• Complex Planning Processes– Planning by Employee– Planning Capital Requests– Planning Projects

• Complex Driver Based Modeling• Managing the Planning Process & Workflow• Combining Budgets, Rolling Forecast, LRP,

Weekly Snapshots, etc. into a single application

HFM excels at:

• Complex Organizational Consolidation• Multiple Transactional Currencies• Intercompany Transactions• Minority Interest• Maintaining Historical Representation of Data• Ability to handle Journals• Full Audit Trails –

– Data & End User Actions

• External Reporting to Stakeholders

Consolidations in Essbase?

• Simple Consolidation Process with little to no minority interest and simplistic intercompany calculations

• Journal Entries do not need to be made in Consolidating System

• Fairly Simplistic Currency Conversion• Single General Ledger

Planning in HFM?

• No Modeling Calculations• No Driver Based Budgeting• No Need for Process Workflow• No need for an Employee detail Workforce

Plan• No need to capture Capital Requests• Simple input mechanism for Budget and / or

Forecast information

Use Each Tool for What It is Best At!

Current State Assessment

• General Ledger Usage• Common Chart of Accounts• Mapping Local Charts• Data Requirements• Planning Process Definition• Planning Process Standardization• Consolidation Process Definition

All Comes Down to Business Requirements!

Solution Architecture Reqs• Global Reach of the Application

• Reporting Requirements – Independent of Tools

• Common Chart of Accounts

• Metadata

• Data

• Source System Integration

• Local Currencies to be translated

• Reporting Currencies

Infrastructure Requirements• Environments

– Dev, Test, Prod, Disaster Recovery

• Failover

• Load Balancing / SSL

• Technology Standards– OS, Relational, Web Server, Desktop, Office

• ETL Tools

• System Processing Windows

• # of HFM Applications, # of Users

• # of Planning Applications, # of Users

Planning Requirements• Planning Cycles – AOP, Forecast, LRP

• Process Definitions

• Planning Models– Financial, Employee, Capital, Project, Margin

• Model Standardization

• Local Chart vs. Common Chart

• Aggregating Plan Data

• Consolidating Plan Data

• Currency Conversion– Local, Reporting, Transactional Currencies

HFM Requirements• Close Cycle

• Collection of data from subsidiaries

• Mapping of chart data from subsidiaries

• Intercompany Process

• Elimination Process

• Partial Ownership

• Cash Flow

Three Key Integration Points

1.Metadata

2.Data

3.Reporting

Metadata Integration

What is Metadata?• Metadata typically refers to the structures,

hierarchies, and members that provide structure to data and will be loaded to in the EPM applications.

• Metadata is used to define forms, reports, and business modeling logic within the applications.

• Critical to properly define across applications

Why Share?

• Maintenance

• Common Definitions

• Integration

Standard DimensionalityPlanning• Accounts

• Period

• Version

• Scenario

• Year

• Entity

• Custom 1

• …

• Custom 13

HFM• Accounts

• Period

• Value

• Scenario

• Year

• Entity

• View

• Intercompany

• Custom 1

• …

• Custom 4

Sharing Dimensions• Share dimensions that change over time

– Accounts– Entities– Product– Locations

• Standardize dimensions that do not change over time– Periods– Years– Scenario– Version

Ways to Manage Metadata

• Classic Mode

• EPMA

• DRM

• FDM / ERPI– Select ERP Sources, EBS and PeopleSoft

Classic• Pre EPMA• No Sharing of Dimensionality• ETL Processes to Build Metadata• Upload Metadata in Classic Mode using:

– Manually– HAL– ODI– DIM– Outline Load Utility (Planning)– ADS (HFM)

EPMA• Metadata Management is a Component of

EPMA• Simplified EPM Process Design• Expedite Deployment of EPM Applications• EPMA Includes:

– Dimension Library– Application Library– Calculation Manager– Data Synch– Application Upgrade– Job Console

DRM• A change management platform that

streamlines master data changes within complex hierarchical structures across enterprise applications

• Key Features– Ability to create multiple versions of a hierarchy– Customized rules and validations– Flexible metadata exports– Configurable Security– Ability to track hierarchy changes over time

DRM and EPMA have a Complementary Relationship

Data Integration

Identifying the DataFirst step in the process is collecting the financial data

• Where does it exist?

• How many different localized charts?

• Is there a common chart?

• Who maintains the mappings?

• What level of data is needed to support the planning process? Consolidations?

Getting Data In - FDM• Old “Upstream” Product

• Handles Mappings to Common COA

• Data Validations

• End User Maintained

• Can provide data to Planning & HFM at different levels of detail

• Can be used for drill back to detail– Drill to FDM

– Drill to source ERP in EBS, PeopleSoft & SAP

• Integration– Integrate relational GLs – Oracle, Peoplesoft, Lawson

– Integrate with Data Warehouse / Relational Stores

– Integrate with Excel Spreadsheets

• Certifies Financial Results in support of SOX 302 & 404

Getting Data In – Other Methods

• Common (PLN & HFM)– ODI

– DIM

– EPMA

• Planning (Essbase)– Load Rules

– Partitions

– Forms

• HFM– Forms

– Journals w/ Audit Trails

What Data is Shared?• Unconsolidated Actual Data

– Base level general ledger data that has not been consolidated by HFM

• Consolidated Data– Consolidations run at month close

– Once complete, need to pass back to Planning

– Consolidate not just Actual data but Plan data

• Plan Data– Data that originates from Planning – Budget, Forecast,

Strategic Plan

– Need to be loaded to HFM to be Consolidated, and for reporting purposes

HFM to Planning:The Challenge

• Essbase

1 + 1 = 2

• HFM

1 + 1 = 2 OR

1 + 1 = 3 OR

1 + 1 = 4Why? Upper Level Adjustments and IC Eliminations in HFM

HFM to Planning: The Solution• Load Consolidated Data to separate Version

• Load all Levels of Entity Dimension• Do not Aggregate Entity Dimension• Move Data from HFM Using Extended Analytics• Integrate Load of Essbase with Extended

Analytics Tables• Essbase Analytics Link (Hyperroll)

– Consider for 11.1.1.3 Release & Beyond

Consolidating Plan Data

• Plan Data might need Consolidation too• Recall – Want to leverage each application for

what it is best at• Don’t rewrite Consolidation logic in Calc Scripts• Process

– Export plan data from Essbase– Load to HFM– Run Consolidation on plan data– Use Extended Analytics to push Consolidated data

back into Planning

Reporting

Reporting Tools• Workspace

– Financial Reports– Web Analysis– OBIEE

• Ad – Hoc– Smart View– Excel Add In

Financial Reports• Highly Formatted Report Writer• Ships with Planning & HFM• Reports, Books, Batches• Adapters for Planning, HFM and Essbase• Schedule & Email Reports• Deliver via PDF or Web Link• GAAP Compliant Financial Reports• Management Reports• Reporting Annotations

Web Analysis• Web Based Interactive Analysis• Additional Purchase – Not packaged with

Planning & HFM• Highly interactive – drill, pivot, sort, rank, traffic

lighting, drop downs, radio buttons, etc.• Native connections to HFM & Essbase• No native connection to Planning

– No Support Detail / Cell Text

• Ability to connect to relational data sources– Facilitate drill through with Essbase

Smart View• Ad Hoc Analysis• Tight Microsoft Office Integration• Work with Planning & HFM forms in Excel• Offline Planning• Future state add-in for ad-hoc• Essbase Add In still works, no new functionality• Can run Essbase Add In & Smart View together

OBIE• The Future Reporting direction for EPM

Applications• Current version – 11.1.1 weak with Essbase• Current version – 11.1.1 no adapter for HFM• HFM Support in 11.1.2• Great deal of development effort being expended

to get OBIE to work well with the EPM suite. Essbase Integration said to be much improved in 11.1.2.

Other Reporting Points• FDM

– Allows for drill through in Financial Reports, Smart View, HFM, Essbase & Planning

– Drill from the lowest level of detail– Drill to data in FDM– Drill with ERPI to source GL using proper adapters

• Reporting Cube– Marry data from Planning, Essbase, and HFM in one

Essbase Reporting cube– If loading consolidated HFM data, use BSO– Cannot load high to ASO

Questions?

Chris Churchill

cchurchill@ranzal.com

Practice Director

Ranzal & Associates