jean.almeida
They are different types of financial performance tracking and forecasting methods used by organizations. The version dimension is used to store and track these different performance metrics. Here's an overview of each :
- Actual: Actual refers to the real-time financial results or performance metrics achieved by an organization during a specific period. It represents the factual data reflecting the company's revenue, expenses, profitability, and other financial indicators. Actual figures are derived from historical records, financial statements, and transactional data.
- Budget: A budget is a financial plan that outlines an organization's projected revenues, expenses, and profitability for a specific period, typically a year. It serves as a benchmark or target against which the actual performance is measured. The budgeting process involves setting financial goals, allocating resources, and estimating costs to guide the company's financial activities.
- Plan: A plan, in the context of financial management, is a comprehensive and strategic outline of an organization's goals, objectives, and actions required to achieve those goals. It encompasses both financial and non-financial aspects of business operations. A financial plan specifies how the company intends to generate revenues, manage expenses, allocate resources, and achieve profitability targets over a defined period.
- Forecast: A forecast is an estimate or prediction of future financial performance based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors. Forecasts are usually prepared for shorter time frames, such as months or quarters, and are updated regularly to reflect changes in market conditions or business circumstances.
- Rolling Forecast: Rolling Forecast is a dynamic and flexible forecasting technique that involves updating the forecast regularly to reflect changing market conditions and business dynamics. Unlike traditional annual budgets or fixed plans, rolling forecasts are continuously revised and adjusted at regular intervals, such as monthly or quarterly. Each new forecast period replaces the oldest period in the forecast, ensuring that the forecast always covers a fixed period in the future.
The key differences between these versions lie in their purpose, timeframe, and flexibility. Actual represents the historical performance, while the budget and plan are forward-looking financial plans. Budgets are usually prepared on an annual basis, while plans provide a broader strategic perspective. Rolling forecasts, on the other hand, are updated at regular intervals to adapt to changing circumstances and provide a more current outlook for the future.
From SAC point of view Version is the dimension which stores all the above information and hence you need multiple versions members and category. Generally you have 1 Actual version but may have one or more then one other versions. Version category helps you to know what kind of version is that. Refer to the below for more details.
https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_ANALYTICS_CLOUD/00f68c2e08b941f081002fd3691d86a7/9d9056a13b764ad3aca8f...
Hope this helps !!
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Nikhil
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