Our top 10 reasons to use Unit4 FP&A in your business

Are you a public sector S151 officer or Finance Director wondering how to get a hold of your budgets for FY2024?

Unit4 FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis) solution offers substantial benefits to the public sector, revolutionising financial processes and enhancing overall efficiency. We can implement in just under 8 weeks meaning we will be live ready for the 1st of April. Want to understand more? Reach out to enquiries@visionerp.co.uk.

Here are our top 10 reasons for implementing FP&A in your organisation.

1. Budget Management
The solution provides robust tools for budget planning, forecasting, and tracking, enabling public sector entities to create more accurate and realistic budgets. This, in turn, helps organisations allocate resources effectively, ensuring that funds are utilised optimally to meet the diverse needs of the community.

2. Enhanced Data Visibility
Unit4 FP&A enables public sector agencies to consolidate financial data from various sources into a centralised platform. This consolidation facilitates comprehensive reporting and analysis, empowering decision-makers with real-time insights into the financial health of the organisation. Improved visibility supports informed decision-making, enabling leaders to respond promptly to changing circumstances.

3. Collaboration & Transparency
Unit4 FP&A also excels in promoting collaboration and transparency. With features such as shared dashboards and collaborative planning tools, the solution facilitates communication among different departments within the public sector. This collaborative environment fosters a more integrated approach to financial planning, ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned with organisational goals and objectives.

4. Automation & Efficiency
Efficiency gains are a significant outcome of implementing Unit4 FP&A in the public sector. Automation of routine financial tasks, such as data entry and report generation, reduces the manual workload on finance teams. This not only accelerates processes but also minimises the risk of errors, leading to more reliable financial data.

5. Versatility & Agility
Additionally, Unit4 FP&A is designed to adapt to the dynamic nature of the public sector. It accommodates changes in regulations, policies, and funding models, providing organisations with the flexibility to respond to evolving requirements. This adaptability ensures that public sector entities can maintain compliance while remaining agile in the face of shifting priorities.

6. Informed Decision Making
The solution's analytics capabilities play a pivotal role in driving informed decision-making. Advanced analytics tools empower public sector leaders to explore trends, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions. This is particularly valuable in the public sector, where precise decision-making is crucial for effectively addressing the diverse needs of the community.

7. Risk Management
Furthermore, Unit4 FP&A contributes to risk management by providing scenario planning features. Public sector organisations can simulate various financial scenarios, assessing the potential impact of different factors on their budgets. This proactive approach enables them to develop contingency plans and mitigate potential risks, fostering financial resilience.

8. Scenario Planning
Baked into the functionality of FP&A is the ability to plan for different scenarios. Within each data cube which stores the data, we can add a “version” dimension. This allows us to store multiple versions of data within the same model, giving the ability to update and tweak one version of a scenario without impacting the others. This means we can quickly and safely build different scenarios with potentially different input drivers to see what sort of outcomes there might be. For informed decision making, this can be a powerful tool.

9. Central Government Returns
Specifically designed for government financial reporting, Unit4 FP&A ensures that all relevant data, such as budgetary allocations, expenditures, and project costs, is accurately collected and organised. This automation not only reduces the risk of errors but also accelerates the return preparation timeline for returns such as the RO, RA and QRO. Adaptability is paramount in the ever-evolving landscape of government regulations. Unit4 FP&A enables public sector entities to adjust their financial reporting methodologies promptly in response to changes in government requirements. In addition, multiple sources of data can be used with FP&A to allow non-financial data to be collected and presented alongside financial data. This can be invaluable when dealing with returns such as social care returns, where data could be taken from corporate social care systems and integrated with financial data to automate the reporting process.

10. Seamless Integration One of the strengths of Unit FP&A is its ability to integrate seamlessly with Unit4 ERP. At the data level, data is exchanged using Unit4’s API suite. This process can be automated to ensure the most up to date data is available for planning. It can also be timed to ensure that the right data is in the right place at the right time, as with activating the new year budget for example. For end users the ability to link between FP&A and ERP means that they can drill down from a high-level report within FP&A right the way down to individual transaction with images of an invoice within Unit4 ERP, all without even knowing they’ve moved between systems. As both are part of the Unit4 ecosystem, the ability to have deep links between the two means that users can see detailed information without having to copy it across to FP&A. In addition, other information can be brought into FP&A, such as non-financial social care information on client numbers. This can enrich the planning process and enhance the information that FP&A can present.

In conclusion, Unit4 FP&A offers a comprehensive suite of features tailored to the unique challenges of the public sector. From improved budget management and enhanced data visibility to fostering collaboration and ensuring adaptability, the solution empowers public sector organisations to navigate the complexities of financial planning with efficiency and precision. Implementing Unit4 FP&A can revolutionise financial processes, ultimately leading to better resource allocation, informed decision-making, and increased overall effectiveness in serving the public.