loumi
Starting point
An EMEA project portfolio in a banking environment was being run with inconsistent forecasts, reports, trend views, audits and margin information. The financial figures for the individual projects were available but not consistently connected to operational status — an integrated flow of data between the systems and functions involved was missing. As a result, the different areas worked with different assumptions: procurement, for example, calculated with different rates than the project management, so that forecasts, margins and reports were built on unaligned foundations. Financial developments therefore only became apparent late, and management reporting did not support dependable decisions.
Complexity profile
International projects with differing reporting states and formats.
Forecast and margin information without a consistent connection to operational project status.
No integrated flow of data — procurement, project management and controlling calculated with different rates and assumptions.
Board level as the audience — with corresponding demands on consistency and dependability.
Audit requirements on the project data running in parallel.
Close coordination with several project management teams in different countries.
Mandate
The mandate covered project controlling of the EMEA portfolio: forecasting, board reporting, trend analysis and auditing of the project data — in close collaboration with the project management teams. The aim was management reporting that brings budget, forecast, KPI and risk information together consistently and connects it to the operational status of the projects. This included building unified dashboards for end-to-end data transparency as well as supporting contract management, so that contractual foundations and commercial steering matched up.
Approach
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Sense-check forecasts
Forecasts were produced and sense-checked with the project leads, rather than adopting figures unverified.
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Make trends visible
Trend analysis made the development of costs, margins and metrics over time visible and provided early indicators of financial deviations.
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Audit the data
Project data was audited and inconsistencies resolved with the responsible teams — including reconciling the rates and assumptions between procurement, project management and controlling.
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Set up unified dashboards
Financial metrics and operational status were brought together in unified dashboards, so that everyone involved worked from the same, end-to-end transparent data basis. In parallel, contract management was supported to connect contractual foundations with commercial steering.
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Bring together board reporting
The results were turned into board reporting that presents financial metrics and operational project status in a shared view. KPIs were tracked continuously, so that deviations did not only surface at the reporting cut-off.