Oracle EPM 11.1.2 – Reviewing the new features

Posted by Charl on April 29, 2010 · View Comments 

Today I finally got my grubby paws on the latest, greatest, best thing ever version of Oracle EPM, 11.1.2. You know, the version Oracle is punting as containing the largest number of functional improvements in specifically the Hyperion EPM applications since Hyperion was bought. At first glance there certainly seems to be some exciting new functionality, things such as Disclosure Management and Financial Close Management for you HFM types, a proper HFM export to Essbase module based on HyperRoll, new functionality in Planning such as much enhanced workflow and excellent integration with Office, etc.

I plan to look at some of the major new features, module by module, and share my finding on this blog. Obviously this will not be done in one or two blogs, but probably a whole series over the next couple of weeks.

For a start, I want to share my thoughts on the new features and direction Oracle is taking in the installation and general architecture of EPM 11.1.2. So here are some of the new things you need to be aware of when starting to implement EPM 11.1.2, some good and some – well you will see…

  • The first line which hit me between the eyes was the following: This release is intended for new deployments only. Upgrading or migrating from previous EPM System releases is not supported. In addition, products from this release are not compatible with products and applications from previous releases. What does this mean, exactly? Basically it means install EPM 11.1.2 on a clean environment (new servers), and rebuild your applications – or at least manually migrate them by exporting data and metadata and reimporting on the new environment. Essbase is not really an issue, Planning a little more complex but not too much, but HFM probably requires a lot of work to manually migrate, if not rather rebuild.
  • Tomcat is no longer the default embedded J2EE server, Weblogic is. Apache is no longer the default Web Server, Oracle HTTP Server is. This is actually not a bad move for scalability reasons, as long as the promised relatively seamless deployment actually works.
  • All EPM tools now make use of a new logging mechanism, Oracle Diagnostic Logging (ODL). Seems like this will offer much better housekeeping of logs, such as max log file size, log file rotation, etc.
  • Essbase Excel add-in now has a small Microsoft MSI file for installation. This is great news, you don’t need the entire foundation installation file set just to install the Excel add-in.
  • No more OpenLDAP (great news, how many of you have experienced corrupt OpenLDAP repositories). Basically the Shared Services database repository will now house the Native Directory info.
  • Default directory structures have changed completely, again. Something like Oracle\Middleware\EPMSystem11\ is what you can expect, but this can be set at installation time.
  • Shared Services and Workspace Web is now a single web service

Next blog I will probably start with the new Essbase features, as well as some Smartview stuff. Let me know if you have any questions on EPM 11.1.2, or want to share any experiences with it.

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Measuring Financial Risk: EPM and GRC

Posted by Jacques on April 28, 2010 · View Comments 

What is Financial Risk?

Financial risk is the possibility that an organisation’s cash flow will not be adequate to meet its financial obligations. Financial risk is the added risk shareholders bear when a company uses debt other than equity as an additional means of financing operations.

Financial Risk and the Recession

The level of gearing an entity takes is dependent on the entities risk appetite and ability to generate future cash flows. The trigger of the current recession was the result of entities taking on financial risk by increasing their gearing beyond their ability to generate future cash flows. Large financial institutions encouraged this behaviour in an effort to increase short term returns. Financial institutions took the financial risk hoping that they would earn a large return from offering high interest mortgages to people/entities with less than stellar credit records. They made these loans attractive to consumers by allowing no deposit full value loans in a market where the belief was the future cash flows (property prices) can only go up.

When the property bubble burst and property returns became less than spectacular, the financial institutions started experiencing high defaults on the loan books with the subsequent drop in value of their sub prime investment instruments.

The financial risk exposure resulted in a large number of financial institutions filing for bankruptcy and the knock on effect on the greater economy of these financial institutions failing.

Managing Risk with Risk Management Software

A consequence of the financial crises is the recognition that organisation’s need to deploy improved risk management strategies. Legislation is expected to become more stringent to ensure companies adhere to strict financial risk management practices to assist in providing the board and shareholders with additional information and tools in order to manage the appropriate level of risk for an entity.

EOH Oracle CFO Services is a provider of Oracle’s EPM(Enterprise Performance Management) and GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) software which includes a number of innovations and capabilities to improve business insights and optimize decision making, specifically in the area of managing and measuring financial risk within the boundaries of good governance and regulatory compliance.

For more information, please contact Simon du Plooy at EOH Oracle CFO Services on 011 607 8200.

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Business Intelligence: The Role of CFO’s in Preparing for Economic Recovery

Posted by Jacques on April 14, 2010 · View Comments 

The U.S. economy is expected to make a comeback in 2010; however, not all sectors are expected to recover at the same pace. A recent survey by KPMG found that the technology industry is expected to make the swiftest recovery while those in the financial services sector can expect a slower recovery rate.

What does this mean for CFO’s in Financial Services?

Chief Financial Officer’s in 2010 need to focus on seizing opportunities for their companies rather than concentrating all their energies on preventing the company from losing money. This can be done by implementing a few guidelines:

  • Start calculating loss in terms of missed opportunities
  • Keep a close eye on improvements in the economy and seize small ‘windows of opportunity’ to increase market share either organically or through acquisitions
  • Make use of financial technology to improve Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
  • Ensure that your ERM programs are aligned with business strategies and are consistent with your risk appetite
  • Remember that nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity

Oracle Business Intelligence Software

Although many CFO’s benefit by leveraging technology to capitalise on potential opportunities while at the same time minimising risk, those actually using the technology are finding it increasingly difficult to trust the data it produces. Many financial managers still rely on spreadsheets rather than trust automatically generated figures. However, the main problem with the ‘old methods’ is that they create the very data silos that increase risk and limit the flow and exchange of information in the first place.

Oracle financial technology provides CFO’s with several distinct advantages:

  • Better quality information
  • Fast delivery of quality financial information
  • Confident decision making

Oracle Business Intelligence software can help your organisation achieve accurate, real-time business intelligence. By embracing a strategic approach that recognises the business value of information, and by using a centralised, standardised IT platform to deliver accurate data, Oracle software gives you unparalleled visibility and control.

For more information on Oracle Financial Management software, please contact Simon du Plooy at EOH Oracle CFO Services on 011 607 8200.

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Understanding GRC – Governance, Risk Management, Compliance

Posted by Jacques on April 7, 2010 · View Comments 

GRC, or Governance, Risk Management and Compliance, are normally handled by different teams in an organisation. Because Government regulations are strict and ever-changing, many companies have had to resort to redundant methods in order to make sure they’re in compliance. This has resulted in Governance and Compliance practices within the organisation isolating Risk Management which could make the organisation vulnerable.

If the above scenario rings true for your company then you need to consider investing in financial software that moves GRC from three separate entities to a more holistic view.
Below are a few of the most frequently asked questions about GRC.

What is GRC?

GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) is the synchronization of the people, processes and technologies responsible for each activity in an organisation. The main objective of sound GRC practices is to improve the data that tells a company about the financial risks they may be vulnerable to while remaining in accordance with Government regulations.
Chief Financial Officers must bear in mind that each aspect of GRC must be considered as reliant on one another – they are symbiotic.
Who is responsible for GRC operations? <H2>
Every individual in an organisation is responsible for GRC because everyone has risk implications attached to him or her.
In any organisation, senior executive management (CEO and the board of directors) is responsible for Governance. Governance creates business transparency and business value by establishing standard procedures. In addition to senior executive management, those responsible for Governance can include the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Chief Risk Officers, CIO’s and auditors.
Risk Management is the responsibility of the CIO and CFO. Enterprise Risk Management, or ERM, aligns performance and risk with the goals and objectives of the organisation.
Compliance is the responsibility of many executives in an organisation. HR departments, auditors and the CIO should all understand Compliance requirements.

What is the best GRC tool?

Although most GRC processes are still done on spreadsheets, organisations should be looking to move towards a more holistic framework that ends up being efficient and extremely cost-effective in the long run.
Oracle’s Governance, Risk and Compliance software allows your organisation to build systems which allow you to identify and mitigate risk while ensuring compliance. By combining risk data and analytics on a platform that is cross-industry as well as industry specific you can:
  • Control a unique and centralised warehouse of GRC information
  • Manage GRC across the organisation
  • Protect critical information assets at all levels
  • Streamline compliance efforts by managing multiple regulatory requirements with one system
  • Reduce errors and labour intensity with an automated GRC process
  • Increase GRC operations efficiency
Oracle Solutions for GRC is a market leader and is available in South Africa from Intellient.
For more information, please contact Simon du Plooy at EOH Oracle CFO Services on 011 607 8200.

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