Compare planning scenarios
Test alternative assumptions and retain the comparison evidence.
4 stages · 0 approvals
Roles and responsibilities
-
Step 1Choose the source plan
Scenario CodeNameVersionScenario TypeUpside
-
Step 3Compute and compare the result
Run NumberScenarioBaseline RevenueScenario Revenue
Process steps
Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.
Choose the source plan
FP&A Director selects the budget version and source scenario. Clone budget cells and the frozen driver and formula basis, retaining Lineage. An approved source does not make the new alternative approved.
Change scoped assumptions
Prepare overrides inside the selected scenario. Validate the expression graph and preserve a manual override beside its computed value when allowed. Keep annual planning assumptions separate from forecast-only adjustments.
Compute and compare the result
Publish WhatIfRuns with its inputs and comparison outputs on consistent periods and account mappings. Reject failed calculations without publishing partial values. Review revenue and planning earnings deltas alongside the actual changed assumptions.
Carry the decision into a draft
If CFO selects an alternative, prepare an explicit draft budget revision or forecast proposal referencing the chosen run. Complete that workflow’s real decisions. A scenario result cannot directly replace the locked plan.
Records and postings
| Stage | Records | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Choose the source plan | ScenariosBudgetVersionsBudgetLines | Create the scenario branch |
| 2 Change scoped assumptions | DriverValuesDriverFormulasAssumptionsLog | Retain the alternative basis |
| 3 Compute and compare the result | WhatIfRunsScenarios | Preserve the scenario result |
| 4 Carry the decision into a draft | BudgetVersionsScenariosApprovals | Prepare the next reviewed proposal |
Process reports
All reportsScenario Comparison
Side-by-side WhatIfRuns for one Version: BaselineRevenue, ScenarioRevenue, BaselineOpEx, ScenarioOpEx, BaselineEBITDA, ScenarioEBITDA, RevenueDelta, EBITDADelta, with InputsSummary expanded. Used by FP&A Director and CFO to stress-test the call before it goes to the board.
Headcount & Personnel Cost
Per Entity per Period: Headcount Driver values, AvgSalary, PersonnelExpense BudgetLines (Budget vs Actual), trailing-12 with delta. The cross-walk into Payroll's Headcount Cost ledger and the input to next-cycle workforce planning.
Assumptions Audit Trail
Every AssumptionsLog row in a window with ChangeType, Driver / DriverFormula, FromValue / ToValue, Reason, ChangedBy, ChangedAt, and the RelatedRecord. Filterable by Driver, by changer, by Cycle. The Auditor's primary report for "what assumption produced what number when."
Budget vs Actual vs Forecast
Per Period per Entity per Account: BudgetAmount, ActualAmount, ForecastAmount, Variance, VariancePct, ForecastVariance, with the Cost-Center Head and FluxStatus surfaced inline. Drillable from LegalEntity → Division → Department → CostCenter → Account, with the FluxComments rendered at the leaf. The FP&A Analyst's daily landing report and the close-week defense pack.
Run by an agent
Agent support
An agent cannot invent board authorization, approve its own transfer, alter locked history or publish a partly reconciled ledger import. Suggested assumptions remain proposals until the appropriate workflow accepts them. A generated PDF is distinct from a CFO-approved packet.
# Example after configuration
$ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent
› compare planning scenarios · choose the source plan on Scenarios, BudgetVersions, BudgetLines
✓ FP&A Director selects the budget version and source scenario.
› compare planning scenarios · change scoped assumptions on DriverValues, DriverFormulas, AssumptionsLog
✓ Prepare overrides inside the selected scenario.
› compare planning scenarios · compute and compare the result on WhatIfRuns, Scenarios
✓ Publish WhatIfRuns with its inputs and comparison outputs on consistent periods and account mappings.
› compare planning scenarios · carry the decision into a draft on BudgetVersions, Scenarios, Approvals
✓ If CFO selects an alternative, prepare an explicit draft budget revision or forecast proposal referencing the chosen run.
Other processes
4 moreBuild and approve the budget
Take a scoped proposal through the required financial decisions.
5 stages · 3 approvals
Refresh the rolling forecast
Publish an accepted outlook with a reproducible monthly basis.
4 stages · 1 approval
Approve budget transfers
Reallocate budget with balanced changes and clear decision ownership.
5 stages · 2 approvals
Review variance and board packs
Turn reconciled results into an approved financial review packet.
4 stages · 1 approval