The step to Rolling Forecasting at Sound and Vision

The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision

Sound and Vision is a foundation with different roles. Its primary task is to archive and preserve visual and sound material from Dutch television, radio and online channels as well as other media expressions with heritage value. In addition, the foundation has a research branch in which researchers and heritage professionals investigate the scientific effects of media on society. Sound and Vision also provides education and teaching in the form of workshops and other activities for media studies. Finally, the institute has a private role for citizens, most of which consists of the museum in Hilversum.
With all these different responsibilities and projects, it is essential for Sound and Vision to keep track of income and expenses. With rolling forecasting, the organization aims to continuously look ahead to respond more quickly to new situations.

From error proneness to flexibility

When Sound and Vision started forecasting, there was no unambiguous system. There was one large Excel file in which all 32 budget holders had to enter the cost centers and general ledger accounts manually. This 'forecast' then had to be manually read into Afas in order to report the figures alongside actuals. This took a lot of intermediate steps and was not always flawless. This manual and cumbersome method was error-prone, time-consuming and limited in terms of analysis. In addition, there was a need for more flexibility.
Michelle: "Previously, a static budget was drawn up annually, but we are in a dynamic world and therefore wanted to build in some flexibility. For example, we wanted to be able to make all adjustments quickly and shift resources. This way we would be able to see periodically what the possibilities were and how we could respond to them.'

The choice of Vena and Finext

Seeking to make the forecasting process more efficient and convenient, Sound and Vision discovered Vena Solutions. Vena is a modern planning solution that embraces rather than replaces Excel.

" Vena immediately appealed to us because of its accessibility and many features."

Marc: "Vena immediately appealed to us because of its accessibility and many possibilities. You can link many things, automate them, easily build reports, use resource planning and create balance sheets. This system really allowed us to be in control.

Implementation Vena

Finext implemented a first version of Vena at the end of 2018. This version provided insight into historical data and made rolling forecasting of the P&L much easier. FTE planning was also set up in Vena. Nevertheless, this implemented version was not used to its full potential. |Michelle: "For cost reasons, not all budget holders at the time received a license to enter data into Vena themselves. As a result, an empty Excel file, this time a Vena template, had to be sent out and everyone had to fill it in again. My colleague and I did have a license and we entered this data into Vena. Again, this was not practical and missed the mark.

Upgrade to Vena 2.0

The helm was changed. Investments were made in more licenses so that all budget holders would use Vena on a daily and real-time basis. In addition, Marc and Michelle took a critical look at the currently equipped version of Vena and figured out how it could be tweaked to meet all internal requirements. Why would the relaunch of Vena work this time? The greater commitment from Sound and Vision and more focus on the business requirements.

Michelle: "Finext built the first version of Vena, but since we had multiple priorities at the time, there was little input from us. With version 2.0, we were much more involved in the build and could push our own buttons based on needs. We had weekly sessions which allowed me to gain experience and understand better and better how everything worked and what we wanted.'

Benefits of Vena

The biggest benefit of using Vena is efficiency. By automating previously manual tasks, an enormous amount of time is saved. Figures are entered by each cost center individually and are also immediately visible in Vena in a consolidated way for all of Sound and Vision. The financial department can identify much faster where adjustments are needed, especially with rolling forecasting, which always looks eight quarters ahead.

Michelle: 'It has become a lot easier and more user-friendly for the budget holders. Everyone also knows where they stand, because notifications are sent via the Workflow in Vena.'

Also, all figures in Vena are in one place, with opportunities to retrieve history. The figures are protected with security, but without it becoming a rigid environment. Sound and Vision wanted to compromise little on flexibility, and they succeeded. Future adjustments can be made quickly even after implementation.

Good internal promotion for adoption

To create internal involvement, business input was also sought during the construction process. Marc: "It wasn't a one-department show. We presented versions to the budget holders and incorporated their feedback, if realizable.'

Even after Vena was set up, Marc and Michelle did everything they could to promote the new solution internally. For example, they provided multiple demos for all end users, allowing everyone to become well acquainted with the capabilities of Vena.

Michelle: "By now, Vena has really become a household word internally: if someone mentions Vena, everyone knows it's about forecasting.

" When someone mentions Vena internally, everyone knows it's about forecasting."

Mutual cooperation

The structure of Vena is in place and working. The next step for Sound and Vision is to build more reports to extract even more useful information from its data. Because of the commitment during the building process, Michelle can do this largely herself.

Michelle: 'If I really can't manage it myself or major technical changes have to be made, we can always count on Finext's support. But in principle, Vena is so user-friendly that I can very well build on what has already been built and continue to optimize processes in the future'.