The “Gray Area” of Annual Planning

Avoid the big surprise at the end of the year

It’s true that CFO’s from consumer product manufacturers everywhere struggle with year-end gray areas when it comes to trade marketing and trade promotion spending. But you shouldn’t have to, there is a way to get ahead of the challenges of year-end--and you can learn all about it in this educational session. Watch Part 2 of our virtual series on Annual Planning as we tackle how to eliminate two common year-end surprises:

Arbitrarily booking an accrual number based upon last year’s results, and
High-Low Planning that makes aligning volume to spending difficult, due to the delay in which spending to volume hits the general ledger.

Let's learn how to clear up the gray areas together and stop year-end surprises as we examine:

How to define the Trade spending accrual process.
Best practices for booking the accrual entry for the end of year close.
How to ensure the accrual entry on the general ledger covers trade expenses from the prior plan year — even if it has not hit the general ledger yet.

Plus, see how manufacturers can reconcile to within +/- .1% of spending to accrual without impacting the current and upcoming plan year! In case you missed it, you can also view Part 1 of our four-part series here

Presenter:

Joel Cartwright - Industry Principal, Consumer Products at Vistex

Joel Cartwright specializes in Trade Promotion efficiency for CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) manufacturers. With more than 20 years of experience in Finance, Accounting and Sales Operations, Joel has worked for Sara Lee Foods US, Sunny Delight Beverage and Kimberly Clark. Joel has also spent the last 14 years focused on retail trade promotion software – including implementations, product management and support. He graduated with an MA in Business from Northern Kentucky University and a BA in Applied Science from the University of Cincinnati.