Interactive method and apparatus for real-time financial

• US 8,433,632 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2001
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lawson Software Incorporated (Infor Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sankaran, Sarat C., Jain, Vineet, Capelli, Nancy B.
• Primary Examiner(s): KANERVO, VIRPI H
• Application Number:
  US09/804,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20020133444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,431 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 42
• US Class Current: 705/36.R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A method and apparatus for financial planning and control are disclosed that are capable of real-time response to changing market conditions. The disclosed method provides financial management and control tools that allow an organization to rapidly (on weekly or monthly frequencies, for example) realign financial resources throughout the organization in response to changing market and business conditions. The method links critical external information directly to company decision-making activities to allow a business to better align resources to capitalize upon opportunities or minimize the impact of adverse business conditions. The disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises several modules, including the TopLine Planner™ module, BizPlan™ module, and SpendCap Manager™ module. The TopLine Planner™ module receives inputs from and provides information to sales, marketing and manufacturing, and is coupled to the BizPlan™ module. The TopLine Planner™ module dynamically revises topline forecast information by capturing current outlook information from front line sources. Revenue information is passed between the TopLine Planner™ module and the BizPlan™ module. The BizPlan™ module rapidly refreshes expense plan information by using business rules and constraints. The BizPlan™ module is coupled to the SpendCap Manager™ module, and expense information is passed between the modules. The SpendCap Manager™ module distributes resources to all business managers and receives requests for increases in the allocation of resources.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling spending in a business that includes a plurality of departments, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

receiving first data input that specifies a spending capacity for a department from the plurality of departments;

in response to receiving the first data input, creating and storing first data in a public area, wherein the first data defines the spending capacity for the department, and wherein the public area is accessible by every user in the plurality of departments;

receiving second data input that specifies one or more planned expenses for the department;

in response to receiving the second data input, creating and storing second data in a private area, wherein the second data defines the one or more planned expenses based on the second data input, and wherein the private area is only accessible by users in the department, and wherein the private area is separate from the public area;

automatically determining whether the second data is greater than the first data;

when the second data is greater than the first data,

rejecting the planned expenses related to the second data; and

transmitting a notification that the planned expenses have been rejected; and

when the second data is not greater than the first data, storing the second data in the public area;

receiving third data input that specifies a new spending capacity for the department from the plurality of departments;

in response to receiving the third data input, creating and storing third data in the public area, wherein the third data defines the new spending capacity for the department;

receiving fourth data input that specifies one or more new planned expenses for the department;

in response to receiving the fourth data input, creating and storing fourth data in the private area, wherein the fourth data defines the one or more new planned expenses based on the fourth data input;

automatically determining whether the fourth data is greater than the third data;

when the fourth data is greater than the third data,

rejecting the new planned expenses related to the fourth data; and

transmitting a notification that the new planned expenses have been rejected; and

when the fourth data is not greater than the third data, replacing the second data with the fourth data in the public area,

wherein each private area is comprised of one or more computer memory locations assigned to each respective department, and wherein the public area is comprised of one or more computer memory locations assigned to the plurality of departments.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

when the second data input is greater than the first data input, receiving a request to increase the spending capacity for the department;

determining whether the request is allowable; and

when the request is allowable, updating the spending capacity for the department.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for financial planning by managing stored data values representing spending resources of an organization, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving first data input that specifies a spending capacity for at least a portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the first data input, creating and storing spending capacity data in a public area, wherein the spending capacity data defines the spending capacity based on the first data input, and wherein the public area is accessible by every member of the organization;

receiving second data input that specifies one or more planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the second data input, creating and storing planned expense data in a private area, wherein the planned expense data defines the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input, and wherein the private area is only accessible by members of the portion of the organization, and wherein the private area is separate from the public area;

automatically determining whether the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data;

storing the planned expense data in the public area only when the planned expense data does not exceed the spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data;

receiving third data input that specifies a new spending capacity for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the third data input, creating and storing new spending capacity data in the public area, wherein the new spending capacity data defines the new spending capacity based on the third data input;

receiving fourth data input that specifies one or more new planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the fourth data input, creating and storing new planned expense data in the private area, wherein the new planned expense data defines the one or more new planned expense allocations based on the fourth data input, and wherein the new planned expense data represents a revised version of the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input;

automatically determining whether the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data; and

replacing the planned expense data in the public area with the new planned expense data only when the new planned expense data does not exceed the new spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data.

4. A computer-automated apparatus for financial planning that manages stored data values representing spending resources of an organization, comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising;

a department object comprising;

a first plan object for storing, in a public area, spending capacity data for at least a portion of the organization, wherein the public area is accessible by every member of the organization;

a second plan object for storing, in a private area, planned expense data for the portion of the organization, wherein the private area is accessible only by members of the portion of the organization, and wherein the private area is separate from the public area; and

a third plan object for storing, in the public area, public planned expense data for the portion of the organization; and

a software module that, when executed by the processor, performs steps of;

receiving a first data input that specifies a spending capacity for the portion of the organization;

creating and storing, in response to receiving the first data input, the spending capacity data in the first plan object, wherein the stored spending capacity data comprises the spending capacity based on the first data input;

receiving a second data input that specifies one or more planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

creating and storing, in response to receiving the second data input, the planned expense data in the second plan object, wherein the stored planned expense data comprises the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input;

automatically determining whether the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data;

storing the planned expense data in the third plan object as the public planned expense data only when the planned expense data does not exceed the spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data;

receiving a third data input that specifies a new spending capacity for the portion of the organization;

creating and storing, in response to receiving the third data input, new spending capacity data in the first plan object, wherein the new spending capacity data defines the new spending capacity based on the third data input;

receiving a fourth data input that specifies one or more new planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

creating and storing, in response to receiving the fourth data input, new planned expense data in the second plan object, wherein the new planned expense data defines the one or more new planned expense allocations based on the fourth data input, and wherein the new planned expense data represents a revised version of the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input;

automatically determining whether the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data; and

replacing the planned expense data stored in the third plan object as the public planned expense data with the new planned expense data only when the new planned expense data does not exceed the new spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data.

5. A computer-automated apparatus for financial planning that manages stored data values representing spending resources of an organization, comprising:

a network interface that is coupled to a data network for receiving one or more packet flows therefrom;

a processor communicatively coupled to the network interface;

one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;

receiving first data input that specifies a spending capacity for at least a portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the first data input, creating and storing spending capacity data in a public area, wherein the spending capacity data defines the spending capacity based on the first data input, and wherein the public area is accessible by every member of the organization;

receiving second data input that specifies one or more planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the second data input, creating and storing planned expense data in a private area, wherein the planned expense data defines the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input, and wherein the private area is only accessible by members of the portion of the organization, and wherein the private area is separate from the public area;

automatically determining whether the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data; and

storing the planned expense data in the public area only when the planned expense data does not exceed the spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the planned expense data exceeds the spending capacity data;

receiving third data input that specifies a new spending capacity for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the third data input, creating and storing new spending capacity data in the public area, wherein the new spending capacity data defines the new spending capacity based on the third data input;

receiving fourth data input that specifies one or more new planned expense allocations for the portion of the organization;

in response to receiving the fourth data input, creating and storing new planned expense data in the private area, wherein the new planned expense data defines the one or more planned expense allocations based on the fourth data input, and wherein the new planned expense data represents a revised version of the one or more planned expense allocations based on the second data input;

automatically determining whether the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data; and

replacing the planned expense data in the public area with the new planned expense data only when the new planned expense data does not exceed the new spending capacity data, otherwise, transmitting a notification that the new planned expense data exceeds the new spending capacity data.