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carlydanner24
Iron Contributor
Dec 06, 2023

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Premium Announcement

Summary

On January 1, 2024, Microsoft will release a new SKU for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance that empowers people with advanced business performance management capabilities. Dynamics 365 Finance Premium will provide creator access to advanced intelligence, insights, planning, and database capabilities that help customers accelerate business performance. The initial release will focus on creator access to Microsoft’s new extended planning and analysis (xP&A) capabilities that encompass the crucial tasks of budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and corporate performance management. Business performance planning will become generally available on December 31, 2023 and customers will need to purchase Dynamics 365 Finance Premium licenses to use these capabilities. The new SKU will be available on price list preview starting December 1, 2023. This release is a significant step in establishing Microsoft as a leader in ERP with rapid innovations in finance to enhance business performance agility and empower teams with AI-guided planning, analytics, and insights to take next best actions. Make sure to review the blog to learn more: Enhance business performance with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Premium.

 

Details

Business performance planning

Microsoft introduced the vision for extended planning and analytics (xP&A) on May 31, 2023. The GA of business performance planning capabilities will equip Dynamics 365 Finance customers with a comprehensive view of financial and operational performance to empower more informed decision-making. These capabilities simplify and automate planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and analytics through integration with familiar Microsoft Power BI and Excel environments. Initial release use cases will apply to finance “record to report” business processes including revenue planning, bottom-up planning, budgeting, forecasting, long range planning, merger and acquisition valuation, cashflow, risk mitigation, and capex planning. 

 

Additional data models will be added to extend use cases to include operational and workforce planning scenarios to deliver on the vision to:

  • Unify disparate data from across the business into a single source of truth.
  • Create, share, and collaborate across secure cloud reporting delivered through familiar tools with Microsoft Excel and Power BI visuals.
  • Receive contextual AI-driven insights to improve business performance, embedded into the flow of work.
  • Connect planning and operational data with AI capabilities to enhance forecasting.

Business performance analytics

Introduced on February 22, 2023, business performance analytics provides Dynamics 365 Finance customers with self-service analytics and reporting that eliminates the need for finance professionals to have expertise in data science or IT. The business performance analytics capabilities are currently available in public preview and you can request to install and try it out today. These capabilities are available within the Dynamics 365 Finance SKU; however, looking forward, access to more advanced insights and AI-guided analytics will be available as part of the new Premium SKU.

 

Dynamics 365 Finance SKU placemat – NEW Premium SKU

Ensure your customers can activate the new business performance planning capabilities within Dynamics 365 Finance from the Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC) when they become generally available on December 31, 2023, by optimizing their SKU mix for finance and business performance management users. Any user that needs to create plans, budgets, forecasts, or financial analysis reports will need to have a Dynamics 365 Finance Premium license.  Users that only need to read or make light edits to business performance planning tasks can use a Dynamics 365 Finance license. Those that only need to read reports or dashboards can use a Team Member license. You can find pricing details here: Finance Pricing | Microsoft Dynamics 365

 

Modernizing business performance management

Microsoft’s new business performance planning and business performance analytics capabilities provide an advanced approach that goes beyond traditional financial planning and analytics to deliver across these planning and analytics use cases:

  • Integrated Business Planning (IBP): Enables the integration of financial planning with operational and strategic planning, breaking down silos between different business functions. This holistic approach ensures alignment across your organization's various planning processes.
  • Driver-Based Planning: Allow you organization to develop driver-based models, where key operational drivers (such as sales volume, headcount, or production units) directly impact financial outcomes. This dynamic modelling improves accuracy and responsiveness in forecasting.
  • Scenario Planning and Analysis: Facilitate the creation and analysis of multiple scenarios, considering various internal and external factors. This helps you understand potential impacts on financial performance and make informed decisions in a rapidly changing business environment.
  • Real-Time Reporting and Analysis: Get visibility into key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial metrics. This ensures that decision-makers have access to the most up-to-date information, enabling timely and data-driven decision-making.
  • Profitability Analysis: Conduct detailed profitability analyses by customer, product, or business segment. This granular level of analysis helps in identifying areas for improvement and optimizing resource allocation.
  • Collaborative Planning: Encourage collaboration among different departments and stakeholders involved in your planning process. This collaborative approach fosters better communication, alignment, and a shared understanding of organizational goals.
  • Cash Flow Planning: Effective cash flow planning is crucial for the financial health of an organization. Ensure you have robust tools for cash flow forecasting, helping you manage liquidity and make strategic decisions to optimize your cash position.
  • Rolling Forecasts: Unlike static annual budgets, you need support for rolling forecasts, allowing your organization to continuously update forecasts based on actual performance and changes in the business environment. This adaptability enhances agility in financial planning.

Ensure your customers are ready to adopt the new business performance planning capabilities and start 2024 with a better view of their strategic plans.

 

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