Revenue Analytics Blog

27
Mar

The 7 Data Science Skills That Will Change the Accounting Career

Categories: Accounting, Analytics, Big Data, Data, Decision Science
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by chiefowl

There was a time, not too long ago, when Finance and Accounting had complete control over most of the decision making data in any business.  I caught the tail end of that generation.  At my first job as Financial Analyst for a licensing division of the Walt Disney Company, the finance department had control over all data, including the G/L, contract systems, customer and vendor database, budget and forecast files, and even the IT function. We owned the keys to Read more

12
Jan

The Words You Use Reveal If You Are Data-Driven

Categories: Analytics
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by chiefowl

The topic of analytics is intimidating and even scary for many people, not because it involves technical discussions about databases, mathematics, or machine learning, but because the aim of analytics is to stop impostors dead in their tracks. By definition, you cannot be an analytics driven organization and at the same time have managers, at any level, spewing myths, assumptions, and outright fallacies about the way their company works, the market moves, or the customer thinks. This is the scariest Read more

22
Oct

Dream-Driven vs Data-Driven Budgeting

Categories: Budget
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by chiefowl

I think it is safe to say that many companies reverse engineer their budgets. That is, they decide on a final profit number or percentage and then go about building all the P&Ls to support that final number. From Wall Street to Main Street (sorry for the cliche), business managers tend to build budgets that reflect the expectations of owners and shareholders. Owners like this approach because it allows them to set a hurdle and have their minions scurry around Read more

19
Jul

The 5 Steps to Analytics Enlightenment

Categories: Analytics, Data
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by chiefowl

To go from data to profit, your company needs to adopt a healthy enthusiasm for the limitless potential of analytics with the discipline and awareness that comes from having a mature business acumen. Unfortunately, most hotel companies are focusing their energy and dollars on quickly implementing the next technical tool, whereas the more purposeful approach is to clearly articulate, formulate, and ONLY THEN implement analytics solutions that will truly drive sustained profit. The latter approach is the hardest but it is the only way to guarantee success.  To Read more

06
Mar

What The Best Financial Analysts Do Best

Categories: Accounting, Analytics, Data, Finance, Forecast
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by chiefowl

As a consultant for Mathematical Revenue Optimization I’ve had the opportunity to work with many analysts in a variety of industries.  How much quantitative and programming background they have is never a concern for me because my job is to bring them up to a sophisticated level of technical competence and confidence.  Still, some analysts are just a lot better at their jobs than others.  What I have learned through the years is that the most successful analysts routinely do certain Read more

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