Executive Planning with SAP Analytics Cloud Training Course

Course overview

Executive teams need plans that connect strategic priorities to accountable financial and operational actions. Yet annual budgets and rolling forecasts are often assembled through disconnected spreadsheets, late submissions and inconsistent assumptions. This makes it difficult for executives to see the effect of price, volume, headcount, capacity and investment decisions before committing resources. This course equips leaders and planning professionals to structure, govern and communicate executive planning cycles in SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).

Participants build practical capability in SAC planning models, dimensions, versions, allocations, driver-based forecasts, data actions and executive planning stories. They learn to translate strategic objectives into measurable planning drivers; compare baseline, budget, forecast and scenario versions; automate repeatable calculations; and present decision-ready variance and outlook views. The course also addresses planning governance, approval workflows, planning calendars and the controls required to make assumptions traceable across business units.

Delivery combines instructor demonstrations with guided configuration tasks and an executive planning case based on a multi-division organisation. Participants configure a planning model, create a driver-based scenario, build allocation and calculation logic, and publish an executive planning story with planning inputs and management views. They leave with a documented executive planning prototype, an implementation checklist for their own planning process, and a certificate on completion.

The course is suited to managers who own planning outcomes as well as finance, strategy and analytics professionals responsible for designing SAC-enabled planning processes. It starts at foundation level and progresses to intermediate configuration and scenario-management techniques.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure an SAP Analytics Cloud planning model with measures, dimensions, hierarchies and planning-enabled data structures
• Design driver-based planning assumptions for revenue, headcount, operating cost and capital expenditure scenarios
• Create public versions and private versions to compare budget, forecast, baseline and what-if outcomes
• Build data actions and multi actions that automate calculations, allocations and planning process steps
• Apply allocation methods using drivers, distribution rules and traceable calculation logic
• Construct executive planning stories with input controls, variance views, tables and decision-focused charts
• Set up planning calendar tasks, approvals and responsibilities for a controlled planning cycle
• Produce an executive planning prototype and adoption plan for a business planning use case

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Executive Managers — who need timely scenario views to make resource and investment decisions
• Finance Directors and FP&A Managers — who own budget, forecast and management reporting processes
• Business Unit Leaders — who must submit defensible operational plans and explain forecast variances
• Strategy and Transformation Managers — who translate strategic initiatives into measurable planning drivers
• SAP Analytics Cloud Planning Analysts — who configure models, data actions and planning stories for stakeholders
• Finance Systems and SAP Solution Leads — who support governed planning processes across SAP platforms

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable reading management accounts, budgets, forecasts and variance reports, and should understand common planning terms such as actuals, budget, forecast, cost centre, profit centre and planning assumptions. Basic spreadsheet experience, including formulas and pivot-style analysis, is useful. Prior use of SAP Analytics Cloud is helpful but not required; the course introduces its planning workspace and core modelling concepts from first principles. No programming, SQL, SAP ABAP or prior SAC certification is required. Complete beginners should expect structured guided exercises and should be prepared to work with financial and operational planning data throughout the week.

Training methodology

The course is delivered as five instructor-led days in a classroom or live online environment. Short demonstrations introduce each SAC capability before participants configure it in guided exercises using a multi-division executive planning case. Workshops cover planning-model design, versioning, allocations, data actions, calendar tasks and executive stories; group reviews test whether outputs answer realistic management questions. Participants progressively develop one integrated planning prototype rather than isolated exercises. On the final day, they present their scenario and prepare an application plan identifying the data, stakeholders, controls and first use case required in their organisation.

Course outline

Day 1: Executive planning foundations and SAC model design

• Executive planning cycles, decision rights and planning governance
• SAP Analytics Cloud planning workspace and navigation
• Planning models, measures, dimensions and planning-enabled structures
• Account, entity, cost centre and time dimension design
• Master data, hierarchies and aggregation behaviour
• Actual, budget and forecast data concepts
• Planning model security considerations and data access roles

Workshop: Participants configure the initial planning model for a multi-division organisation, including core financial and operational dimensions.

Day 2: Driver-based plans, versions and scenarios

• Value-driver trees for executive planning conversations
• Revenue planning through price, volume and mix assumptions
• Headcount, payroll and operating expense planning drivers
• Public versions, private versions and version comparison
• Copying, publishing and locking planning versions
• What-if scenario design and sensitivity testing
• Assumption governance and commentary for management review

Workshop: Participants build budget and downside forecast versions using revenue, headcount and cost assumptions, then document the assumptions behind each scenario.

Day 3: Allocations and planning automation

• Allocation design principles and auditable driver selection
• Distributing shared costs by headcount, revenue and activity drivers
• Advanced formulas for planning calculations
• Data actions for repeatable planning logic
• Multi actions for sequenced planning processes
• Parameter prompts and user-controlled calculation runs
• Validation checks and exception handling for planning submissions

Workshop: Participants create a data action that allocates central service costs and a multi action that refreshes the scenario calculation sequence.

Day 4: Executive stories, workflow and governance

• Story design for board and executive planning decisions
• Planning tables, input controls and data-point comments
• Variance, trend and scenario comparison visualisations
• Linked analysis and filtering by entity, period and version
• SAP Analytics Cloud Calendar tasks and process ownership
• Review, approval and submission workflow design
• Planning controls, auditability and executive reporting standards

Workshop: Participants build an executive planning story and configure a planning calendar workflow for business-unit submission and review.

Day 5: Integrated executive planning application

• Connecting SAC planning to SAP S/4HANA actuals
• SAP Datasphere considerations for governed planning data
• Rolling forecasts and forecast refresh cadence
• Capital investment and strategic initiative scenario modelling
• Executive review packs and decision meeting preparation
• Planning operating model, roles and change adoption
• Use-case prioritisation and implementation roadmap development

Workshop: Participants complete and present an executive planning prototype with scenario outputs, governance workflow and a 90-day application roadmap.

Tools & standards covered

SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Datasphere, Microsoft Excel

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions