Preparation/support of integrated financial planning

When founding and growing a company, it makes business sense to draw up an individual business plan that reflects the business model and the underlying strategy as well as the planned operational business processes as a whole in figures. Integrated financial planning should be drawn up regularly for this purpose. This bundles the individual sub-plans for production, sales, personnel. Investment, financing and administrative costs into three meaningful and coordinated evaluations: Plan profit and loss account, plan liquidity account and plan balance sheet. From these, in turn, individual key figures can be reliably derived for the management of the company or for the financial rating. By comparing the planned and actual evaluations, deviations from the plan can be analyzed in detail and conclusions drawn as to the causes, which are important for the management of the company and for financial communication with stakeholders. 

For large corporations, integrated financial planning is mandatory and subject to reporting requirements under Section 91 of the German Stock Corporation Act and the provisions of the Corporate Governance Code. For companies that meet the size criteria for medium-sized and large companies, integrated financial planning must also be applied analogously via the mandatory risk management system.

The going concern regulations under commercial law apply to all companies for the positive going concern forecast in accordance with Section 252 (2) HGB, which is a prerequisite for maintaining accounting at going concern values. According to case law, integrated financial planning with a planning horizon of at least 24 months is also mandatory here. Furthermore, integrated financial planning is mandatory for the assessment of illiquidity under insolvency law and is therefore one of the most important assessment tools for a company in crisis, restructuring or insolvency (KSI).

In a business valuation, the future periodic payment surpluses must also be determined on the basis of a fully integrated financial plan.

Since 2021, all companies with a limited liability legal form have been obliged to set up a risk management system for the financial area in accordance with Section 1 of the Stability and Restructuring Act (StaRUG). The regulation means that the existing regulations for large and medium-sized companies must now also be applied by all limited liability companies regardless of their size. The regulation is also subject to penalties if it is established in the course of an insolvency that the management has not drawn up an integrated financial plan. The provisions applicable to the delay in filing for insolvency then apply accordingly.

The above overview illustrates the importance of integrated financial planning not only from a legal perspective, but also in particular as a business necessity for responsible corporate management. Experience has shown that the benefits of fully integrated financial planning can also be seen in the possibility of extended, comprehensible financial communication, e.g. to achieve a better rating with Creditreform.

Our specialized and CVA-certified employees have many years of experience in the preparation of integrated financial plans of varying complexity and their application for financial company analysis, rolling corporate planning, company valuation as well as the assessment and plausibility checks of going concern forecasts and the appropriateness of risk management systems in accordance with corporate governance regulations and, last but not least, for the preparation of integrated financial plans adapted to the respective size of the company for small and medium-sized enterprises with limited liability (SME consulting).

Since 2008, we have been cooperating with colleagues from the EACVA association through a regular exchange of experience, joint consulting projects and regular use of the association's training opportunities. We also have the opportunity to use a special cloud-based software program for the preparation of integrated financial plans for our clients. 

Would you like to outsource the preparation of your integrated financial planning or are you looking for advisory support in setting up integrated financial planning in your company? Or do you have questions about the general structure and process of rolling integrated financial planning and its application for your risk management or improving your credit rating? Get in touch with us. We will be happy to make you an individual offer.