An Episode and Article in the EPM Intelligence Oracle AI World Series featuring Colton Bretschneider (EPM Solutions Engineer)
Key Takeaways
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Narrative Reporting streamlines executive reporting: Automated templates, embedded commentary, and AI-driven variance insights.
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Change management drives successful EPM adoption: Starting with focused use cases and quick wins builds confidence and enables scalable transformation.
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Oracle AI enhances planning and analysis: Built-in predictive and generative AI surface variances, summarize commentary, and accelerate insight without complex configuration.
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Hands-on learning accelerates ROI: Interactive workshops and self-service documentation empower teams to adopt advanced EPM capabilities with confidence.
Choosing Narrative Reporting: From Spreadsheet Chaos to Storytelling
Excel is second nature to accounting and finance professionals. But when spreadsheets become the database, workflow engine, reporting system, and version control tool, the complexity becomes a burden.
Many organizations find themselves asking “Is this the right number?”:
- Emailing hundreds of variance spreadsheets each month
- Copying and pasting data into presentation decks
- Reconciling multiple versions before executive meetings
- Spending more time assembling reports than analyzing them
Finance teams with Oracle Narrative Reporting teams ask “What story do these numbers tell?”:
- Automate report templates
- Maintain structured commentary
- Preserve audit trails and version control
- Leverage AI to summarize commentary and key insights
With generative AI summarization embedded in Oracle EPM, finance combines human judgment with machine insight and moves from compilation to communication.
The Real Challenge: Change Management In Finance
Technology adoption is rarely a system issue. It’s a people issue.
Colton emphasized that resistance to change is natural. Teams are comfortable with the processes they’ve built even if those processes are inefficient. Finance teams should be asking themselves, “are we simply replicating spreadsheets inside a new tool, or are we improving the process itself?”
Successful transformations start with focused, manageable scope.
Rather than attempting a full overhaul, EPMI guides customers to start small with:
- Driver-based planning in OPEX
- Automating variance analysis for one division
- Streamlining a monthly reporting package
- Piloting predictive forecasting in a test environment
These small wins demonstrate measurable value quickly.
Oracle Narrative Reporting ROI: Time, Trust, And Transparency
Month-end variance analysis is one of the most time-consuming cycles in finance.
Colton described a familiar scenario:
Smart View exports. Manual comment entry. Email chains. Hundreds of spreadsheets circulating for review.
With embedded generative AI, Oracle EPM now:
- Identifies material variances automatically
- Highlights anomalies and trends
- Summarizes commentary
- Directs analysts toward areas that require investigation
Processes that once took multiple days can be shortened significantly.
But ROI is more than time savings.
Organizations also gain:
- Stronger data integrity during executive reviews
- Full traceability back to source data
- Reduced version control risk
- Greater confidence in board-level discussions
When finance leaders trust their numbers, conversations shift from validation to strategy.
Scoping A Planning Implementation: Replicate Or Reinvent?
Most planning transformations begin with core financial statements:
- P&L forecasting
- Balance sheet forecasting
- Basic rolling forecasts
From there, expansion depends on business priorities.
Workforce planning is often the next logical step, particularly since headcount can represent 60% or more of operating expense. Others expand into project planning, capital planning, or deeper driver-based forecasting models.
Driver-based planning is where the real shift happens.
Instead of asking:
“What was the variance?”
Organizations can answer:
Was it price? Volume? Mix? What operational action should we take?
Ultimately, Finance becomes forward-looking instead of reactive.
Partner Success: Inside Oracle’s Hands-On Learning Sessions
Oracle offers many opportunities to learn the platform including hands-on learning sessions that move beyond passive demonstrations and into applied learning.
Colton has led dozens of these workshops across North America, creating immersive experiences where customers move beyond passive demos and into active application.
During these sessions, participants:
- Build interactive dashboards
- Create professionally formatted reports
- Perform consolidations and reconciliations
- Explore planning workflows and scenario modeling within the system
For more AI, EPM, and ERP hands-on learning sessions in Houston, visit our events page.
Oracle Customer Success Documentation and Self-Service
Oracle provides extensive documentation, test environments, and free tutorials that allow organizations to experiment safely.
Administrators can:
- Load Oracle-provided LCM files into test environments
- Follow structured configuration guides
- Pilot new features with specific business units
- Validate functionality before production rollout
This self-service approach lowers the barrier to innovation. Teams can test, learn, and build confidence before committing to broader change.
Combined with the right implementation partner, these resources help organizations move forward deliberately and strategically rather than reactively.
Hands-on learning with Oracle and EPMI at our Relaunch Event.
EPMI and customer panel at the Oracle’s Finance Forum
Choosing The Right Implementation Partner
At EPMI, we help organizations start with clear goals, unify their data, and empower leaders to make better business decisions using Oracle’s built-in AI and enterprise solutions.
FAQs
1. Do finance teams need to eliminate Excel when adopting Oracle EPM
No. Excel remains an important interface through Smart View. Users can work in Excel while data is governed in the EPM platform, which removes version control issues and manual consolidation.
2. Can I just lift and shift spreadsheets into the EPM planning tool?
A lift and shift approach recreates the same problems in a new system. Real value comes from redesigning the process with driver based models, governed data, and workflows that reduce manual effort and improve forecast accuracy.
3. Where do organizations typically start with planning?
Many start with profit and loss and balance sheet forecasting, then expand to workforce planning and other areas based on business priorities and impact.
4. How does Oracle Narrative Reporting improve the monthly operations review?
It automates the report package, centralizes commentary, and ties numbers back to source data. This shifts finance from assembling decks to analyzing performance and explaining variances.
5. How does EPM improve variance analysis?
Generative AI can highlight key variances and summarize commentary, allowing finance teams to focus on root cause analysis instead of manually compiling explanations.
Watch the AI World Series on YouTube!