Patent ID: 7657471
Filing Date: 2010-02-02
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method providing automatic control of a financial plan that is embodied in a set of logically linked electronic forward-looking financial statements, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: creating and storing a plurality of hierarchies, wherein the plurality of hierarchies include a business unit hierarchy and a functional unit hierarchy; creating and storing an electronic forward-looking profit and loss statement having a plurality of target spending amounts, an electronic forward-looking balance sheet associated with the forward-looking profit and loss statement, and an electronic forward-looking statement of cash flows associated with the forward-looking profit and loss statement and the forward-looking balance sheet; creating and storing one or more first logical links to link one or more lines of the forward-looking profit and loss statement to one or more corresponding lines of the forward-looking statement of cash flows; creating and storing one or more second logical links to link one or more lines of the forward-looking profit and loss statement and one or more lines of the forward-looking balance sheet to one or more corresponding lines of the forward-looking statement of cash flows, wherein lines of the forward-looking profit and loss statement correspond to at least one of an underlying organizational spending plan associated with the functional unit hierarchy; receiving a user input; associating the user input with a forward-looking statement selected from the group consisting of the forward-looking profit and loss statement, the forward-looking balance sheet and the forward-looking statement of cash flows, wherein associating includes updating the selected forward-looking statement; and automatically updating the corresponding lines of each of the forward-looking statements associated with the selected forward-looking statement and the plurality of hierarchies; receiving user input providing one or more updates to the set of financial statements in a private planning environment; receiving user input requesting to publish the set of financial statements from the private planning environment to a shared planning area; and publishing the set of electronic financial statements to the shared planning area only when one or more amounts in the set of financial statements being published satisfy one or more constraints in a related set of financial statements.