When used effectively, enterprise performance management (EPM) software can integrate and consolidate all domains of base planning requirements, creating a single version of truth for the strategic plan (long-range plan), annual budget, and periodic and ad hoc forecasting.

But according to the 2025 AFP FP&A Benchmarking Survey, FP&A professionals are primarily using EPM tools for control and consolidation, not for advanced planning and forecasting.

Seventy-one percent of survey respondents said they have EPM tools, yet spreadsheets continue to prop up planning in the following ways:

• To prepare data for EPMs (82%)
• To bypass EPMs (57%)
• Used in conjunction with EPMs (85%)

Many FP&A teams are still manually pulling fragmented data into spreadsheets, reconciling inconsistent models and spending more time formatting reports than analyzing results. They are stuck in a tyranny of spreadsheets.

Challenges to EPM adoption 

What is preventing FP&A from realizing the full potential of EPM tools? The Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) FP&A Advisory Councils discussed numerous challenges with implementation and maintenance.

Disparate data

When data resides in different places, is from new sources or is otherwise not interoperable (e.g., finance data does not align with operational data), it leads to the use of multiple tools optimized for different purposes. “We are still not fully able to leverage the tools as there are still gaps with data,” said one Advisory Council member.

All software tools have an “export to spreadsheet” button that makes spreadsheets a common platform.

Static tools that don’t respond to changes in the business

One Advisory Council member explained, “They might have started working on an advanced tool and spent time developing it, but two years down the track, it has become such a watered-down tool that it has lost its value and now requires three times the amount of work” as originally planned.

In this scenario, people are either using spreadsheets to prop up the more sophisticated tool, or they are avoiding it because of the amount of extra work it requires.

Tools that aren’t designed for local teams

In some cases, EPM tools may be intended for corporate consolidations, not the needs of local teams. “We have a system that was developed internally many years ago. A lot of the budgets and references are rolled up to the European headquarters to help them report on balance sheets and cash flow aligned to the annual report,” said an Advisory Council member. “But we don’t do that for budgeting purposes. We can’t really use it locally for our day-to-day.”

Another Advisory Council member, speaking from a central office, agreed that “EPM tools may mainly serve HQ to get a complete picture of the company at the top level.”

Insufficient implementation

One Advisory Council member confessed they were too ambitious with their original EPM implementation plan. “We didn’t develop the tool as originally planned because we ran out of money, so we had to descope,” they said. “We haven’t been able to find the funding to change the models, and our original, centralized platform can’t cope, so the spreadsheets have taken over again.”

Learning curve

Another Advisory Council member explained that Excel remains widely used because it is a common language across the organization. “Everyone has a good grip on Excel,” he said, but not everyone is comfortable with EPM tools. Because many people have built up their spreadsheet skills over the years, switching to EPMs is akin to writing with their non-dominant hand — slower, more deliberate and a bit messier until they gain mastery.

Getting more from your EPM

Spreadsheets have their place, but they shouldn’t be doing the heavy lifting. So, what can FP&A professionals do to realize the full potential of their EPM tool?

Standardize data

Sixty percent of respondents to the 2025 FP&A Benchmarking Survey said they had challenges with reliable, accessible data. For companies making many acquisitions, data conversion and the need for standardized data definitions add another layer of complexity. Tools such as Alteryx and Power BI can be used for data translation and mapping, which can reduce reliance on Excel.

Manage costs

If costs are a challenge, look to see if there are hidden costs that can be reduced. “We realized that we spent too much money on our EPM tool, and that we were continually paying more for usage on the space,” said an Advisory Council member. “We canceled the requirement to calculate quarters, downloaded the information to Excel, added the months together there and saved almost 10% off the monthly subscription.”

Some tips that Advisory Council members shared regarding EPM costs include: 

• Talking to your providers about keeping costs down, as they are incentivized to stop you from leaving.
• Checking the number of licenses that you have and ensuring everyone who has one needs one.
• Ensuring you are not paying for EPM modules that you started but did not complete.

Provide training

One Advisory Council member emphasized the need for proper training and a clear demonstration of the return on investment from the EPM tool to improve usage. Once people understand the benefits of using the tool, they will be more motivated to leverage its capabilities.

While some would argue that spreadsheets are cost-effective because they are already part of the office suite, they do have hidden costs, such as formula mistakes and the need to rework poorly built models.

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