From 4 hours to 40 seconds: Fast, consistent FP&A at Leipziger Stadtwerke

Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH is a leading energy supplier and wholesaler in Germany, providing electricity, natural gas, district heating, and energy services. As a major municipal utility, it serves a wide range of end-customer markets, regulated markets, and the system market through seven business units.

Overcoming data complexity and time-consuming processes

In a volatile market, Leipziger Stadtwerke encountered multiple challenges in corporate and financial planning. Economic planning, intra-year forecasting, and annual financial statement preparation were particularly time-intensive due to:

• Data consolidation: Sourcing planning data from multiple systems led to delays and a heavy reliance on manual work.
• Consistency in financial statements: Ensuring depreciation, provisions, and accruals were consistently represented in financial statements was difficult.
• Error-prone coordination: Collaboration between controlling and accounting teams was time-consuming and error-prone.
• Lengthy financial statement preparation: Unbundling statements for utilities required extensive manual steps, consuming several hours.

Walter Andreß, Head of Controlling and Commercial Management, explains more:

“Our basic requirement was to produce a commercially consistent view of depreciation, provisions, and special items, along with solid intercompany reconciliation for the income statement and balance sheet. It’s essential that data remains consistent and accurate to make informed decisions.”

Selecting Board for user-friendly, automated planning

Leipziger Stadtwerke conducted a thorough selection process, inviting vendors to showcase their platforms in a proof of concept (PoC). Walter Andreß notes:

“We needed to understand how each platform functioned in real-world applications and ensure user-friendliness to support team adoption.”

Ultimately, Leipziger Stadtwerke chose Board, the Enterprise Planning Platform, for its automation capabilities and ease of use. The first project phase prioritized volume forecasting for electricity and gas, as it directly impacts procurement. “High-quality planning here provides immediate benefits,” notes Walter.

The project was a collaborative effort between Leipziger Stadtwerke’s project team and Board consultants. Weekly meetings ensured steady progress, while power users at Leipziger Stadtwerke led internal development to tailor the solution to specific requirements.

Empowering teams with automation and self-sufficient planning

To manage the complex demands of economic and financial planning for an energy provider, the platform needed to support more than traditional revenue and margin accounting. The solution was designed to handle regulatory revenue caps, renewable energy project management, and investment planning with profitability analysis, as well as planning for personnel, contracting, and midstream business. Walter explains:

“Our objective was to achieve high automation with full user control. Clear validation rules and customizable interfaces let our teams manage nearly all settings independently, which is a huge advantage for bridging business and IT perspectives.”

Delivering top results: speed, accuracy, and strategic agility

Implementing the Board platform has transformed Leipziger Stadtwerke’s planning processes, providing agility, consistency, and efficiency across the organization:

• Significant time savings: Financial statement calculations now take only 40 seconds, down from four hours, enabling rapid scenario testing and adjustments, such as comparing different depreciation rules.
• Reduced error rates: Automation has minimized errors, with business users able to integrate calculation logic directly, enhancing accountability across departments.
• Consistent, transparent data: Centralized data management gives all departments access to synchronized, up-to-date information, improving collaboration and transparency.

Walter Andreß summarizes this benefit:

“From 4 hours to 40 seconds to calculate financial statements—that’s the impact Board has made for us. We can now perform multiple calculations and quickly correct errors until everything is accurate.”

Thanks to its high automation and flexibility, Leipziger Stadtwerke can adapt swiftly to market changes, ensuring its planning is continuously aligned with current needs. Walter concludes:

“The cost explosion in the energy market due to external factors, such as the war in Ukraine , cannot be predicted. But, with our planning in place, we’re equipped to rapidly react to any unpredictable event.”