Control principle: technical validity is not the same as accounting accuracy. FP&A reconciles dashboard output to approved source controls before relying on it for management analysis.
How to read this register
The left-hand block defines the process step, output/control, activity type and prototype boundary. The right-hand block is a deliberately distinct RACI Matrix, making ownership and hand-offs visible for every process step.
Design principle: every step has populated R, A, C and I roles, and roles are not duplicated across R/A/C within the same step.
RACI Matrix
RResponsiblePerforms the activity
AAccountableOwns the outcome
CConsultedProvides input / challenge
IInformedKept appropriately informed
| Process Definition & Control | RACI Matrix | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step | Phase | Process lane | Activity | Primary output / control | Type | Prototype boundary / note | R · Responsible | A · Accountable | C · Consulted | I · Informed |
| 1 | Close & release | General Ledger / R2R | Complete the close and post approved adjustments. | Closed reporting period. | Human | Assumes the close and adjustment approval process exists outside this prototype. | GL/R2R team | GL/R2R lead | CC Budget Holder FP&A Manager ERP Technical Support | FP&A team |
| 2 | Close & release | General Ledger / R2R | Release final actuals and approved source row count / control totals. | Controlled source baseline for reconciliation. | Human control | The dashboard does not source actuals directly from the GL. | GL/R2R team | GL/R2R lead | ERP Technical Support | FP&A team |
| 3 | Prepare data | FP&A Manager | Extract cost-centre, GL and optional headcount data from the approved source. | Monthly source extract. | Human | Live ERP/EPM extraction is not demonstrated. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | ERP Technical Support | not required |
| 4 | Prepare data | FP&A Manager | Check completeness, mappings, sign convention, row count and control totals; prepare the monthly CSV. | Controlled CSV ready for upload. | Human control | This is the main preventative finance control before upload. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | Finance Systems Support | not required |
| 5 | Load & check | FP&A Manager | Upload the controlled monthly CSV to the HTML dashboard. | Input submitted for technical processing. | Human | The file remains local to the browser in the current self-contained prototype. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | Finance Systems Support | not required |
| 6 | Load & check | HTML FP&A Dashboard | Require Department, Cost Category, current-year cost and prior-year cost; parse valid numeric rows and reject an unusable file. | Technically usable in-memory dataset. | Automated control | Optional GL, Account, Category Short and headcount fields enrich the output. Individual invalid rows can be skipped, so FP&A must check row count. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | Finance Systems Support | not required |
| 7 | Reconcile & analyse | HTML FP&A Dashboard | Calculate selected-view cost, YoY £/% movement and headcount metrics; render KPIs, charts, waterfall, heatmap, GL drivers and rule-based narrative. | Calculated and visualised management view. | Automated | Narrative is deterministic JavaScript, not live generative AI. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | Finance Systems Support | not required |
| 8 | Reconcile & analyse | FP&A Manager | Reconcile loaded row count, totals and representative drill-downs to approved source controls. | Finance reconciliation passed before analysis. | Human control | A technical upload success does not prove accounting accuracy or completeness. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | Finance Systems Support | not required |
| 9 | Explain & challenge | FP&A Manager | Use filters, driver sort and presentation lens to investigate material movements and form initial hypotheses. | Prioritised driver questions. | Human judgement | The dashboard refreshes the selected views; FP&A interprets them. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | GL/R2R Team | not required |
| 10 | Explain & challenge | Cost-centre Budget Holder | Explain material movements and provide operational evidence. | Evidence-based explanation of volume, price, timing, headcount, scope and one-offs. | Human judgement | The dashboard cannot verify the operational explanation. | CC Budget Holder | Budget owner | GL/R2R Team | FP&A Lead |
| 11 | Finalise story | FP&A Manager | Challenge explanations and assess forecast, risk and decision implications. | Validated management interpretation and decision request. | Human judgement | Requires finance and commercial context outside the source file. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | CC Budget Holder | CFO / Finance Leadership |
| 12 | Finalise story | Cost-centre Budget Holder | Agree actions, named owners and due dates with FP&A. | Accountable action set. | Human approval | Action workflow is external to the current prototype. | CC Budget Holder | Budget owner | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead |
| 13 | Review & decide | FP&A Manager | Finalise the reviewed management story, risks, actions and decisions required; use Print / PDF for presentation output. | Decision-focused management pack / PDF. | Human control | The dashboard supports browser printing; a formally controlled pack-production workflow is not demonstrated. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | CC Budget Holder | CFO / Finance Leadership |
| 14 | Review & decide | CFO / Finance Leadership | Review the story, challenge priorities, and decide or approve actions. | Confirmed decisions, ownership and escalation. | Human decision | No automated approval or autonomous decision-making is implied. | CFO / Finance Leadership | FP&A Manager | GL/R2R Team CC Budget Holder | FP&A Lead |
| 15 | Follow through | FP&A Manager | Record decisions and actions; update forecast or external action tracker; carry open items into the next cycle. | Closed management loop and updated forward view. | Human | Forecast update and action tracking sit outside the current dashboard. | FP&A Manager | FP&A Lead | CFO / Finance Leadership | CC Budget Holder |
Source: approved portfolio process definition and RACI supporting the current FP&A dashboard prototype.