How can companies use historical trend analysis and industry benchmarking?
Businesses can utilize both processes to monitor performance, develop plans, adapt to change in a timely fashion and identify potential business risks. We operate in a fast-paced environment and both historical trend analysis and industry benchmarking provide management and those charged with corporate governance an overview of how the business is performing as a whole. Key business decisions are made on a regular basis inclusive of process improvement, staffing requirements and technology upgrades. Trend analysis and benchmarking provide the opportunity to measure the impact of those decisions that were rendered. Historical financial trends provide a perspective on what the company may have looked like in terms of cost structure and staffing needs at certain revenue levels. This data provides the opportunity to go back to a period when the company was at certain revenue levels, quantify the number of full-time equivalents and make adjustments based on today’s numbers. Companies may al
