SP12: Manage service financials

 

Process name: Manage service financials - Part of: Supporting processes

Previous process: Manage suppliers

 

Process description

The service financial management process in YaSM (fig. 1) ensures that the required financial resources are available for setting up, improving and operating the service provider's range of services. In particular, this process is responsible for preparing the financial budget, which includes assessing and approving budget requests.

Fig. 1: 'Manage service financials':
YaSM financial management process SP12.

The financial management process also determines the cost of providing each service and monitors expenditures and revenues to perform a budget deviation analysis. The resulting financial reports will be used in various service management processes to identify opportunities for providing the services more economically.

Compatibility: YaSM contains a basic financial management process, which highlights the most important financial management activities related to the management of services and describes the interfaces with the other YaSM processes. This process is aligned with ISO 20000, the international standard for service management (see ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018, sections 5 and 8.4), and it corresponds to the practice of 'ITIL 4 service financial management'.

 

Sub-processes

YaSM's financial management process has the following sub-processes:

 

SP12.1: Maintain the financial management framework

Process objective: To define the necessary structures for the management of financial planning data and costs, as well as for the allocation of costs to services and service management processes.

SP12.2: Perform financial planning

Process objective: To determine the required financial resources over the next planning period, and to allocate those resources for optimum benefits.

SP12.3: Prepare financial reports

Process objective: To analyze the structure of service provisioning costs and evaluate the profitability of services. The resulting financial reports are an important input for optimizing the service provider's range of services.

SP12.4: Issue customer invoices

Process objective: To issue invoices for the provision of services to customers.

 

Process outputs

This section lists the documents and records produced by 'Manage service financials'. YaSM data objects [*] are marked with an asterisk, while other objects are displayed in gray.

 

Budget request

A budget request is typically issued to obtain funding for setting up, improving or operating a service or process. An approved budget request means that the required financial resources have been allocated by the financial manager. [*]

Cost data for service invoicing

The costs of providing a service, provided by the financial manager as a basis for determining how much a customer will be charged.

Customer invoice

An invoice issued by the service provider to a customer for the delivery of a service.

Financial budget

The financial budget is a financial plan, typically prepared on an annual basis, which provides a forecast of expected revenues and expenditures. [*]

Financial report

Financial reports are an important input for developing the service provider's strategy and devising initiatives to improve service economics. In particular, financial reports contain information on the costs of providing services and operating the service management processes. They also provide insight into the profitability of the different service offerings. [*]

Indirect cost allocation table

Indirect cost allocation tables are a method for dividing up costs which are shared across multiple cost centers (for example services). An indirect cost allocation table defines the rules for allocating such indirect costs to particular cost centers. [*]

Pricing scheme

A pricing scheme is the basis for calculating the price a customer is expected to pay for using a service. Pricing schemes are maintained by the financial manager and may be simple or more complex, especially if the price to be paid is tied to actual service usage or service quality. A description of the applicable pricing scheme is also part of the service agreements.

Project-related expenditure data

Once a budget has been approved for a project, the available financial resources are spent on product purchases, contracts with service providers, etc. The financial manager records project-related expenditure data. Based on this input, the project manager is able to track consumption of financial resources against the approved budget.

Specification of financial data categories

The specification of financial data categories lists and defines the various categories used to structure financial data in order to gain insight into the costs of service provisioning and service profitability. [*]

 

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Notes:

[*] "YaSM data objects" are those documents or records for which the YaSM model provides detailed recommendations: Every YaSM object has an associated checklist (see example) describing its typical contents, and an associated lifecycle diagram depicting how the status of the object changes as it is created, updated, read and archived by various YaSM processes (see example).

"Other objects" are mostly informal data or information where YaSM has less strong views about their contents. There are no associated lifecycle diagrams or checklists.

 

Process metrics

Process metrics are used, for example, to assess if the service management processes are running according to expectations.

For suggestions of suitable metrics, please refer to the list of metrics for the YaSM financial management process.

 

Roles and responsibilities

Process owner: Financial manager

• The financial manager is responsible for managing the service provider's budgeting, accounting and charging requirements.

 

Responsibility matrix: "SP12: Manage service financials"

YaSM role / sub-process		Financial manager	Steering group
SP12.1	Maintain the financial management framework	AR	-
SP12.2	Perform financial planning	AR	R
SP12.3	Prepare financial reports	AR	-
SP12.4	Issue customer invoices	AR	-

 

Notes

Is based on: The financial management process from the YaSM Process Map.

By:  Stefan Kempter   and  Andrea Kempter , IT Process Maps.

 

Process description  › Sub-processes  › Process outputs  › Metrics  › Roles