CMA PD Series:

Scenario Planning: Navigating Through Today’s Uncertain World

Management accountants plotting their professional future would be wise to begin by strengthening their scenario planning skills. Although scenario planning is far from the only process that management accountants will need to carry out 10 years from now, it qualifies as a defining organizational capability and a primary management accountant skill for the coming decade. Scenario planning encompasses most, if not all, of the major activities that will define the management accountant’s role in 2020.

Scenario planning provides a structured method for managers to evaluate alternative view of what may happen in the future as an aid to strategic, operational, and financial planning. It is largely focused on answering three questions:

· What could happen?
· What would be the impact?
· What are the implications for our organization?

For many organizations, scenario planning is now an integral part of their overall planning and risk-management processes.

Our upcoming CMA workshop will be an excellent introduction to this topic.