Category: Benchmarking Project

The finance function—which can include general accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budget and analysis, cost accounting, financial reporting, payroll, internal controls, treasury, and more—is evolving. In the past, the finance function focused mostly on historical transactional financial reporting such as the balance sheet or profit and loss statements. But the role that the finance department plays in banks is changing. The work is becoming more complex, in part due to regulatory burdens and complex business models. Banks increasingly view the finance function as a true partner to the CEO and…

In our last article, we laid out the four steps for defining and performing a competitive benchmarking analysis project for your company, to see how it stacks up against its peers along the metrics you select.

In this article, we're going to go one step further and put all that work… to work. If your benchmarking effort is ever going to deliver tangible business benefits, now is the time.

It’s not quite as easy as 1, 2, 3, but we’re still going to present it that way.

If you’ve read our first two Benchmarking 101 articles, then you 1) know what competitive benchmarking is, and 2) you know a few competitive benchmarking best practices to follow.

In this article, we’re going to give you a handy step-by-step guide for performing a competitive benchmarking analysis on your business (or any business). Let's get started!

In our last article, we defined what competitive benchmarking in business is and even provided you with a few examples of benchmarking analysis to boot. this article, however, will look into what competitive benchmarking projects actually do, and a few examples of benchmarking best practices to help you get started on your own benchmarking analysis. Just as we’d posted an article showing that KPIs aren’t a magic bullet, neither is benchmarking. It’s a tool in your kit. Use it properly, and it can yield great results.

No, competitive benchmarking is not what a pigeon does to that nice place where you’d wanted to sit in the park. It’s simply the process of comparing your company to others.

In this article, we’re going to explain the different types of competitive benchmarking in business, and tell you a cool, real-world story of competitive benchmarking in action. With the knowledge gained therein, you'll be able to arm yourself with the ability to competitively benchmark your company against others, and thus determine what and where improvements are called for.