Case Study: EF Education First achieves optimized global program delivery and faster, more accurate financial planning with IBM Planning Analytics

Optimizing delivery of global educational programs with deeper insight into company finances

EF Education First, a global provider of language and educational programs, struggled to manage highly variable costs across countries and thousands of staff using decentralized spreadsheets (at one point 250 spreadsheets in a division). To gain consistency in budgeting, data collection and pricing, EF turned to IBM and deployed IBM Planning Analytics (formerly IBM Cognos TM1) to replace manual processes and standardize calculations.

Working with IBM (and partner Attollo AB), EF rolled out IBM Planning Analytics across multiple divisions to build consolidated P&Ls, role-based templates and cross-allocation logic, and to begin scenario modeling. The solution now supports about 800 users (with a team of four able to support that user base), has improved data quality and top-down standardization, and is estimated to save each financial controller roughly two weeks per reporting cycle—enabling faster, more accurate pricing decisions and better strategic analysis.

EF Education First

Olivier Bonomini

Head of Business Engineering