In Oracle Planning 2024’s Strategic Modeling module, balancing a model with a deficit involves adjusting funding options to ensure cash flow or balance sheet equilibrium. When there’s a deficit (e.g., insufficient cash), you can either increase inflows or decrease outflows. The two valid statements are:
A. You can decrease Preferred to balance the model: Incorrect. "Preferred" typically refers to preferred stock (an equity component), but decreasing it (e.g., reducing preferred equity) would not directly increase available funds to cover a deficit—it might even worsen it by reducing capital.
B. You can increase Debt or Equity to balance the model: Correct. Increasing Debt (e.g., issuing loans) or Equity (e.g., issuing stock) provides additional funds to cover a deficit, a common strategy in Strategic Modeling to balance cash needs.
C. You can decrease Dividends or Assets to balance the model: Correct. Decreasing Dividends reduces cash outflows, retaining more funds, while decreasing Assets (e.g., selling assets) generates cash inflows, both helping to balance the model.
D. You can increase Contra-Equity to balance the model: Incorrect. Contra-Equity (e.g., treasury stock) reduces total equity when increased (e.g., buying back shares), which decreases available funds, not helping to balance a deficit.
The Oracle documentation highlights that increasing Debt/Equity or decreasing Dividends/Assets are standard funding options in Strategic Modeling to address deficits, making B and C the correct statements.
References:
Oracle Planning 2024 Implementation Study Guide: "Balancing Models in Strategic Modeling" (docs.oracle.com, Published 2024-09-15).
Oracle EPM Cloud Documentation: "Funding Options in Strategic Scenarios" (docs.oracle.com, Published 2023-12-10, updated for 2024).
