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Publisher financial planning. Liz Ferguson Associate Publishing Director Wiley-Blackwell liz.ferguson@wiley.com. Outline. Annual planning cycles Fiscal (corporate) Calendar (title/society level) Performance targets and monitoring Three planning case studies Backlist pricing
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Publisher financial planning Liz Ferguson Associate Publishing Director Wiley-Blackwell liz.ferguson@wiley.com
Outline • Annual planning cycles • Fiscal (corporate) • Calendar (title/society level) • Performance targets and monitoring • Three planning case studies • Backlist pricing • New journals • Society contracts
Context • 1500 journals • 700 society relationships • Diverse revenue streams • New products • Emerging business models
Fiscal planning and reporting • Monthly management accounts • Quarterly projections • Quarterly full year re-forecasts • Year-end • Earnings releases to stock market • 3-year strategic plans
The 3-year strategic plan • Aligned with business objectives • High-level backlist assumptions • (Society) contract targets • Acquisitions • New initiatives
Society planning and reporting • Monthly income reports • Annual accounts • Budgets and forecasts • Pricing discussions • Scenario planning
External monitoring • Society audits • Stock market and stakeholders • Audit • SOXA compliance
Performance targets • Annual growth expectations • publisher circumstance • product type and market • New business versus backlist • Diversification of revenue streams • Management of external costs • Contingency planning • Operations and cost structure
Principles of list pricing • Societies have ultimate decision making responsibility • Increases to be within reasonable range • Base rate increases should preserve the value of licensed arrangements • When possible, support growth and development of journals
List pricing factors • External market conditions • Internal growth expectations • Society expectations • Impact of licensed deals • Historical commitments or plans • Current price points and sensitivities
Management of list pricing • Global exercise at business unit level • Process begins in February • Consultation process on society titles finishes end May • Pricing of owned journals begins and ends in June
Understanding the pressures • Then • Sales people talk with librarians • Editorial staff talk with societies • Now • Editorial staff (and societies through us) attend meetings with librarians • Sales people attend meetings with societies
New journals • Increasing research output • Intellectual strength • Maintaining and growing market position • Support from the community • Internal support
Supporting new journals • Major investment over 10 years • Editorial strength costs • Marketing costs • ‘Free’ for 2 years
Evolutionary Applications • Online only • ISI-indexed in first year • Endorsed by two international societies • High usage • ALPSP Best New Journal 2009
New society contracts • Highly competitive • Services matter, financial offer usually critical • Structure of financial plans vary hugely • Projections vary widely
Financial requirements • Some specify parameters • Nature of arrangement • Editorial stipends • Signing bonuses • Guaranteed income
Financial offer • Business plan prepared by commissioning editor • Revenues • Costs • Structure of offer • Marketing and sales involved • Commercial finance review • Authorisation required
Conclusion • Reporting never ends • Planning involves many business functions • Complexity is increasing • External stakeholders have a strong voice