When it comes to financial reporting, most people think only of financial statements. These include the standards: the income statement (also known in some organizations as the “P&L” or “Profit and Loss Statement”) the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. These reports provide valuable insights into historical business results. And they are all critical indicators of a business’s financial results and even long term viability. But they aren’t enough. They meet the minimum requirements of many external reviewers of financial information – namely bankers and investors and they conform to accounting standards. But how useful are they in making business decisions?
There may be other standard reports that provide managers and teams with the insights they need to make decisions. But they generally must be delivered in as close to real time as possible and that may mean that they aren’t always 100% accurate (or reconciled to the bank account.
Consider these other sources of information:
- Financial Dashboards – look for online tools that show key business ratios, including financial and non-financial measures like Revenue per Square Foot, Cost per Employee, or Clicks Per Visit to the Website.
- Operational Reports – these generally come from systems that are outside of the core accounting application like point of sale systems, production management applications, or time and billing systems.
- Benchmarking Solutions – these systems often provide industry statistics that help organizational leaders compare their results to other similar businesses.
- Specialized Visual Reporting Solutions – tools like Microsoft’s Power BI provide built in tools that convert standard information into visual insights using maps, charts, interactive graphs and more. These tools make it easy to integrate financial information with operational details with automated connectors.
When it comes to reporting, the right solution should be dictated by the unique needs of your users, and should not be limited to the standard reports available in your core accounting application. Reports should be accessible to all those charged with driving results and available as close to real time as possible.
Today’s automated solutions make the task of converting data to insights far easier and more effective. We can help you discover the right tools for sharing information with everyone in your organization and beyond. Identifying the factors which impact your success is the first step.
