No matter if you work at a large corporation, a small independent business, or a non-profit, if you have a reasonably functioning finance office, then you will probably be generating (at least) quarterly reports. However, while generating these reports is standard, actually comprehending these reports is a different matter. This is why financial dashboards matter. A financial dashboard illustrates key pieces of data, often in a graphical format. These dashboards open the door for a more collaborative environment in which easy-to-interpret data is more readily shared and can be accessed by anyone with permission to view the dashboard.
Why Does a Financial Dashboard for Reporting Matter?
Dashboards encourage storytelling.
Thoughtful financial analysis requires as many words as numbers and teams need to be able to explain variances in numbers and then determine appropriate action. The goal is to visualize numbers prompts questions (such as “Why did we bring in less revenue than projected this quarter?”) that then initiate practical conversations.
Dashboards ensure shared financial comprehension and engagement.
Dashboards create a common language between members of a company, allowing those who have less experience with financial vocabulary to communicate with those who are inclined to pore over the financials. Financial statement dashboards also work as a reminder of the level of information that everyone is expected to be familiar with.
Dashboards define measures of success.
The process of developing a dashboard for financial reporting forces leaders of a firm or organization to make choices about what they see as the firm’s priorities and measures of success. After all, you can’t pay attention to everything all the time; developing the dashboard report in a thoughtful and inclusive way is essential for the tool to be accepted and used by decision-makers across the organization. Working through the process of developing a dashboard ensures that everyone is aware of what the current priorities and measures of success are.
Over the past ten years, dashboards for financial reporting have emerged as a “best practice” for financial management. But many people are still wondering “why financial dashboards matter”? But, if financial reporting feels like an administrative, horrifying exercise at your firm, then a dashboard may be just the thing to energize internal discussions around finances.
With Kepion, your business can build rich dashboards and scorecards that everyone in your organization can use. Important in today’s business environment, this system offers complete integration into financial and non-financial data, allowing you to always have a real-time pulse of your company’s complete financial performance. Since Kepion is built on the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform, users can take advantage of drill-down features for deep analysis of their business. In addition, users of Excel PivotTables can also connect easily to Kepion data models for conducting their own analysis.
Get a demo of Kepion today to see how our dashboarding and financial planning solutions can help your business.