Written by Nils R. | Nov 14, 2020 8:00:00 AM
What is
a
Cash Flow Report with KPI Analysis
? Cash Flow variance reports are considered essential monthly financial analysis tools and are used by CFOs and analysts to review the items that drive their net cash flow. Some of the key functionality in this type of report is that it is parameter driven and it can be run for any period and business unit. The main metrics in the cash flow statement are also shown graphically on the top of the report, including: 1) Cash from operating activities, 2) Cash from investing activities, 3) Cash from financing activities. The yellow row below the charts provides an automatic narrative to simplify analysis. The lower section of the report shows a typical cash flow report layout, including black and red indicators for variances. You find an example of this type of report below.
Purpose of
Cash Flow Variance Reports Companies and organizations use Cash Flow Variance Reports to closely monitor the financial drivers of cash flow and variances from last year and budget. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) department, a company can improve its liquidity as well as reduce the chances that it runs into problems because cash flow issues are detected too late for preventative decision to be made.
Cash Flow Variance Report
Example Here is an example of a Cash Flow Variance Report with KPIs and automated narrative. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2000"]
Cash Flow Report Example with KPI Analysis[/caption] You can find hundreds of additional examples
here
Who Uses This Type of
Report
? The typical users of this type of report are: CFOs, Analysts and Executives.
Other
Report
s Often Used in Conjunction with
Cash Flow Variance Reports Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Departments sometimes use several different Cash Flow Variance Reports, along with trended cash flow statements, monthly Balance Sheets, KPI dashboards, trended P&Ls and cash flow forecasts and other management and control tools.
Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From? The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions.
What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards? Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:
- Native ERP report writers and query tools
- Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
- Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
- Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Cloud Solutions and More Examples
