Written by Nils R. | Dec 5, 2021 8:00:00 AM
How can
Financial Dashboard
s Drive Faster and Better Decisions? As CFOs increasingly become key players in the enhancement of the Monthly Reporting Process, they must rely on modern self-service corporate performance management (CPM) and business intelligence (BI) tools. Using interactive Financial Dashboards like the KPIs with Trends and Variances template shown below enables them and users from the leadership team to experience near real time KPI analysis that help drive faster and better decisions.
Who uses
KPI Dashboards with Trends and Variances
and What are Some Key Analytical Features? In today’s fast-paced business environment, CFOs are under high pressure to supply end users like board members and executives with timely and concise Financial Dashboards. Companies use key features like the ones below to support their users with effective analysis that helps drive faster and better decisions.
- KPIs with color indicators based on comparison to budget or last year actuals
- Comparative column charts for year-to-date (YTD) results
- Trend analysis for profitability KPIs
The KPI Dashboard with Trends and Variances template can be used as a key element of the Monthly Reporting process: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2560"]
Example of a KPI Dashboard with Trends and Variances to Streamline the Monthly Reporting Process[/caption] The KPI Dashboard with Trends and Variances is a ready-to-use Financial Dashboard from the
Solver Marketplace
A Brief Description of the
KPI Dashboard with Trends and Variances
Template Financial Dashboards like the one seen in the image above are interactive and parameter driven and typically contain sections with charts and indicators for Current Ratio, Debt to Asset, Debt to Equity, Gross Profit, EBITDA and Net Profit KPIs. One of the important features that aid the user in the analysis process is the ability to select parameters such as year, period and company and immediately see charts update with analysis. KPI Dashboards with Trends and Variances are often used in conjunction with profit & loss and balance sheet dashboards and reports.
Data Integration to Transaction Systems Most organizations these days want automated and streamlined
planning,
reporting and
analysis. However, many of the benefits described earlier rely on best of breed Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools and/or Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities as well as data marts or data warehouses that use pre-built integrations to the organization’s ERP system. Oftentimes, they also need integrations to other key data sources like CRM, subscription systems, payroll tools, etc. Modern, cloud-based ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance (D365 Finance), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Netsuite and SAP have robust APIs which allow for dynamic integrations to CPM and BI tools that are fully automated and flexible to run on a schedule or on-demand.
Additional Resources to Aid with Research of Templates, CPM and BI Tools
- Templates from Solver that are pre-built and that work out-of-the-box using the Solver CPM cloud. Click here.
- Template examples: You find more than 500 CPM and BI Template examples here.
- Interactive Dashboard examples: Try Power BI dashboard templates from Solver here.
- Software evaluation and selection:
- Creating efficient processes:
