Understanding the financial aspects of your business, no matter what industry you work in, is extremely important, but can also be very difficult. More often than not, organizations diligently deliver the numbers, but rarely manage to leverage them into the basis of further business strategies.

You probably receive regular reports on the company’s activities, but understanding the specifics of financial data can be hard to comprehend. Financial reports are a must for the healthy unfolding of daily activities, but growth can only happen if everyone in the management body thoroughly understands what those numbers mean. That is why you should be able to leverage that knowledge and use the information to improve results. Fortunately, BI tools, and financial dashboards, in particular, are a lifesaver when it comes to transforming data into actionable decisions that can influence the success of your company.

BI dashboards are reports that illustrate key pieces of data in a graphical format, easy to understand by everyone in the company, regardless of their background.

So here is why dashboards matter for proper reporting and analysis:

Dashboards facilitate data visualization

Through financial dashboards, the decision makes, such as financial analysts or managers, can dig deeper into the performance of the company and actually see results, using various graphs and visual representations. This makes it easier for everyone involved both in strategical and operational areas to establish the best course of action. Large amounts of information can be processed using a performing Business Intelligence solution, and due to the visualization feature, you can display vast volumes of complex data. The interface offers multiple display options and is user-friendly, even for non-technical users.

Numbers can tell the story of your company

By definition, the financial aspect of a business is defined by numbers. However, to make the best out of numeric data, the analysis requires the use of words as well. These will tell the story of your business, highlight important aspects that must not be overlooked and clear out things for those who might not be very math savvy.
Through comprehensive dashboards, you can highlight meaningful variances in your budgets. This kind of analysis means more than identifying trends: it is the key to success in building the correct strategy for your organization. You want everybody in the management, regardless of their department, to understand the factors that lead to a higher or lower profit margin, and you need employees to understand what they must do to deliver better results in the next months.
Financial dashboards encourage storytelling and help you understand or explain the monetary side of your team’s work.

Reports bring everybody on the same page

A proper dashboard will manage to bring everybody in the room on the same page as far as understanding financial data is concerned. Normally, people who have access to an organization’s financial information come from diverse departments and have different backgrounds, which is why finding alignment with all the mindsets might be hard.
That is why it is important to present the information and relevant KPIs in a universal language, which can bring common ground to the conversation. And what better language can bring equality to the table, other than the visual one? Dashboards will transmit the same message to each person in the room and this will definitely help build a unified perspective. Having the same level of understanding, people will be able to engage in constructive conversations, exchange ideas and come up with solutions for the greater good: your business’ development.

Visualization is customizable, to fit your company’s needs

The best thing about custom BI solutions is that they allow you to personalize your visualization and reports, to make them specific to your company. Each organization is different because it has its particularities in terms of finances, depending on size, industry or objectives. Fortunately, you can customize your reports however you want, using any type of graphical representation you consider appealing to tell the story of your company’s data. And if you want to send a unitary message, you can even brand the reports.

The financial dashboard encompasses all the relevant KPIs decision-makers must keep in mind when planning for the future. Visualization tools are maybe the most important part of data analysis because an inclusive report will shed light on some of the most complicated aspects of your business.