Posted by D&V Philippines
Jun 28, 2016
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Business Intelligence addresses many issues that companies face today in terms of organising data and extracting value from it. All divisions of an organisation can benefit from business intelligence, but the department which can benefit most from it is Finance. Being the core of the business’s financial activities, BI can help optimise all the functions of the finance department, maximising accuracy and profitability. Here are certain BI capabilities which makes it a perfect tool for your Finance department:
1. Financial Data Consolidation and Comparison
“Three-quarters of financial professionals struggle to collect data from multiple sources and perform the analyses required to answer questions about corporate financial performance,” according to a survey by data warehousing and analytics company Teradata. One of the main goals of Business Intelligence is to address this issue by providing a consolidated view of financial information from various sources. This helps finance professionals have an integrative approach on making more informed decisions to improve operational and financial planning, as well as budgeting.
2. Process Improvement
Business Intelligence tools can improve many processes, but cash collection would be one of the most important for finance and accounting. With BI tools, finance professionals can get a clear idea on how long it takes for the company to collect money from the time that a quote or proposal was sent to a client, and the reasons for the time it took. This will help determine what happens in between and what can be done to accelerate to the phase of cash collection.
3. Real-time Analysis
Finance heads do not need to wait for month-end reports to analyse cash flow. Business intelligence can generate a current overview of a company’s financial standing, helping key decision makers spot any discrepancies in financial reports as they happen. This will greatly improve the data in the final balance sheet and profit & loss statements.
4. Accurate Forecasting
BI tools can provide the finance team with an accurate snapshot of the company’s historical sales patterns. This eliminates the guesswork in forecasting revenues, sales, and future customers. Accurate data equates to less risks involved, enabling the company to optimise procurement and distribution, and offer the right products at the right time to the right market.
5. Clarity of Reports
Reporting should be clear and easily understandable, or else, it would be pointless. Most business intelligence tools provide colourful visualizations that are simplified enough to be understood by non-technical readers. Trends can easily be spotted and forecasts can be easily drawn, stimulating a lot of actionable insights across an organisation that wasn’t possible before this technology. Clear and comprehensible reports pave the way for maximum profitability.
From consolidation to real-time overview of financial information, business intelligence leads to more accurate forecasts which ultimately improves the company’s bottom line. Having intelligible visualizations is an added bonus to amplify its core capabilities even more. Business Intelligence tools allow you to get more things done in less time than your traditional finance processes; there’s no excuse now for costly errors and unsystematic methods.
Ready to simplify your finance processes and improve your company’s bottom line? Learn more about our Business Intelligence services by getting in touch with us now!
