Is your reporting all it can be? Are you sure you're serving your own needs and those of top management in the best way possible?

One of the biggest mistakes we see is burying bosses with tons of data. That wastes their time and yours, and we guarantee, they won't read it all!

Remember, as busy as you are, they are perhaps moreso! So it's your job to filter what you give to them - only what's most critical and what they want.

So what should you do?

Questions to Ask...
For guidance on this topic, we turn to the Hackett Group's "Finance Metric of the Month," in which they offer seven "self evaluation questions" to ask about your financial reporting.

1. 1. 1. Is the information you report standardized (e.g., common data definitions)?
      2. Has unnecessary complexity been taken out of the data preparation process?
      3. Do analysts spend more time compiling data than interpreting it and providing actionable insight?
      4. Are reports relevant for decision making, forward looking and action-oriented?
      5. Is information timely, relevant and reliable?
      6. Are there sufficient automation and self-service capabilities? (In other words, can top management easily drill down in the data on their own if they want?)
      7. Is sharing of consistent information across the enterprise enabled?

How many of these do you follow?

To do this properly takes some real thought. Chances are, you're missing something in one or more of these practices.

And if so, pick just one today and get to work improving both what and how you track and report your performance!