Does Your Financial Reporting Package Resemble an Encyclopedia?
WHY HAVE AN ENCYCLOPEDIA THAT NOBODY GOES THROUGH!
I believe numbers need to be communicated in a way that people can understand.
How long does it take someone to figure out how your company did?
Here are some of my tips to quick understandibility:
- More is less. I have run into some thick reporting packages working with clients. People only have so much time. I prefer to cut the package down to a more manageable level.
- We love the one page summary, with the key data reported right on the sheet. Even if this is all that your reader sees, they can get the gist of how you did.
- What non-financial metrics tell you whether your business has done well or not? They should be there in your package. Some financial reporting packages are very accounting driven and miss an opportunity by not reporting the non-financial measures that really tell a lot too.
- A picture can tell a 1,000 words. A few good charts can go a long way to get your results across. Some people just get it better from charts. Charts also allow you to show correlations that can't show up as easily from straight numbers alone.
- How easily can a reader find their way around the package? Consider your overall visual layout. What is the reader likely to see? Is too much crammed in?
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