Just because a number’s calculated doesn’t mean it should be. Sure, there are certain things you have to do for the financial statement, but what about numbers for dashboards or other supplemental management reports. This is a good question to ask about any particular number.

So what?

So what will you do differently as a result of seeing the number? Will any action really be taken? What if the number’s two or three times what it is? What if the number is half? Will any of these lead to any changes?

If not, maybe it’s a number that shouldn’t be calculated.

Perhaps, there’s a better number that should be put in its place.

Let me use an example from the personal side. I know somebody who has a booklet in his car and he records the gallons of gas and the miles per gallon for each tank of gas. He takes a minute or two to pull that out, put it down and put it back in the glove compartment of his car, after each fill-up.

So, what is he going to do with that information? Is he going to drive any differently or go get it checked out? Is there really much he can do if the miles per gallon suddenly climb two miles per gallon or falls down two miles per gallon? If the number is down, is he going to start driving a bit slower? If it is up, will he feel like he can lay down a little rubber and speed ahead?

In this case, there really wasn’t going to be anything different being done. So, he would be better off not even bothering calculating the number. Or, perhaps, if it’s a number that you just want to make sure it doesn’t fall out of range, perhaps, either you could have an exception report or, maybe there might be a gauge and you can tell whether it gets to far out of line. Going back to the gas example, many vehicles will offer a digital readout of the miles per gallon since you’ve last reset the meter, so you can tell tank full by tank full how many miles per gallon you’re getting without having to go through some manual effort.

So anytime you’re calculating some supplemental numbers and making them part of your report ask, "So what?" You might find your reports can get a little skinner, without hurting your performance.