Another test of your reporting package is, how easy is it for the user to navigate through it in soft copy?

Often times, that’s not the case. Too many times I see spreadsheets that are organized more like Egyptian scrolls. You have to scroll way down to the bottom and then you have to scroll way across. That’s a lot of work for the user and makes it harder to find things.

A much better way is to break it down into pieces. I prefer to see the reporting package broken out into individual sheets, such as:

1. Balance sheet.

2. Profit and loss.

3. Cash flow.

4. Supplemental sheets or whatever different groupings you might have. These could include:

1. Product line.

2. Revenues.

3. Divisions.

4. Territory.

5. Departments.

You might also have other sheets up in front, such as a narrative sheet and what I like to see is a good summary sheet that puts all key information right onto one particular page. So in that one page snapshot, somebody can get a pretty complete view at a high level on what has been going on.

This makes it much easier for the user. They want to find something on cash flow; they go right to the cash flow sheet. Looking for something on departmental expense variance, they could go right to the sheet for that department. No having to scroll around and fish around trying to find where that information might be.

Take a look at your reporting package. Does it look more like an Egyptian scroll or is it broken down into nice pieces that are easy to follow and navigate for your reader? If it’s the former, time to break it up and take advantage of the presentation capabilities that Excel can offer.

Jon Paul, MBA, CPA, CMC, CM&AA

President, Value Added Finance Resources
Bringing new insights on results and maximizing company value