Financial planning & analysis empower businesses to utilise their collated financial data to make well-informed decisions, for their present and future success.

Ideally, financial officers should focus on analysing and interpreting financial information to offer valuable insights to stakeholders. However, many finance teams find themselves impeded by the time-consuming task of data collection and consolidation.

In this article, Infinitus Reporting Solutions, the provider of a top-tier reporting and planning software solution, Finnivo, outlines the four phases of a typical financial reporting process. This allows for a better understanding of how the right reporting and planning software can help financial officers focus their time more effectively in order to improve business decisions.

4 Phases of Reporting for Effective Financial Planning & Analysis Outcomes

1. Data Collection: This initial phase involves collating data and commentary from various sources across the business. Finnivo automates the process of collecting data from various accounting and operational systems, as well as personnel throughout an organisation.

2. Consolidation: For group reporting, intercompany transactions and balances need to be eliminated, in order to provide a consolidated view of the group’s financial performance, which excludes trade between any of the group entities. Finnivo consolidation software offers the ability to automate the consolidation phase, including the reconciliation of inter-company transactions and balances, elimination entries, currency conversion and equity accounting.

3. Analysis: During this stage, your finance team can use Finnivo’s extensive drill-down and analysis capabilities. It enables you to perform variance, trend, sensitivity and ad-hoc analyses, scenario planning and KPI monitoring across the company. With multiple drill-down options, analytical reports and data mining tools, Finnivo assists finance teams and business leaders, to better understand the underlying data, and gain the necessary insights around the aspects that need to be presented to the organisation’s stakeholders.

4. Presentation: Finnivo allows your team to custom-design and publish its final output reports and presentations, such as board packs, management accounts, annual financial statements, C-Suite or Exco reports, budget, forecast and other investor-related presentations. These reports are designed once and updated monthly with the most recent data. They require no coding skills and can be published in MS Excel, Word, PDF or PowerPoint formats without the contracting of professional publishers.

Using Technology to Improve Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis

Finnivo enhances financial planning, reporting and analysis by automating the data collection and consolidation processes. This improves efficiency and frees your finance team up to focus on higher-value activities.

Strategic Time Management

Time is a valuable resource, and how finance teams use it can significantly affect a business’s success. Analysing which of the four reporting phases takes most of the team’s time and implementing the right software should be essential first steps.

If an organisation’s financial and operational data is managed and utilised efficiently, the financial planning & analysis process will empower businesses to make good decisions faster and more frequently. Finnivo can be used to automate every reporting and planning process that a group finance team would be responsible for, regardless of what industry the organisation operates in.

Introducing Innovation in Your Business: Finnivo for Financial Efficiency

Enable your group finance team to utilise their time more efficiently by using Finnivo to automate your data collection and consolidation, analyse your data and publish your final output reports and presentations.

Contact us today for an obligation-free demonstration and see how Finnivo will assist your financial planning & analysis, and help you make better business decisions quickly.