Financial Reporting and Analysis

It starts innocently enough.

A decision maker needs financial reporting and analysis information. So he asks a staffer to compile a report. The staffer cobbles together a spreadsheet. Next month, it’s asked for again, along with an additional analysis. Each month, the process repeats itself.

Soon, the original report has grown into dozens of interconnected spreadsheets that are fed by a combination of downloads, manual data entry, and cumbersome cut-and-paste operations.

This type of financial reporting and analysis “system” poses huge risks for any company. The only documentation consists of a stack of handwritten notes which are understandable only to the person who wrote them. When he or she leaves, the successor has no idea what to do—and chaos ensues.

The Spreadsheet Monster

We’ve seen this situation so many times, we’ve given it a name: the Spreadsheet Monster. And while a menacing creature made out of cells and formulas may look funny, being at the mercy of such a “monster” when you need to make a million-dollar decision quickly is no laughing matter.

If your mission-critical financial reporting and analysis data is in the hands of a “monster” on someone’s workstation, you can either wait until a crisis arises, or you can take action now.

Either way – though we’d highly recommend the latter – we can help.

Speaking your financial language

At Advanced Business Systems (ABS), we pride ourselves on combining a deep understanding of accounting and financial reporting and analysis with decades of systems development experience and up-to-the minute technical expertise.

This means that when you tell us about your business intelligence needs, we’ll be able to understand you and speak your language of accounting and finance. That includes the area of profitability analysis; slicing-and-dicing your data by product, customer, region, sales channel, or other criteria; understanding variances from year-to-year or actual against budget; making sense of large volumes of sales, marketing, or payroll data; making sure your manufacturing accounting is accurate and transparent; or any other kind of “number crunching.”

Working with your existing systems

ABS will work with you to create financial reporting and analysis, business intelligence that works for you, which may be in the form of reports, a Web-based dashboard that allows you to get the information you want at the click of a mouse, or any other format that not only presents data but allows you to understand what is happening in your organization and make informed decisions.

Then, we’ll make it all happen by developing a system that works with your existing systems and gives you what you need with little or no disturbance of your existing business processes. Usually, the systems we create pull your data together into a robust “data warehouse” that you can trust, and then present the results in a clear, concise, and understandable manner.

Let’s discuss your needs

We’d be glad to discuss your financial reporting and analysis, and business intelligence needs with you without charge or obligation on your part. Please reach out to us using the form below, or contact our Principal, Ed Garrison, at (312) 961-2887 or garrison@absillinois.com