Finance and Accounting

Innovative approaches to data visualisation in financial reporting

Financial reporting and analysis are crucial aspects of any successful business as they provide a clear and accurate picture of a business’s financial health. Insights gained from the efficient and timely reporting of an enterprise’s financial data enable the tracking of organisational effectiveness and emerging trends and contribute towards strategic decision-making.

Financial reports also make a business’s financial data easily accessible to investors and stakeholders who use them to keep track of financial performance over time and uncover potential for growth. It is, therefore, important that complex financial data is presented in a manner that is easy to understand and scrutinise; a jumble of spreadsheets and numbers can’t get the message across effectively. This is where financial data visualisation comes in. This blog will shed light on the benefits of adopting data visualisation for financial data reporting and highlight popular data visualisation techniques.

Data visualisation is the graphical representation of information. As the name suggests, it incorporates visual elements such as graphs, charts, heat maps, dashboards and other data visualisation tools to make large amounts of complex data easier to understand and more actionable.

Presenting complex financial data visually makes it easier for stakeholders to analyse the data, spot trends, gather insights, and make informed decisions about the future of the organisation.

The impact of financial data visualisation

Visual financial reports help to simplify and present a business’s financial condition, making it easier to understand and draw inferences from. The fact that most people are visual learners definitely helps. Data visualisations make it easier to spot patterns in the data that hours of poring over spreadsheets wouldn’t reveal and can also help break down massive volumes of information into smaller chunks that are easier to understand and respond to. Overlaying data from multiple sources and datasets into a single visual report can uncover comprehensive new insights and speed up the decision-making process. Being able to forecast future business performance accurately and set realistic financial goals based on these insights are further advantages of relying on financial data visualisation techniques.

Best practices for financial data visualisation

Below are a few popular data visualisation techniques and strategies that can help your finance team create engaging and easy-to-understand financial reports.

Share insights

When team members share strategic insights among themselves, it helps them better understand the data as a group. Gaining a sound understanding of the raw data is extremely helpful in the creation of an accurate report.

Tell a story

While data visualisation is an extremely important aspect of financial reporting, the visuals still need to be able to tell a clear and simple story with no room for ambiguity. Your finance team should have a thorough understanding of the story behind the visuals to be able to communicate it in the report effectively. A visual report that does not weave a story will seem incomplete and difficult to follow.

Know your audience

You must understand your audience to be able to create a comprehensible story with your visual report. Once you know your audience and how they process information, it will be much easier to craft a story that carries the right message and will have the desired impact.

Select the appropriate financial reporting solution

Review the options available to you and choose a contemporary cloud-based financial reporting solution, preferably one that can help you create a variety of visual reports to suit specific goals and audiences. Features that you should expect leading financial reporting services to offer include visual finance dashboards, data analysis capabilities, automated financial reporting, real-time reporting, and relevant insights.

How can Infosys BPM help with financial reporting and analysis?

The Infosys BPM financial reporting and analysis incorporate modern technology to offer contemporary financial reporting solutions to businesses of all sizes. Reach out to learn more about how you can transform your financial reporting processes with the latest data visualisation techniques and stay ahead of the competition.