This unique implementation toolkit comprise my latest thinking on the subject matter. The toolkit contains 80 pages designed to help readers implement best practice reporting. Reporting daily, weekly and monthly in a decision based way. This toolkit covers reporting: financial performance; performance measures; progress against projects and strategy; capital expenditure; board reporting; and the influence of Stephen Few’s work. Comprehensive E-templates will help you move forward. Price in US Dollars. I have spent around US$20,000 developing and updating this toolkit. I guarantee, you will save many times the cost of the toolkit.
Table of Contents
- Background. 5
1.1. Many finance reports are not a management tool 5
1.2. Where was the training in report writing? 6
1.3. A book you should devour 6
1.4. Message from a frustrated CEO. 6
1.5. Selling change –this is what many reports are trying to do. 7
- Basics of reporting. 9
2.1. You first need to understand some time management techniques. 9
2.2. Achieving a common understanding of the assignment 15
2.3. Planning your research. 15
2.4. Designing that Florence Nightingale graphic 16
2.5. Interviewing techniques when doing research. 16
2.6. Designing graphs by Stephen Few, an expert based in the USA. 20
2.7. Planning what you want to say. 25
2.8. Have a report style you keep to. 28
2.9. Getting your presentations pursausive. 30
2.10. Adopt these quality reporting processes 31
2.11. Limiting the use of Excel in reporting. 33
2.12. Avoid unnecessary detail 34
2.13. Remember the decision maker is an alligator 34
- Better practice month-end reporting formats 35
3.1. Issuing a flash report by close of play Day+1. 35
3.2. Standard Month-end Reports 36
3.3. Cashflow reports 42
3.5. Capex reports 44
3.6. Treasury graphs 46
- Modifications to month-end reporting. 47
4.1. The impact of the lean methodology on traditional accounting. 47
4.2. The Toyota A3 investment proposal 52
4.3. Quarterly rolling forecasting / planning. 54
4.4. Have one-page summary of the rolling forecast 54
4.5. Reporting against a recent forecast rather than a budget 56
4.6. Reporting the strategic objectives/ risks/ costs pressures 57
4.7. Monthly reporting on HR so management become interested. 60
- Designing and Drafting one page dashboards 64
5.1. Common dashboard pitfalls 64
5.2. Three well designed dashboards 65
5.3. Three poorly designed dashboards 65
- Board reporting better practices 72
6.1. Scoping of the information requests 72
6.2. More empowerment and no rewriting! 72
6.3. Continually purging the Board papers 73
6.4. More timely Board meetings 73
6.5. A One-Page Board Dashboard. 73
6.6. Reporting the rolling forecast to the Board. 77
- Reporting to improve performance. 80
7.1. Getting your KPIs to work. 80
7.2. The four types of performance measures 80
7.3. Unintended behaviour – the dark side of measures 84
7.4. Reporting the KPIs to management and staff 85
7.5. Reporting RIs and PIs to Management 87
7.6. Reporting team performance measures 90
7.7. How the reporting of performance measures fits together 91
7.8. Daily / weekly reporting formats 92
7.9. Making your project reports decision based. 98
- Improving quality of your reporting. 101
8.1. Getting your presentations persuasive. 101
8.2. Planning what you want to say. 101
8.3. Using tables in word. 102
8.4. Quality reporting processes 102
8.5. Limiting the use of Excel in reporting. 104
- Other reporting issues 107
9.1. Better practice reporting stories 107
- Writer’s biography. 109
Appendix 2: Examples of report formats from a reporting tool 110
Appendix 3 Delivering compelling PowerPoint presentations 113