The Clearly Podcast

Power BI and Management Reporting

Summary

This week we discuss the current state of management reporting and how it has moved on over the past decade or so.

The world has moved on from flat, static reports in SQL Reporting Services and self-service reporting is becoming easier, but what about the perception of self service?  We often see that senior executives see self service as difficult and time-consuming, which with modern tools such as Power BI or Tableau, it needn't be.

The breadth of what is required has grown too - from financials to sales and inventory and broader information from social media and other external data sources.

Finally the questions being asked of the data have become more mature - moving from simply what happened to why it happened and what will happen.

As a result, management reporting is turning into more of an application that a traditional report - from a read only report, we are writing back narratives and context.  This comes with its own data management challenges and businesses need to start asking how long that keeps having business value.

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Transcript

Andy:
Hey, guys, how are we doing?

Tom:
Yeah, very well, thanks. How are you, Andy?

Andy:
I'm doing alright, excited to be back after a three-month hiatus for season two of the podcast. So, what have you guys been up to?

Shailan:
Wow, three months? Time flies.

Andy:
Yeah, exactly. We've been busy with Power BI models and Power Apps, haven't we?

Shailan:
Yep, lots of Power Platform work.

Andy:
Today, we’re discussing the current landscape of management reporting and Power BI. We’ve had numerous customer questions on this topic. It’s like Power BI therapy, helping us talk through issues and get stuff off our chests.

Tom:
Yeah, we’ve noticed a shift in management reporting. Five to ten years ago, it was mostly about reporting services. Reports were centrally developed and pushed out, often as static tables of figures.

Andy:
And those reports were pretty basic, right?

Tom:
Yes, they were often just tables of numbers. Even though there was some capability for graphing, it was still static. Executives still request these static reports every Monday.

Andy:
But now, with tools like Power BI and Tableau, management reporting has evolved. Executives can interact with dynamic visuals, slice and dice data, and add inline commentary. What requests are we getting now, Shailan?

Shailan:
Customers want to combine multiple data sources, like finance, sales, customer analysis, and inventory. They also want features like adding commentary directly in the report and the ability to write back to a central location for analysis and audit trails.

Andy:
That’s interesting. So, the narrative around data is becoming just as important as the data itself.

Tom:
Yes, but structuring that narrative is crucial. It shouldn’t be just free text; it should answer specific questions to be insightful and drive future behavior.

Shailan:
Some companies use PowerPoint for their management packs, adding commentary directly to the slides. But using tools like Power BI during board meetings allows for real-time interaction and drilling down into data.

Andy:
What about snapshotting data? How do we handle that?

Tom:
For snapshotting, using a data warehousing solution is effective. It allows you to keep historical snapshots while providing quick reporting for current data. It’s useful for comparing trends, like sales funnels year over year.

Andy:
Do executives now consume management reports more frequently?

Shailan:
There’s a cultural shift. Some organizations still prefer monthly reports, but others are moving towards more frequent updates. However, it’s important not to overwhelm executives with daily reports, as they have other critical tasks.

Tom:
Exactly. While the tools allow for more frequent reporting, it’s essential to balance this with the overall workflow and responsibilities of executives.

Andy:
Great discussion, guys. We’ll be publishing a concise version of this podcast weekly. If listeners have any topics they’d like us to cover, let us know. Thanks, everyone.

Tom:
Cheers, guys.

Shailan:
Thanks, cheers.