They say a picture is worth a thousand words… Telling a story is one of the most important tasks FP&A professionals are facing, and data visualization is a powerful tool to reveal stories. This tool can help filter out the noise and generate valuable business insights.

When an organisation decides to invest in an FP&A software, there are three things to look for which will help ensure that the software selected will benefit the organisation as a whole, not just the FP&A function.

‘If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes’, said Albert Einstein.

University of Pennsylvania researchers report that the human retina processes data at approximately 10 million bits per second. That’s awfully fast compared to a typical adult reading rate of about 400 to 600 words per minute. There are many advantages to visualising data, aside from speed.

The purpose of Financial Planning and Analysis is not to build perfect forecasts and financial solutions. The purpose is simply to make better business decisions. Numbers themselves can support decision-making, but the story convinces people to make the right decision. This article will discuss best practices in data visualisation that resonate with financial and non-financial people alike.
 

‘Getting the right data to the right people at the right place and time’ is the essence of the whole concept of data management. You can plan big steps for the long-term while making small steps to improve the situation in the short-term perspective.