Data is becoming a key asset of today’s world. Most valuable companies claim to be data-driven, decisions are data-based, and our business strategy needs a corresponding data strategy to enable success.

Dashboards can be an incredibly useful tool for organisations, but only if they are presented effectively. All too often, dashboards contain too many colours and patterns – and every dashboard uses these features differently. This makes them harder to understand and compromises their potential.

“Telling the story” is one of the most important parts of the FP&A role, and data visualisation can help immensely. This makes the FP&A dashboard a very powerful tool, but 80% of dashboards are seldom or never used.

Data storytelling tools like dashboards have been around for a long time, but they have recently experienced a huge surge in popularity.

The KPIs you choose to measure the performance of your business, the KPIs you use in traffic lights, and the gauges in your dashboards drive the efforts of your teams and shape your business. In this article, we explain the strategic role of dashboard design and how to set the right KPIs and benchmarks for your business.

The role of the finance leader is changing. Before long, your colleagues may see you more as a journalist or storyteller — able to unearth critical facts, share a compelling narrative, and deliver the headlines that your decision-makers need today. But how's this possible?