Getting people beyond the finance team to understand the numbers is one of the most common challenges in many companies. Reports almost always exist. The problem is that they are often difficult to interpret, lack a clear link to the business, and are rarely used in day-to-day work. The result is that financial performance becomes something you report on, rather than something you actively work with. So how do you change that? Here is what it actually takes to make the numbers useful in practice.
1. Link the numbers to decisions
Financial data rarely creates value on its own. It only becomes interesting and relevant when it is connected to the questions, goals and decisions that shape the business.
Most people in an organisation do not think in terms of:
- profit after net financial items
- gross margin percentage
- accrued costs
They think in terms of:
- “Can we afford to hire?”
- “Which customers are the most profitable?”
- “How are we performing against target?”
For the numbers to become relevant, they need to be connected to these types of questions. When each KPI is linked to a specific decision or business situation, it becomes much easier for more people to understand the data and start using it in their own work.
2. Lower the barrier to insight
- show development over time, not just the latest result
- highlight variances clearly
- use visual views rather than relying solely on tables
- show KPIs with a clear link to the company’s goals
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3. Give the right people the right numbers
One of the main reasons financial data is not used is that everyone receives the same report. The problem is that no one really needs all of it.
- The CEO needs the overall picture and direction
- A business unit manager needs to drill down into their area
- Project managers need to track their own figures
When reporting is not tailored to the recipient, it tends to fall between the cracks.
By instead working with different figures, charts and KPIs based on the same underlying data, the information becomes more relevant to each recipient. At the same time, the need for manual extracts decreases and more people can start using the figures independently.
In practice, this often means moving away from static reports and working instead with structures where the same data can be presented in different ways, depending on who is viewing it. This reduces both duplicated work and dependence on finance as an intermediary.
4. Make financial data accessible and part of everyday work
In many organisations, performance monitoring still follows a monthly cycle. The report for the previous period is prepared, distributed and discussed at a meeting. Then everyone moves on. This means the figures are mainly used retrospectively.
To have a real impact, financial data instead needs to be:
- continuously updated
- easy to access at any time
- available without having to request it
But accessibility alone is not enough. The real difference comes when financial monitoring becomes part of the way teams work, in team meetings, ongoing forecasting and day-to-day decision-making.
When figures can be broken down immediately as questions arise, reporting becomes active management and financial data becomes a practical tool across the business. In practice, this often means more people working in the same system and with the same data, rather than creating their own separate versions.
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5. Create a shared view of the business
An often underestimated challenge is that different people are working with different figures. Different exports, different versions and different interpretations.
This means meetings often focus on what is “correct” rather than what you should do next.
When everyone instead works from the same, up-to-date data source:
- much of the friction disappears
- discussions become more forward-looking
- decision-making becomes faster
What happens when it works?
When more people in the organisation understand and use financial data, a few clear things happen:
- Decisions are made closer to the business
- Less time is spent producing and explaining figures
- The dialogue between finance and the wider business changes
- Performance monitoring shifts from backward-looking to forward-looking
This is also where many companies realise that it is not only about what you monitor, but how the figures are made accessible.
Ultimately, it is not the reports that make the difference. It is when the figures become part of everyday work. When they are used, shared and form the basis for decisions, financial data truly starts to drive the business forward.
Would you like us to show you how it works in Oxceed? Book a meeting here.
