Enterprise Reporting is a Collaborative Process
Financial reporting at the enterprise level can be a complex process, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach to consolidate data from different departments and business areas. Due to this complexity, FP&A professionals have to work closely with other departments at every level, collaborating with them to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the financial reports that they produce.
Enterprise-wide financial reporting allows companies to analyze their finances holistically, identifying patterns and trends that they might not have otherwise observed. Investors, stakeholders, and executives use these reports to make decisions about the future of the company, so it is vital that they are comprehensive and accurate.
To achieve this level of accuracy, financial professionals need to align their work with the operations of the business, and this requires a greater level of business partnering. At the outset, this means identifying which departments contribute to financial data generation and what their respective roles are. Some departments, such as sales, production, and procurement, are likely to generate more data than others. Others, such as human resources, may be less involved in generating financial data, but nevertheless, provide crucial input.
Once departments have been identified, the financial professionals must work with each department to ensure that the data they generate is usable and accurate. This involves working with each team to understand their processes and systems intimately to provide feedback and recommendations to streamline and digitize those processes. This can involve implementing new software tools or automating certain aspects of data generation or collection, and even investing in new equipment.
It also involves communicating with each department regularly and liaising with them to produce periodic reports that provide consolidated data while also taking into account each business area’s nuances. Financial experts often help other departments with budgeting processes or identifying and mitigating risks, which is instrumental in creating robust financial models. This information can then be incorporated into consolidated enterprise-wide reporting documents, such as financial statements and annual reports.
Another critical aspect of business partnering is ensuring that rigorous standards and financial data accuracy are communicated to all stakeholders in a way that is clear and understandable. This helps stakeholders to make informed decisions and gives them confidence that the information they receive is reliable.
Successful enterprise-level financial reporting is a collaborative effort. Financial professionals must have the skills to partner with multiple departments and business areas to gather, analyze, and consolidate financial data effectively. Through this approach, teams can work together to identify patterns and trends, which can lead to better decision-making and overall business success. Identifying key stakeholders in different departments and the continuous communication and collaboration with them is paramount to producing accurate and informative enterprise-wide reports.