How do you measure and improve the quality and reliability of financial reporting data and systems?

Assessing your current financial reporting state can be instrumental in understanding your reporting situation. ?? Questions such as "What are the sources, systems, and standards used for financial reporting?" and "How do you handle exceptions, errors, and adjustments?" are crucial in identifying areas that need improvement. By understanding your current situation, you can identify gaps and opportunities for growth. Ensuring that your reports are consistent, accurate, and timely is important. Assessing your current state can also help identify potential risks that must be mitigated. Through this evaluation, you can develop a roadmap to improve the quality and reliability of your financial reporting. ??

I have delivered successes for my clients by sharing the value of a data driven to unlock financial reporting innovation. It is important to remember you can't change what you don't measure. The most effective way to bring data driven change to financial reporting is to review the data pipeline the company currently uses. How many manual processes are involved? Can some of these be made more robust using automation? Is the data you use considered of sufficient quality? Do you know the provenance of the data you currently use? Is it consider to be from a trusted source? If you are in a regulated environment are you adhering to the compliance required?

???????? When it comes to financial reporting integration and consolidation, defining your objectives and requirements is essential. You need to identify the goals and expectations of your stakeholders and define the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that you will use to track and report on financial data. This will help you align your reporting with your organization's strategy and governance. Additionally, you need to identify best practices and standards to ensure that your reporting is accurate, reliable, and compliant with regulatory requirements. Taking the time to define your objectives and requirements will provide a clear roadmap for achieving better financial reporting integration and consolidation.

This might seem a daunting task. I suggest you start by setting a goal to improve something specific in your business. Do you want to get more customers? Do you want to improve your cashflow or increase your profits. How might this focus align with a company objectives? With a personal or team objective you've been set? Who else might help you deliver this? Who can you help? Who else might be interested in supporting you? Is there already a reporting framework in your company you might be able to adopt? It is always better if you can adapt something which already exists as it will reduce the amount of friction you face which usually accompanies change in organisations.

???????? When it comes to financial reporting integration and consolidation, evaluating your options and solutions is critical. You need to consider the available tools, technologies, and processes that can help you streamline and automate your financial reporting. This involves analyzing and comparing each option's features, benefits, costs, and risks and assessing how they fit with your existing infrastructure, systems, and data. You may also need to involve internal and external stakeholders in the evaluation process to ensure their needs and expectations are met. Evaluating your options and solutions will help you make an informed decision and choose the best fit for your organization's needs and budget.

In my experience it is always best to utilise existing processes, tools and technology to reduce the barriers to the change you are trying to make. I suggest you also look for improvements and opportunities to automate what already exists as well. Companies are often receptive to the efficiency savings that automation brings. Do include automation options in any proposal you create. It might not be initially accepted but positions this change for the future. It also demonstrates that you know the value of tools, technology and automated processes and are future focused.

??????As financial reporting is crucial for executive management, implementing and monitoring a plan for integration and consolidation is essential. Start by migrating, integrating, and consolidating your data and systems. Train and support your staff and users to ensure they are comfortable and able to use the new system effectively. Test and validate your results and outputs, measure and report your progress and performance, and troubleshoot and resolve issues and challenges. Monitoring your plan allows you to measure the success of your financial reporting and make adjustments as needed to optimize the process.

?????? Financial reporting is a critical aspect of executive management. To improve financial reporting integration and consolidation, it's essential to review and refine the process continuously. You can collect stakeholder feedback, benchmark your results against objectives, identify best practices, and implement lessons learned. Keeping up with changing needs and expectations will help ensure your financial reporting process remains effective and up-to-date. Remember to evaluate and monitor your financial reporting regularly, ensuring data is accurate, consistent, and timely. Reviewing and improving your process regularly can maintain your organization's financial reporting quality and reliability.

I agree that continual improvement is the goal, however this can often get lost in all the business as usual tasks which need to be done. I recommend that you create strategies across the company to ensure that this always is top of mind. Some of the strategies which have worked for clients are:- - add it to the board agenda - give updates in company and client newsletters - encourage the teams involved to add it to their regular catch ups Often though the most powerful way of doing this is to celebrate the wins and the impact of what you have achieved. It inspires more people to be part of a winning team.

?????? Achieving better financial reporting integration is key to unlocking valuable insights and creating strategic value. By assessing your current state, defining your objectives and requirements, evaluating your options and solutions, implementing and monitoring your plan, and reviewing and improving your process, you can optimize your financial reporting and inform your decision-making. Leveraging your insights and value can help you communicate your financial performance, position, and potential to stakeholders and investors and create and deliver value for your organization and society. Don't miss the opportunity to enhance your reputation, credibility, and impact with better financial reporting integration and consolidation.

One more thing to consider. What additional opportunities could this data driven approach to financial reporting deliver? Can your suppliers benefit if you give them clarity on your focus. Do your customers benefit by a more streamlined approach to governance? What might you communicate about what you've achieved to your shareholders? Can you share this approach within your sector as thought leaders? I'd love to get your thoughts on what the opportunity of this approach to financial reporting might be for your company?

Additionally, it is important to consider the importance of regularly reviewing and updating financial reporting processes and seeking feedback from stakeholders and users to ensure ongoing improvement. It is also important to consider the potential benefits of leveraging financial reporting insights to inform strategic decision-making and communicate financial performance to stakeholders and investors. Additionally, it may be helpful to engage with external experts and stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices in financial reporting integration and consolidation.

I've adapted all of the above to be incorporated into a company sustainability strategy to deliver on climate change. I've created the sustainability catalogue for LinkedIn Learning and the first course launches on 22nd March 2023 on the LinkedIn Learning platform. If you are a LinkedIn Premium subscriber the course is free to every account holder. Additionally I've pledged to support every learner who takes the course. If you'd like access to the details and the course I've set up a LinkedIn group Climate Champions with Dr Jacqui just request access using this link https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/12783968/