New opportunities through the use of a KPI dashboard in finance
With an automated KPI dashboard, reporting in financial controlling can be optimized. The implementation is possible in almost any system.
The BI tool SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) can transform standard processes in controlling, such as monthly value reporting, into an automated, variance-oriented standard reporting based on a unified data foundation. In a KPI dashboard, relevant financial metrics are automatically displayed in real-time, eliminating manual steps in report generation. Furthermore, this technical solution allows for more time to interpret the data since manual steps are eliminated. Access from various devices is also possible. Data consumers can now quickly identify simple deviations in metrics and, through drill-down functions, quickly find the cause and take relevant actions in a self-service manner. An integrated documentation in the dashboard ensures that the calculation of each metric is traceable at any time. The easy way to access relevant data in the self-service process also reduces knowledge monopolies.
Starting point
- Desire for optimization of financial controlling reporting
- Problem of division into rail and commercial vehicles with own central SAP instances and local adaptations due to many different locations
- The previous manual report generation was associated with high time and cost efforts, as well as significant error-proneness
- As an international company, the amount of data is very complex and the transfer of authorisations time-consuming – a KPI dashboard with automatic data evaluation is required
Solution
- With SAC, a financial dashboard could be developed that clearly displays all important key figures
- By presenting deviations between ACTUAL and PLAN values incl. Color categorization, the key figures can be interpreted more quickly and measures can be taken directly in difficult cases.
- SAC offers native data integration to SAP BW queries. Data is displayed in SAC via the live connection without further replication steps
- With the Live Connection, authorization management at the data level in SAC is no longer necessary, as each end user in SAC automatically has the same authorizations as those stored in SAP BW
Consumer benefits
- Quick overview of key financial metrics such as revenue, sales, contribution margin, order backlog, personnel, and variances compared to the budget or the previous year
- Ability to view data in the dashboard from different perspectives and at variable levels of detail, as well as with varying consideration of currency effects
- The transparent definition of the key figures ensures that the calculation of the respective key figure can be tracked at any time
- Further expansion of the KPI dashboard is planned, including the introduction of commenting functions in SAP SAC for planning purposes, allowing for explanations to be entered, for example, regarding why a specific budget value was entered
Consumer
Knorr-Bremse AG
Branch
Transport and rail traffic
Consulting field
Reporting and Data
More about the topic
Knorr-Bremse modernizes financial reporting
Further testimonials
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