Table of Contents

Finance - Key Business Questions

The questions below are grouped by the persona who typically asks them. Each question is answered either through a ready-made standard report or through an ad-hoc, self-service analysis you build yourself on the semantic model by combining the listed measures with the listed dimensions.

CFO

Steer profitability, financial structure and liquidity; monitor actuals vs. budget.

How is our profitability developing, and how do the key margins compare to last year?

Answer with the report: Overview

  • Measures: Revenue, EBIT, EBIT Margin, Net income

How does the actual result compare against budget and the previous year?

Answer with the report: Income Statement

  • Measures: Actual Amount Income Statement, Budget Amount Income Statement, Actual vs Budget Income Statement %, Actual Amount Income Statement YoY %

How is our balance-sheet structure and capitalisation developing?

Answer with the report: Balance Sheet

  • Measures: Assets, Equity Share, Debt Equity Ratio

How much cash are we generating from operations, investing and financing?

Answer with the report: Cash Flow

  • Measures: Actual Cash Flow, Operative CF, Invest CF, Finance CF

What is our return on equity and return on investment?

Answer ad-hoc (self-service): build this on the semantic model yourself.

  • Measures: Return on Equity, Return on Investment
  • Break down by: Calendar, Client

Controller

Budget adherence, margin quality, cost structure and financial-dimension analysis.

Where do we deviate most from budget across P&L line items?

Answer with the report: Income Statement

  • Measures: Actual vs Budget Income Statement, Actual vs Budget Income Statement %, Actual Amount Income Statement

How do results break down by cost centre and financial dimension?

Answer with the report: Accounts Report

  • Measures: Actual Amount Income Statement, Gross profit %, EBIT Margin, Net income

How does the monthly result develop over the fiscal year?

Answer with the report: Income Statement by Month

  • Measures: Actual Amount Income Statement, EBITDA Margin, Gross profit %

Answer ad-hoc (self-service): build this on the semantic model yourself.

  • Measures: Fix costs, Fix costs YoY %, Operating Costs
  • Break down by: Calendar, IncomeStatement

Accountant / Financial Analyst

Reconcile balances, trace account movements and validate ledger detail.

What is the closing balance per ledger account for the period?

Answer with the report: Account Balance

  • Measures: Finance Amount End of Period, Finance Amount Debit, Finance Amount Credit

How does an account balance evolve month by month?

Answer with the report: Account Balance by Month

  • Measures: Finance Amount

Which postings drove the movement on a specific account?

Answer with the report: Account Movement

  • Measures: Finance Amount Debit, Finance Amount Credit, Actual Amount Income Statement

How many ledger rows are behind a given balance?

Answer ad-hoc (self-service): build this on the semantic model yourself.

  • Measures: LedgerRowCount, Finance Amount Start of Period, Finance Amount End of Period
  • Break down by: LedgerAccount, Calendar

Executive (CEO / Managing Director)

Company-wide financial health at a glance - profit, structure and liquidity.

What is our overall financial performance this period versus last year?

Answer with the report: Overview

  • Measures: Revenue, EBIT, Debt Equity Ratio (in %)

How healthy is our capital structure and equity position?

Answer with the report: Balance Sheet

  • Measures: Equity Share, Debt Equity Ratio, Accruals Share

Are we cash-generative and how is cash flow developing versus last year?

Answer ad-hoc (self-service): build this on the semantic model yourself.

  • Measures: Actual Cash Flow, Cash Flow YoY %
  • Break down by: Calendar, CashFlow
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