Never before has information been so readily available. This presents enormous and profitable opportunities for businesses, so why are so many businesses still in the dark ages?

We’ve all heard the scenario multiple times in multiple different forms. The accounts department and the field are operating on two separate budgets that are meant to be the same, but have small inconsistencies.

We cannot stress how damaging this can be to the profitability and visibility of any project.

Small inconsistencies compound and decisions made off those inconsistencies can lead to big problems down the track.

How can real time reporting fox this?

The first step, is to streamline all data flow points. Every department needs to be putting information into one singular platform that acts as the true source of information.

The primary goal is that there can be no other forms of data interpretation apart from one Master platform.

This is where real-time reporting comes in.

When there is one true source of information, real-time reporting allows every department to identify problems in a fraction of the time or maybe before they even happen. Imagine you are looking at a report and you see some inconsistencies with a particular area of the project. You want to find a solution for that problem immediately rather than reconciling your information with the relevant other department and then attempting to determine where the problem has arisen.

Traditionally, CFOs, decision makers, project managers and other key players have been limited to looking backwards through a rear-view mirror. They would be reviewing reports and balance sheets that will create the state of the business at the end of a period.

This does not allow businesses to look forwards and create meaningful plans, they will be looking backwards in order to make decisions for the future.

Introducing automation

Automation is the process of achieving more, by ultimately doing less. Automation has become so advanced that businesses should now be looking at it as a process of creating more reliable and streamlined data flow.

This ultimately feeds directly into your reporting. The more accurate you can keep your reporting data the better outcomes you’re likely to achieve