After more than 20 years of professional experience, there are some issues that are sufficiently clear to us. One of them is that we cannot produce good business reports without adequate information.
When you have become a specialist in supporting and organizing companies, someone might think that you acquire superpowers. That you can prepare them out of nowhere, in any situation or circumstance. However, reality is stubborn and teaches us that this option is not available.
Having sufficient and appropriate information that is dependable in origin, rigorous in calculation and timely is essential. But we also must conduct a series of prior actions, such as processing, tabling, and organizing it in a specific way. This organization must focus on making the report we are presenting effective, useful, and practical. Specifically, it must satisfy the needs of its recipient, helping to improve performance, optimize management, reduce costs, or increase results. But all the above is not enough; something more is always required.
We must review the communication channels, to ensure that they are the most appropriate ones, those that allow better collaboration between departments. Establish the processes for obtaining data, collect them in a written procedure with a view to their establishment with a criterion of temporal permanence. Determine the flow of information, its periodicity, distribution, revision, checking and updating.
It is also essential to define every key performance indicator (KPI), the origin of the data, the cut-off procedures, and the criteria for comparison.
For occasional, sporadic, or ad-hoc reports, there are other requirements in addition to the above. The data and information provided must have a degree of consistency. They cannot be transmitted in any old way. They must have the necessary and reasonable level of detail to be able to obtain a report based on them.
Let us assume a M&A consultancy project, in which we are preparing a sales book. Our client has recorded its revenues differentiating only the sales of products and the provision of services. He asks us to prepare a breakdown by nationality and industry sector. We review each client and invoice, sort them, and prepare a report showing their classification primarily by nationality, and then by industry sector. With the available data and information, we can present the requested report.
After delivering the report, the client asked us to prepare a new one, breaking down revenues by business unit. Differentiating products and services, and detailing the weight of each one separately and as a total global figure. Despite the client’s insistence, it would be impossible for us to prepare the requested report without the budgets the company has presented or the contracts they have entered. The previous work with the invoices was of no use to us for this new assignment. There is no choice but to start again from scratch. This situation reflects how the lack of adequate information or a previous frame of reference can complicate the reporting process and delay the results.
In this context, we can clearly see that information is the foundation on which the quality of any report is built. Without a solid foundation of well-organized data, it does not matter how much effort we put into the analysis. The results simply will not be what we expect. It is important to note that reports are not just communication tools, but strategic decision-making instruments. A report which is porrly prepared or one based on erroneous information can divert attention from significant issues. Or, even worse, lead to wrong decisions.
As we mentioned at the beginning, we cannot produce good business reports without adequate information. Pure common sense, which unfortunately is often the least common of the senses. Organizations that invest time and resources in organizing and ensuring the quality of information are better positioned. To achieve more accurate results, make more informed decisions, and have a positive impact on their overall performance. In the end, the quality of information will always make the difference between a successful report and one that simply sits on paper.
