Knowledge is Power: Management Dashboards are Crucial for CFO Success
Controllers and CFOs at the top of the finance department food chain have a lot of responsibility to maintain a company’s good financial standing and to keep the business operating smoothly. There are many moving parts in finance departments, such as:
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- Payroll
- Tax and Compliance
Unfortunately, most finance executives rarely have the insight and visibility into the nuts and bolts of the processes they manage. Without this knowledge it can be difficult to spot bottlenecks, and track KPIs. Gathering reports at month’s end leaves many finance execs feeling in the dark when it comes to the real-time status of their department processes.
A Dashboard Puts You in the Driver’s Seat
A comprehensive management dashboard is an excellent way for finance executives to maintain a clear grasp of cash flow in real-time, and provides important insight into where things might be improved. For example, an Accounts Payable management dashboard would ideally provide a way for the Controller to acquire business intelligence at a glance:
- Invoice status reports
- Potential bottlenecks such as late invoices
- Spend tracking
- Payments forecast
- User activity to identify approvers prone to delaying invoice approvals
Having all this information located in one place makes it much easier for Controllers and CFOs to monitor department progress, and step in where necessary to help their staff overcome challenges. If you are not already using a management dashboard to track finance processes such as Accounts Payable, you may be missing an opportunity to improve operations.
Do you currently use invoice management dashboards to monitor activity and troubleshoot?
What other metrics do you think are important to track in a management dashboard?
