Many management teams have systems in place that can provide good quality data, but don’t necessarily have the ability to leverage this data to create meaningful information which can support management decision making. Microsoft Power BI can offer an affordable, pragmatic solution. Power BI is commonly used as a business analytics tool for data visualisation and analysis. Creating a Power BI dashboard for use in your business will enable you to see trends in your data, so you can make impactful strategic decisions in real time.

Why Power BI and how could it benefit your business?

· Power BI combines data from disparate data sets to create ‘one version of the truth’.

· Large data sets can be manipulated which would be too large for Excel to process. This enables data to be interrogated quickly by slicing it and dicing it in different ways, for example by time period, division, geography, or cohort, with comparison to budget forecast or prior year. It also allows the user to drill down from a summary view into a detailed view by dimension to quickly identify the root cause of any variance.

· The creation of a tool which feeds from data and systems which already exist within a business means it can be easily refreshed each month or week giving plenty of new insights without the labour input that often comes with Board Pack preparation. Once the tool is created, with one click of the refresh button you can update data for the most recent results.

· Power BI provides management and investors access to a wealth of information on a regular basis, freeing up management’s time previously spent pulling together analysis, giving them more time to review and leverage insights in the data. The output can be viewed in a ‘Read Only’ platform e.g. in an App or Desktop versions of the tool, meaning there is no risk of hard code or accidental overwriting.

Hints and tips

· Designing a data cube from scratch can be quite daunting. It is advisable to speak to someone who has done this before.

· Make sure there is a design phase before going straight into building the data set to ensure you are bringing in the correct data and creating the right relationships between data points.

· Involve all users of the data in the design, especially those who will be using outputs to understand KPIs and value drivers in the business e.g. the Board.

· A basic version of Power BI is free and is included in the Microsoft Fabric suite. However, you will need some training, so identify your reporting team early on so they can get familiar with Power BI.

How can external support help?

Data Map

· Assistance with designing a Data Map which clearly outlines the following:

o How data sets can be mapped to each other so they can be used in the same visualisations

o Which unique identifiers will be required in each data set

o What format and columns would be most helpful to have in your data set to be able to build visualisations

o Identification of where data sets need interim manual intervention before they can be used in Power BI

o Bespoke templates to link existing reporting into so that data can be manipulated for use in Power BI

· Provision of a Data Map setting out the prioritisation of the desired outputs based on your existing data availability and options for visualisation.

Data Manipulation

· Assistance in creating a sustainable monthly process transforming existing untidy and unstructured reporting into data sets that can be used in Power BI.

· Assistance with linking directly into systems or creating an update process via Excel which allows for more visibility over the data set to be loaded into the Power BI tool.

Build the Power BI Tool

· Assistance with building a tool that provides valuable insights through visualisation of performance trends against relevant comparators.

· Create a sustainable monthly (or more regular) update process that can be managed by someone within the management team without needing intricate knowledge of Power BI.

· Handover to management for ongoing use.

At Swan Partners, we are Commercial Accountants who use and implement Power BI on a regular basis. We can provide suggestions as to what sort of outputs should be included as part of the design process, but also analytically review and challenge the outputs throughout the implementation. We are used to handing over files to management and always build tools with the end user in mind, making sure to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible. We have worked on multiple projects designing and building board level outputs and so are familiar with the requirements of this audience.