A large Asia-Pacific based technology company acquired a $250M division of Boston-based technology firm, and The Pentad Group was engaged to assist with the back-end integration of their ERP systems, as well as maintain day-to-day accounting operation functions as the firm went through transition.  Specifically, the accounting department needed to convert all accounting processing from SAP to Oracle and the scope of the project entailed ensuring the integrity of the cut-over plan, as well as to format, migrate and test data going into the new system. In addition, The Pentad Group team ensured their business processes aligned with the Oracle applications and that best practices were incorporated.  The scope included documenting all processes, as well as training the client's staff on the new system.

 

While the system project was underway, The Pentad team managed several accounting functions, including the close process and all related GL entries, inter-company accounting, payroll, AP, purchasing and audit prep.  In addition, The Pentad Group team assisted with several finance functions including preparing annual budgets and profitability analysis of product lines. 

 

In summary, the client appreciated The Pentad Group's effort in assisting them through a very chaotic time in their business.  There was great value in both the project work and maintenance roles. 
 

 
In these tough economic times companies must be able to easily access financial data in order to make management decisions, and a management dashboard is often the best tool used for analyzing the business.  An effective management dashboard summarizes management information in easy-to-understand visual displays based on key performance indicators.   Management dashboards often use "gauges" and "stoplight" colors to distill complex data into meaningful and actionable information. Typically, users can "drill-down" to detailed information by clicking on the gauges to access the data supporting the graphs and tables.  For companies which do not have a management dashboard, we will help  define a roadmap for creating one, and for those who currently use a management dashboard, we will provide insight to ensure best practices are being utilized. 

First, a determination needs to be made as to what information senior leaders and managers require to run the business . Don't underestimate the importance of this step or the dashboard project will start in the wrong direction. In this initial stage, it is best to forget about automation, and instead focus on the information that is important to the success of the organization.  For many companies it is best to start with the reports that management already utilizes.  This may include everything from monthly financial statements, operations reports, sales commission reports to inventory and Human Resource reports.  Next, determine how to condense data into summary information.  Decide how the data may be combined and simple calculations performed that will result in meaningful and actionable metrics.

 These metrics should not just quantify organizational outputs, but should characterize how efficiently and effectively the organization is operating to provide products or services to your customers. If the organization does not have results-oriented metrics, we can help you work on how to realistically and accurately measure performance before deciding how you will display this information on a dashboard.  A successful long-term dashboard project is dependent on the quality and availability of data. The most important metrics are useless if the data used to calculate them are inaccurate and/or outdated.

 After determining the information that is important and a way to measure performance, the next step is to either select a software package or use a tool, such as Excel or Access. In order to make this decision, it is best to conduct a thorough software selection process, which should answer the following questions: 

      1)     Does it work for my business and/or industry?
      2)     Is it cost effective/fit within my budget?
      3)     Does the package support the data sources  

              currently used?
      4)     What is the implementation plan and how long will  

              it take to implement?

      5)     Does the package have flexibility?
      6)     Are the customized reports compatible with my  

              business, and if not is there flexibility and ease to

              create my own?

 

  Once the established metrics have been determined, and you have selected the dashboard software or tool, it is finally time to design the dashboard.  Many complex and/or larger companies will invest in an additional tool or it's embedded in the software, which acts like a wizard, leading the user through sequential steps.  These tools reduce code writing and directing the design process so the dashboard can be produced quickly.  Companies that cannot afford a tool or their data is not as complex, should start with a data folder, compiling the reports from which the data will be used. 

After the data set is created, as well as the information source for graphs and tables is identified, then a connection to a database or other source for a data set should be created. After the data set has been compiled,  graphs or tables may be created to display the information on the dashboard. Selection of the type of graph or chart is important because this is the way to communicate complex information so that it can be understood quickly by a wide variety of users.

 

The last step in the project is to create the final report for the dashboard; if you are using a tool, this report should already be created, and customization may be performed to fit specific business needs.  If a dashboard report needs to be created from scratch, then navigation, page layout, colors and font selections should all be considered. Many companies use a color scheme, often red-yellow-green, to represent success of key performance indicators. Then, a drill-down feature can be used to show more detailed data. The dashboard designer needs to balance the value of the information with the level of effort to maintain the different drill levels.

 When developing the dashboard project plan, a key consideration should be data maintenance.   Ideally, the dashboard will have a live data source connection.  However, if it uses static information, planning may be necessary to determine who will be responsible for updating the data and how often.  Also, training may be necessary so end-users understand how to access and navigate the dashboard. More importantly, end-users need to understand how they can use the metrics on the dashboard.  So communication and training should be part of the project plan.

 A dashboard is an excellent way to share key performance indicators with managers and other stakeholders. A successful dashboard project should focus on the information needed, what metrics will provide that information and obtaining leadership buy-in at the beginning.  Finally, the project and development team also need to consider dashboard maintenance, problem-solving and dealing with feedback as the organization changes.