Monthly Executive Reporting: the diagnostic

So, how do we work?

We don’t force your organisation into a pre-built ‘solution’. We work out what you need, then put it in place.

The diagnostic study is the starting point. We review current reporting and make recommendations in three areas: Reporting Process, Report Content and Report Format. This takes as little as 2-4 weeks, depending on the complexity of your organisation and the nature of existing reporting.

What is the monthly report for? How will it be produced?

The reporting process is driven by how, when and by whom reports are prepared and used. The sequence of executive and management meetings forms a backbone for this process.

The report will always rely on significant input from your reporting team, but a degree of automation does allow an outline report to be produced quickly and efficiently. The report is then completed by analysing performance, investigating problem areas and adding commentary on the results.

What must it contain?

Report content is informed by the priorities of the executives and by a model of the organisation that links performance drivers to business results.

This provides both 'lag' measures of past performance and 'lead' measures that indicate future results. Some measures are best presented as a snapshot against target, others as a longer-term trend.

The report draws together a wide range of data, including:

Financial performance measures
Operational, non-financial, metrics
Progress on the programme of major projects
Competitor and customer developments
Economic and market data.

The result is more than simply a suite of operational and financial measures. Or indeed a standard balanced scorecard. It emphasises exceptional performance (variance from target) and includes where relevant project, customer and market information, plus one-off analyses to shed light on emerging issues.

Here are some further thoughts on report content and performance measures.

The content is not complete without some insightful commentary on the key messages and the areas for action.

Who is it for? How should it look?

To communicate quickly a large amount of information, the optimal report format is largely graphical, and the report is designed for use in paper form. It begins with a short summary of performance and the decisions required.

The design provides context, highlights priorities and exceptions and uses the same clear presentation each period. In this way, busy executives can spend time making informed decisions, not deciphering the report.

The next stage in making it happen is to prepare a mock-up of a new monthly report based on the findings of the diagnostic study.