Financial Power BI dashboards

There are many kinds of dashboards, made by different manufacturers, and sometimes it’s hard to decide which one of them is the most adequate for our needs. In an environment such as the current one, it could be hard to decide for someone that isn’t an expert. However, we can clearly say, without the risk of making a mistake, that Power BI is the undisputed leader in the market, as observed and remarked in Gartner’s reports of the last years.

Why should we use Power BI as our Business Intelligence tool?

The question, since we know the leading tool in the market, is: what can we do with Business Intelligence?

In general, any Business Intelligence tool allows us to:

• Capture data.
• Visualize data.
• Control data.
• Manage data.

All of that in a graphic environment with easy to set parameters and easy to modify.

Analysis and visualization of financial data

Specifically, Power BI is the ideal set of tools for financial business analysis. It allows us to collect data from hundreds of data sources (the applications we use on a daily basis: our databases, Excel, ERP, CRM, etc.).

These data can be modelled, that way they can always be homogenous and consistent throughout time, very interesting when going through external audits. This data modelling with Power BI guarantees being able to perform simple analysis to extract conclusions. Let’s not forget about the elevated capacity to generate graphics: columns, lines, circles, radials, etc.

The dashboards generated from that data are highly visual and can be shared on the internet and through mobile devices. This way we achieve a true omni-channel information system, which allows us to create a data culture within the organization and benefit from it.

But there’s more, the ability to customize the data visualization is very interesting. We can define roles, and each role can be allowed a specific data entry and visualization based on our needs. This is really useful when creating the data culture. Each position brings and extracts data without compromising the more reserved areas. Of course, we must add that this tool is highly secured, with Microsoft’s highest security guarantees.

Business Intelligence applied to the financial sector

When we speak about financial dashboards, we need to put in value the ability to consult and update that data. The visualization must be simple, to be able to publish that data with the users that we want to and for the data to be homogeneous and trustworthy.

But this doesn’t end here if we choose Power BI as the tool to create and manage financial dashboards: The Microsoft universe allows us to expand Power BI’s features. An example would be adding Sharepoint and Teams to it for a more optimal knowledge management. We could also automate tasks with Power Automate or create a small app with Power Apps to perform low value-added tasks that take time. With these tools we would be able to optimize processes that would otherwise be tedious and would demand many resources, such as many hours per person.

Let’s not forget that managing data doesn’t only mean having all of it. We also need to be able to differentiate between the more interesting and the less interesting data. Furthermore, we must understand the relationship between that data to know which is relevant to achieve our goals.

This data will be key in the case of financial audits, but other data might be necessary to carry out strategic business plans. At Integra, we focus on the tool and the training process at an equal level. We must have both the tools and the knowledge to take advantage of our abilities. This is one of the essential parts in the Digital Transformation of our companies. To reach leadership our management, as well as our ability to adapt to modern tools related to the needs of our company must stand out. Probably, we might discover doing that elevates our competence and gives us an important advantage.

In any case, I advise you not to transform data into a conspiracy theory, since it may happen when analysing data excessively.

Main advantages of using Power BI

Finally, let’s go over the benefits brought by Business Intelligence tools, and specifically Power BI:

• Ability to perform in-depth analysis.
• Simpler data interpretation.
• Data culture: Our organisation will base its decisions around data.
• We will obtain data at Operational, Tactical and Strategic levels. Their depth will depend on our ability to extract them and introduce them to the system.
• Strong export capacity and data management: PDF, PowerPoint and many different visualization models.
• Highly secured while accessing data, before hackers and regarding the different roles of the organization.
• Licenses adapted to multiple needs.

From Integra we can help you make decisions about how to implement Power BI, how to model your data, etc. We can also help with a training plan and a consultancy process needed to achieve a full success. We are at your disposal!