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5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t WorkingIf your management reports aren’t accurate, your business will struggle to improve. Find out how to tell if your management reporting software isn’t currently supporting you.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

Accurate reporting is critical to forecasting and planning for future business success. But sometimes it doesn’t work as efficiently as you need it to.

Here are 5 signs that there is room for improvement with your management reports.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

1. Data is incorrect

At the most basic level, incorrect information has been entered into your system at some point. This can be because of:

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

1. Data is incorrect

At the most basic level, incorrect information has been entered into your system at some point. This can be because of:

• Mis-keyed data at the point of entry.• Poor data import routines.• Poor data cleansing discipline.• Incoherent data communication between disparate systems. Many of these problems can be avoided by using single, centralised management reporting software for data capture and reporting.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

1. Data is incorrect

At the most basic level, incorrect information has been entered into your system at some point. This can be because of:

• Mis-keyed data at the point of entry.• Poor data import routines.• Poor data cleansing discipline.• Incoherent data communication between disparate systems. Many of these problems can be avoided by using single, centralised management reporting software for data capture and reporting.

“The 1-10-100 rule fairly accurately quantifies….the output cost of bad data. Estimates suggest that if the cost to fix a data error at the time of entry is £1, the cost to fix it an hour after it’s been entered escalates to £10. Fix it several months later and you’re looking at over £100.” - The unseen cost of bad data

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

2. Data is unavailable

If important business information is stored in a number of disparate data silos, reporting - and business critical decisions - could be affected because all the required information and metrics are simply unavailable, or are difficult to retrieve. If your current management reports lack certain details, they will never be completely accurate. The ideal solution to this problem is centralised management reporting software for all business data. In this way management reports will be much more accurate because all of the required data is immediately available.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

3. Data has been duplicated

Any report will be badly affected by duplicate data. Duplicates usually occur because of poor validation routines or badly managed data imports. Where your business operates from several different data stores and applications, the chances of creating duplicate data errors increase exponentially. Organisations produce, on average, eight additional terabytes of duplicate data. This has implications not only on the performance of the system, but also on cost of storage and the man hours required to de-duplicate the data.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

3. Data has been duplicated

Any report will be badly affected by duplicate data. Duplicates usually occur because of poor validation routines or badly managed data imports. Where your business operates from several different data stores and applications, the chances of creating duplicate data errors increase exponentially. Organisations produce, on average, eight additional terabytes of duplicate data. This has implications not only on the performance of the system, but also on cost of storage and the man hours required to de-duplicate the data.

To avoid data duplication problems, consider implementing:• A single authoritative ERP system to replace your existing siloed business systems.• Proper data validation routines for input and import routines.• Training staff to recognise and adhere to acceptable input standards.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

4. Reports have been “massaged”

It is human nature to ensure that statistics always present our performance in the best possible light. This may mean that results are “massaged”, improving the appearance of some metrics, but negatively impacting others.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

4. Reports have been “massaged”

It is human nature to ensure that statistics always present our performance in the best possible light. This may mean that results are “massaged”, improving the appearance of some metrics, but negatively impacting others.

To avoid problems, your business needs to:• Institute a policy of transparent reporting.• Review statistics regularly for evidence of

massaging.• Consider implementing advanced data

normalisation rules that can spot and correct massaging automatically.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

4. Reports have been “massaged”

It is human nature to ensure that statistics always present our performance in the best possible light. This may mean that results are “massaged”, improving the appearance of some metrics, but negatively impacting others.

To avoid problems, your business needs to:• Institute a policy of transparent reporting.• Review statistics regularly for evidence of

massaging.• Consider implementing advanced data

normalisation rules that can spot and correct massaging automatically.

“Perhaps you have applied some “logic” so that the data reflects what you think would have happened if your execution were better. That’s naughty.” - Dan Roden, Director of Marketing Experience at Domo.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

5. Data is inconsistent

Where there is inconsistency in the way that data is entered, or in the metrics captured, there will be accompanying inconsistencies in your management reports. The problem is magnified where you have multiple business systems in use, each of which is subject to inconsistent data entry methods.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

5. Data is inconsistent

Where there is inconsistency in the way that data is entered, or in the metrics captured, there will be accompanying inconsistencies in your management reports. The problem is magnified where you have multiple business systems in use, each of which is subject to inconsistent data entry methods.

You will need to:• Train staff to enter data consistently.• Enhance validation routines to ensure

critical metrics are entered consistently.• Automate data collection wherever

possible to reduce the risk of mis-keys.• Centralise data with a single ERP system

or management reporting software to reduce the impact of inconsistencies.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

5. Data is inconsistent

Where there is inconsistency in the way that data is entered, or in the metrics captured, there will be accompanying inconsistencies in your management reports. The problem is magnified where you have multiple business systems in use, each of which is subject to inconsistent data entry methods.

You will need to:• Train staff to enter data consistently.• Enhance validation routines to ensure

critical metrics are entered consistently.• Automate data collection wherever

possible to reduce the risk of mis-keys.• Centralise data with a single ERP system

or management reporting software to reduce the impact of inconsistencies.

“Enterprises typically expect data error rates of approximately 1%–5%.” - Improving Data Quality: Consistency and Accuracy – Gao Cong et al.

5 Signs Your Reporting Isn’t Working

Steps to get your management reports working again

• Centralise data in a single, authoritative ERP system.

• Improve data validation routines at every point of entry.

• Train staff to input data accurately and honestly.• Maintain a healthy data cleansing routine

to reduce the impact of inaccurate and incomplete data.

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To learn more about reducing data errors and increase the value of your information, download your free eGuide:

7 Warning Signs That Your Business System Isn’t Delivering.

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