Chapter 6 - Performance reports for management Flashcards
When designing a good performance report there are four key considerations:
1 What is the purpose of the report?
2 Who is the audience for which the report is being produced?
3 What information is needed (as a result of points 1 and 2 above)?
4 What layout is suitable?
What should the purpose of a performance report be aligned to?
The overall mission of the organisation
What should we consider in the report regarding the Audience?
Ensure the report contains ‘good’ information i.e relevant to the needs of the user.
What are five things that information in a performance report must be?
- Matching the purpose of the report
- Aiding comparision i.e with a good benchmark
- Have internal and external info
- Focus where we are performing both good and bad
- Provide balanced view of financial and non-financial performance
What should the layout of a performance report aim to do?
Help the user quickly understand the important information presented.
What can a poor layout with information overload lead to?
- Detracting from usefulness of the report
- Hides facts
What are three ways of helping avoid information overload?
- Present graphs or charts
- Narrative explanation drawing attention to important matters
- Option to drill down to greater level of detail
What does Data visualisation do? (3 things)
- Allows large volumes of complex data to be displayed
- In a visually appealing and accessible way
- That helps understanding and use of the data.
What is the most common use of data visualisation?
Dashboards to display KPI’s
What are four key benefits of data visualisation?
- Accessible
- Real time
- Performance optimisation
- Insight and understanding
What do we mean by the key benefit of data visualisation below?
Accessible
More user friendly - dont need to be excel or IT expert to use or understand
What do we mean by the key benefit of data visualisation below?
Real time
- Synchronised with real time data visualisation tools give live updates
- Allows quicker business reponses
What do we mean by the key benefit of data visualisation below?
Performance optimisation
Quick and clear information being displayed allows for better decision making
What do we mean by the key benefit of data visualisation below?
Insight and understanding
Big data can be used to provide better insight and understanding
Why is quantitative data often the most reliable?
- Internally generated
- Easily quantified
- Additionally monitored i.e by audit