Recurring reporting such as monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports are crucial to businesses in order to keep track of performance, make informed decisions and meet regulatory requirements. Doing this effectively can be a daunting task therefore having clearly defined steps would provide structure and ease when managing these reports.
1. Define the reporting requirements:
The first step is essential to this process, it involves identifying the key metrics and data points the reports should track. Information that is most relevant to the report should be included. This may be summarised or detailed.
2. Establish the data sources:
It is important to identify where the data for the report will come from. This could be from various departments within the organisation such as sales or operations, maybe even feedback data.
3. Data collection and storage:
Ensure that there are processes in place to collect and store data efficiently. It is recommended to have a database where data could be structured in such a manner that it is easy to analyse.
4. Data cleaning and validation:
When drawing up a report it is important to ensure that data is from any anomalies and accurate. Examples of anomalies could include duplicates, errors and values that may be far from what is expected.
5. Create the report:
Use the data selected from the previous steps to compile the report. Create visualisations using charts, graphs, tables, and single stats. This would provide stakeholders an easy way to digest and identify trends and insights.
6. Distribute the report:
Once the reports are finalised and reviewed. Ensuring that they are distributed to the relevant parties in a timely manner is crucial. Automated reports are the best option for this. Allowing little to no errors that may be introduced by human intervention.
7. Maintain data integrity:
Ensure that the data being collected remains accurate and address any issues that may arise immediately.
8. Continuous improvement:
To ensure that the quality of the reports remain up to a high standard seek feedback from stakeholders involved. Identify any areas where the processes involved could be streamlined and enhanced.
By following these steps, reporting will have a structured process that would make it easier to develop and maintain.