Reporting, is defined as reporting the result of a business process to the relevant people. Besides, financial reporting is the financial statements which the accounting transactions process produce and are prepared according to the regulations. Although the financial reports give information about companies, they don’t completely involve the needed information. The definition of management reporting can be made as giving place to the information in financial reports, sales, purchasing, production and cash flows and preparing monthly reports.
Why Is It Important?
Management reports which are prepared with the aim of providing directors to take right and timely decisions, are very important for making analysis before taking required actions and identifying risks. It is the measurement method for the performances of companies. Therefore, it should include accurate information. Besides, it should be reliable and directive. In addition to the financial information in management reports; some nonfinancial information such as; the company brand, market share, customer satisfaction and human resources take place in these reports.
Expectations From Management Reporting
The information in report, should be supported with images and trend analyses.
Internal and external factors should be measured.
Risk and business capital issues should importantly take place in the reports.
Brief information should be given.
The taken decisions should be developped with the contributions of managers.
Rewarding projections should be provided.
What Are The Requirements For Management Reporting?
Standard reporting should be made.
The reporting calendar should be predetermined.
Reporting should be suitable to the sector. (channel, product group, region etc.)
The reports should be supported with critical performance indications.
There shouldn’ t be any systematical mistakes and manual corrections.
The given datas should be accurate and information about quality visual analyzes should be written in the reports.
The content shouldn’ t be too short or long.
The reporters should be competent and integrated.
Which Information Should Management Report Involve?
It should involve information per unit. (package, unit or per ton)
It should involve Critical Performance Indications. (should be at a critical amount)
There should be factors which affect the business capital. (information such as; commercial dept, due and stock)
Addition to the action figures, this report should involve information about budget figures.
Articulate and visual subsidies should be used.
Comparisons should be shown on tables by both indicating amounts and proportional statements.
It should involve the explanations which show the reasons of deviation.
Management reports should definitely involve rewarding projections.
The data sources should be same and the tables should be consistent with each other in reports. If information are gathered from different units, then consensus is required.
The datas and financial results which are obtained from operational units should be associated.
Competitive information should be reported.
In order to satisfy the expectations in management report, the data quality should be high. Besides, systematic mistakes and manual corrections shouldn’ t be made. Integration is an essential term for both the intrasystem and off- system datas in companies.
Other Important Issues About Management Reports
Studies about needs analysis of the target audience should be made.
The reporters should work actively with operational units. They should observe the whole business process from production to sales.
They should adopt the business model and trade dynamic.
Sectoral experience is required.
The using systems should be known.
Financial analysis ability is required for the reporters.
They should have information about financial legislations and charge.
The reporters should get education in order to develop their technical information levels.
In conclusion;
Management reports should be accurate, reliable, direction indicator, accountable, adoptable and living.
