A PDF, Screenshot, Excel, or a Digital Financial Report?

Hundreds of millions of CEOs and boards in small-and-medium-size businesses rely on financial reports in their decision-making.

Financial professionals serve their financial reporting needs with Excel spreadsheets, screenshots, PDF documents, and digital reports. First, reports save the CEO valuable time that can be better utilized for decision-making rather than navigating through raw data in the bookkeeping software. Second, reports allow for straight-to-the-point KPIs, ensuring the CEO knows precisely how it aligns with the business. Lastly, reports enable the finance team to highlight the action points CEOs may not come to mind alone. In our blog, we help you to choose when to utilize a PDF or Excel, take a screenshot, or run a digital financial report.

Print a PDF Financial Report

for Monthly Board Financial Review

PDF financial reports became mainstream in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, they have become a standard method for presenting financial information in an easily accessible manner.

Typically, a PDF report is used on official financial documentation, like, for example, on monthly financial review for board meetings, when you need a filed document with limited interactivity.

With riskrate, you can run a board financial report PDF with a click to save time.

What works on a PDF financial report?

• Consistency: PDFs maintain a consistent format across devices, ensuring that reports are presented as intended.

• Security: PDFs can be password-protected or encrypted, providing a secure method for sharing sensitive financial data.

• Universal: PDF is a widely accepted file format, ensuring that reports can be viewed on various devices and operating systems. Every tool enables PDF printing.

Keep in mind in a PDF financial report:

• No interactivity: PDFs are primarily static documents and lack interactive features for deeper data exploration.

• No updates: Making updates or edits to a PDF report requires access to editing software.

• No Searchable: Text within a PDF must be searchable, making it challenging to find specific information.

Run A Digital Financial Report

for a Monthly CEO Review

Digital financial reports offer interactive features for a CEO, like clickable charts and dynamic data filtering, allowing CEOs to explore and analyze financial information for deeper insights actively. Fans of financial digital reports are CEOs who value the interactive and dynamic features of digital formats for accessing and analyzing financial information.

Typically, a digital report is used on monthly CEO financial reviews and updates when you need KPIs, personalized messages, and super interactivity. With riskrate, you can share your digital financial report with a CEO with a click and your comments. Your CEO can access the financial review without time-consuming logging into the system. Digital financial reports enable instant updates, ensuring CEOs can access the most current numbers. This is a huge advantage for making timely and informed decisions in a rapidly changing financial landscape.

What works on a digital financial report?

• Interactive: Digital financial reports are interactive. You can get instant answers to your questions through clickable charts and dynamic data filtering for deeper insights.

• Real-Time Updated: Digital financial reports enable quick ROI. Digital financial reports enable instant updates, ensuring stakeholders can access the most current financial data.

• Voice and video: Digital reports can work with multimedia elements such as voice and videos.
  

Keep in mind in a digital financial report:

• Dependent on Internet Access: Digital reports may require an internet connection to access, which can be a limitation in areas with limited connectivity.

Take a screenshot

for CEOs who are experts in finance

Screenshots of book-keeping software or asking CEOs to navigate directly are very popular for several reasons. Firstly, it's a quick way to ask the CEO to navigate to the bookkeeping software. It allows CEOs to access real-time bookkeeping reports, ensuring they have the most current financial information. Secondly, navigating the software will enable CEOs to explore specific details or drill down into the data if needed.

However, it's essential to strike a balance, as preparing a summarized financial report can provide context, highlight key insights, and save the CEO time in their busy schedule. Also, screenshot works for CEOs who are finance experts and do not need service to analyze their financial reports.

What works on a screenshot?

1. Timely Decision-Making: Providing reports on bookkeeping software allows the CEO to access real-time financial data.

2. Transparency: It promotes transparency and accountability within the company.

3. Efficient Communication: Reports on bookkeeping software provide an organized financial representation of bookkeeping data.

Keep in mind when using screenshots:

1. Time: CEOs are busy with various responsibilities, so it's vital to ensure that the reports provided are concise and focused on key financial metrics to respect their time.

2. Action points: The CEO may have needs s/he CEOs may not come to mind alone.

3. Overwhelming: If the reports contain less detail or complexity, there's a risk of overwhelming the CEO. It's vital to balance providing relevant information and avoiding number overload.
   

Prepare an Excel and Google spreadsheet reports

for one-time or tailored calculations

Excel is a cornerstone of financial reporting and analysis for professionals in the finance industry. Microsoft Excel gained popularity in the finance industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Google spreadsheet followed in 2006. It quickly became mainstream for financial reporting due to the ability to create customizable spreadsheets.

Excel is the perfect tool, for example, if you need to make quick calculations. With riskrate, you can connect with multiple book-keeping tools, run your reports, and export your reports to Excel to save time.

What works on Excel reports?

• Data Manipulation: Excel allows for in-depth data analysis, complex calculations, and the ability to create custom formulas.

• Customization: Users have the flexibility to design and format reports to suit specific needs and preferences.

• Dynamic Updates: Data can be easily updated and recalculated, making it a powerful tool for ongoing financial analysis.

Keep in mind when using Excel reports:

• Limited Scalability: Excel may become sluggish with large datasets or complex calculations.

• Version Control Issues: Managing multiple report versions can lead to confusion or errors.

• Potential for Human Error: Manual data entry is prone to mistakes, especially with large volumes of information.

In summary, choosing between Excel reports, PDF documents, and digital reports depends on specific requirements, user preferences, and intended use. Each format offers distinct advantages and considerations for financial reporting and analysis. With riskrate, you can serve your CEO with superior speed and accuracy.

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