How a Global Finance Team Cut Reporting Time by 75% with Denova

Monthly reporting supported finance managers and markets around the world, but the team was working through a backlog. Manual preparation consumed time in each cycle, while growing data volumes made the information harder to analyse and explain.

The existing profit and loss executive summary contained substantial detail. The CFO needed a shorter, more dynamic view that made it easier to understand performance.

The requirement was to improve both speed and usefulness: complete reporting sooner, maintain confidence in the figures and give stakeholders information they could understand and act on.

The work needed someone who could understand finance priorities and translate them into practical reporting changes.

Denova provided a BI Reporting Manager with experience across finance, data analytics and Power BI. Working within the client’s team allowed the colleague to understand the questions behind each report and stay close to the people using it.

This continuing involvement also meant that improvements could develop beyond the first set of deliverables. As the initial work progressed, the client assigned further reporting requirements to the same colleague.

The starting point was the business question, rather than the choice of tool. The colleague worked with finance leadership and other stakeholders to understand what each report needed to show and how it would be used.

Regular feedback helped keep the work aligned with expectations. Data was validated before being shared, and findings were presented in a way that non-specialists could follow.

Where adapting the existing Power BI report would have carried its limitations forward, the team chose to rebuild. The additional upfront effort was explained early, with expectations agreed before development began.

AI was introduced as a supporting element of the reporting approach. The wider work centred on report design, automation, data validation and stakeholder needs.

The first phase combined a rebuilt P&L executive summary with changes to how the reporting package was produced. Power Automate replaced manual steps, supported by Excel, Power Query and VBA macros already in the client’s environment.

Further work followed the initial delivery. A later dashboard phase introduced additional views and functionality, while the colleague took on new reporting requirements.

That development continues. The colleague remains involved in improving existing reports and building new ones, applying an increasing understanding of the client’s priorities to subsequent work.

The reduction in reporting time is a clear result, but the colleague’s contribution continues beyond that improvement.

Working with the finance team on successive requirements helps retain business knowledge and connect new reports to the questions stakeholders need answered. Regular feedback continues to shape the work, while experience gained in earlier reporting cycles informs later improvements.

The engagement combines faster recurring reporting with ongoing development, giving the client access to a colleague who understands its finance priorities and continues to improve how information is produced and used.