Creating Compelling Dashboards
for Finance Professionals

Chaitanya Sagar
cs@perceptive-analytics.com
646.583.0001

Adarsh A
aa@perceptive-analytics.com
646.583.0042
Data Analytics | Web Analytics | Spreadsheet Solutions

New York

Miami

Hyderabad
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Our Services
Analytics

Web
Analytics

Spreadsheet
Solutions

Marketing
Marketing Mix Modeling
Segmentation

Price Promotion Analysis
Market Profiling

Catalogue Optimization
Churn Analysis

Liquidity Risk Management
Fraud Detection

Capital Allocation Analysis

Demand Analytics
Freight Lane Analytics

Distribution Network Optimization

Risk Management
Credit Risk Management
Collateral Management

Supply Chain
Inventory Optimization
Sourcing Analytics

3
Our Services
Analytics

Web
Analytics

Traffic Generation Strategy
AdWords Analytics
Search Engine Optimization

Spreadsheet
Solutions

Conversion Optimization
Revenue Analytics
Customer Behavior Analytics

4
Our Services
Analytics

Web
Analytics
Financial Modeling
Dashboards
Reporting
Predictive Modeling

Spreadsheet
Solutions
Spreadsheet Applications
Performance Tracking
Contract Negotiation
Litigation Modeling

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#Dashboard

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Which industry do you work in?
• Information Technology &
Services
• Financial Services
• Management Consulting
• Telecommunications
• Others
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DASHBOARDS

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What audience see

Your Work!

Pic by http://blackbeltbartending.com

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Dashboard

Pic by http://blackbeltbartending.com

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#Dashboard

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A Dashboard is a Communication Tool

Priorities
Performance
Insights
Action Items

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A Dashboard Increases Your Visibility
The invisible you

Good Dashboard

The real you

Craigyc

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What is a Dashboard?

Background Pic Bev Goodwin

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2007-05-16/

Dilbert is awesome! http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2007-05-16/

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At-a-glance

Pic mhawkin2

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Pic by plaits

Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators

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Graphical

Pic Yossari

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Pic by Toolstop

How to Make a Dashboard

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Purpose

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Design

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Audience

Value Add

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Scope

#Dashboard

Pic by Mervi Eskelinen

Purpose

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Target Audience
What is the role of the person?
What is the context of usage?
What are their biases?
Is the audience heterogeneous?
What are their goals?
What questions will they ask?

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What Value Add?

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Pic by MDGovpics

Help management stay on top
Help management make a decision
Set goals for individuals or groups
Highlight exceptions
Track progress
Inform important information to teams

#Dashboard

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Scope
Organization Wide

One Operation/Unit
Tactical

Historical

Predictive

High Level

Detailed

Snapshot

Interactive

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Pic by futureatlas.com

Strategic

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Strategic?

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Design

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Design
Structure
Elements
Colors
Process
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Design
Structure
Elements
Colors
Process
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Case study

#Dashboard

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Dashboard design should support
analytical thinking

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Structure

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Important

Important

Canvas

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1

2

3

4

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Importance

Inputs

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Outputs

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Important

Importance

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Step 1

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Step 2

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Step 3

#Dashboard

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/9731367@N02/

Choosing Dashboard Elements

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www.diverbi.com
Colors

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Colors

Create Color Harmony

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Ideas for Color Harmony
Analogous

Complementary
Use colorbrewer2.org

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Perceptive’s

Step Process

1. Create a laundry list of KPIs
2. Prioritize. Choose the top 20% that has 80+%
impact
3. Allocate the 20% to most visible areas
4. Choose elements wisely
5. Beautify
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646.583.0001

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Laundry List
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Cost of Goods Sold
Advance paid to manufacturer
Average cost of acquisition
Advertisement expenditure
Revenue by channel
Sundry debtors
Accounts payable
Prepaid expenses
Miscellaneous expenses
Net profit
Salaries
Short-term Investments
Long-term investments
Citibank Checking Account
Bank of America Checking
Account

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Actual
Forecast
Net Sales
Gross sales
Cash position
Net margin
Total head count
Average selling price
Revenue by product
Total expenses
Gross margin
Head count by department
Total head count
Debt Equity Ratio
Equity

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Depreciation
Income taxes
EBITDA
General and Administrative
Expenses
Work in progress
Gross profit
Preference Shares
Cash flow
Context
•
•
•
•
•

CEO worried about cash position
Sales are just picking up
“How many can we hire now?”
“Can we spend marketing dollars as planned?”
“Are our (profitable) direct sales picking up?”
Priority
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Cost of Goods Sold
Advance paid to manufacturer
Average cost of acquisition
Advertisement expenditure
Revenue by channel
Sundry debtors
Accounts payable
Prepaid expenses
Miscellaneous expenses
Net profit
Salaries
Short-term Investments
Long-term investments
Citibank Checking Account
Bank of America Checking
Account

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Actual
Forecast
Net Sales
Gross sales
Cash position
Net margin
Total head count
Average selling price
Revenue by product
Total expenses
Gross margin
Head count by department
Total head count
Debt Equity Ratio
Equity

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Depreciation
Income taxes
EBITDA
General and Administrative
Expenses
Work in progress
Gross profit
Preference Shares
Cash flow
Draw a draft dashboard manually. A
paper and a pencil works best!
Examples and Critique of
Dashboards

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No Reference

X
100% is how much?

No Index

Different
Periods

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$M

$M

Axis?

$M

$M

Axis?
Resources
Juice Analytics
A Guide to Creating Dashboards People Love to Use

Color Harmony Crash Course
colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory

Visual Encoding – How to use?
http://complexdiagrams.com/properties

Edward Tufte’s Book
http://www.edwardtufte.com
cs@perceptive-analytics.com

646.583.0001

#Dashboard

61
Perceptive’s Dashboard Tool Kit
http://www.perceptive-analytics.com/exceldashboard-reporting/#dbtk
(link will be sent to you via chat)

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Your Feedback on this Webinar
• Below Expectations
• Met Expectations
• Above Expectations

cs@perceptive-analytics.com

646.583.0001

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63
Webinar – How to create a Winning
Budgeting

January 22, 2014

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646.583.0001

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64
Thank you!
cs@perceptive-analytics.com
+1.646.583.0001

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Create Compelling Dashboards for Finance Professionals