How to Design and Present Effective Financial Dashboards

As a CFO, you know that time is money, and every second counts when it comes to managing your business's finances. Financial dashboards offer a powerful solution for keeping tabs on key financial metrics in real-time and simplifying complex data.

However, building an effective and engaging financial dashboard that tells a clear story is easier said than done. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the best practices for designing and presenting financial dashboards that are simple, effective, and visually appealing, including some tools that can help you get the job done.

1. Identify your audience and their needs

The first step in designing a financial dashboard that works is to determine the needs of your audience. What do they need to see? What information is important to them? What story do you want to tell? Once you have a rough idea of the user's needs, you can start to build your dashboard around those key data points. It's important to keep in mind that different audiences will require different dashboards, so make sure you are creating the right dashboards for each group of users.

2. Choose the right tools for the job

There are many tools available on the market for building financial dashboards. Some tools can be expensive and complex, while others are free and easy to use. Excel, Tableau, and Power BI are popular options for building powerful and professional-looking dashboards. If you're not sure which tool to use, take some time to research each one, and choose a tool that fits your budget, skill level, and the needs of your audience.

3. Keep it simple and intuitive

Your financial dashboard should be easy to read and understand quickly. To accomplish this, you need to avoid data overload and focus on critical metrics. It's essential to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter and highlight them in a logical and straightforward way. Avoid adding too many visualizations that could result in a cluttered layout. Your visuals should also be appropriately labeled and easy to understand at a glance.

4. Use visualization to tell a story

Visualization is one of the essential aspects of designing a financial dashboard. It's essential to use the right charts and graphs to represent the data you want to display. For example, a bar chart can be a great way to compare data, while a line chart can be used to illustrate trends over time. Choose the visualization type that best represents the message you want to convey. Make sure you're using the right colors, label the axes, and add context to your visualizations so that your users can understand the information without further explanation.

5. Design for usability and accessibility

Last but not least, the design of your financial dashboard should be accessible to all users. This includes ensuring that it is WCAG and ADA compliant. Accessibility features such as high-contrast mode, keyboard navigation, and alternative text should all be considered during the design phase. This will ensure that your dashboard is usable and accessible to everyone who needs it.

Conclusion

Designing and presenting an effective financial dashboard is not rocket science. But it does require some planning and execution to ensure its successful adoption and usage. Identify your audience and their needs, choose the right tool, keep the design simple and intuitive, use visualization to tell a story and design for usability and accessibility. If you keep these five essential tips in mind, you're on the right track to creating engaging, effective financial dashboards that will provide valuable insights when making informed financial decisions.