Accuracy, Timeliness and Context

Do you want it done fast, or do you want it done right? When it comes to providing
management and financial information, the answer, of course, is both. Information
that is wrong is worse than useless but so, too, is information that comes too late to
act on. There will always be trade-offs between the two, but advances in information
technology now make it possible to have accurate, relevant facts faster and in the
right context.
Our research shows that while most people
are happy with the accuracy of the
information they get, they want it sooner. A
majority of the executives participating in
our research expressed satisfaction with the
availability of standard financial and highlevel
operating information. Two-thirds said
they have confidence in the information
they receive from their IT systems, and 73
percent said it generally agrees with what
they know to be true. Yet a majority (59
percent) think timeliness of the information
is an issue. Beyond the issue of the timeliness and relevance of the data is the question of
context. Even when people do receive accurate, up-to-the minute information about
their business, a majority (51 percent) of our research participants find it difficult or
very difficult to determine the “what, why and how” about important numbers (see
Figure 3). Only one in five finds that easy or very easy to do. Knowing the numbers
behind the numbers often is critical to gaining timely insight and therefore knowing
what the next steps should be.
One of the most important advances IT systems have provided over the past decade
is the ability to access detailed information on an exception basis. IT systems are
able to collect vast quantities of granular data. In the past, people received reams of
paper-based reports with almost every possible number they could want. For most,
though, the important facts were buried in a mountain of data that made it nearly
impossible to understand their context or to see which of many factors were driving
the results. This sort of feature will help users sort according to targeted criteria.
Our research outside this study finds two recurring themes that apply to delays in
providing important information to executives and managers as well as trouble in
understanding the “what, why and how” behind the numbers. The first is that the
data is difficult to access, usually because it must be pulled from disparate systems.
Establishing a single data source (such as a data warehouse) that brings all this
enterprise data together is a productive means to address this. The second issue is
people’s reliance on spreadsheets to collect information and analyze it on a recurring
basis. Rather than establishing an automated system for collecting, analyzing and
disseminating recurring information, most companies rely on a largely manual
process. Data moves from individual systems into spreadsheets where users combine
and analyze them. (In some cases the collection point is a desktop database. While
this is a better approach, it still falls short when used by large corporations.) Not
only are the steps needed to assemble the data time-consuming, there are delays
caused by error-checking and correction. A third reason, discussed at greater length
below, is excessively long intervals in completing the accounting close