Reporting that carries decisions
Articles on steering the business, KPIs, report design and IBCS®.
A report is a trigger, not a steering instrument. Steering only happens when a meeting with a fixed agenda, a named owner and a response path hang on the number – in a monthly, weekly and quarterly beat.
AI in controllingThe Copilot licences are bought, the pilot is running, and the first question to the chatbot returns three different EBIT figures. In 2026, AI in controlling rarely fails on technology – it fails on the question and on the model underneath.
KPIsEvery management team knows its customer list sorted by revenue. Sorted by contribution margin it looks different – and only then does it carry the decision about which customers to keep, restructure or let go.
BI & dataHalf of Swiss SMEs run their controlling without BI, and that is mostly rational. Where Excel tips over, which four criteria signal the switch, and why for many SMEs size M is the target – not XL.
Report designThe typical comment in a monthly report repeats the number printed next to it. How to write variance commentary that gives the board cause and action – and where an AI may help.
Steering the businessAfter a change of ownership, before an investment, in every bank negotiation: the first question is «Is there enough?». What a liquidity report looks like that answers it every week – with a 13-week cash flow forecast, runway and cash conversion cycle.
BI & dataPlanning in Microsoft Fabric IQ has been generally available since late July, and every budget round now raises the same question: is it enough, or do we need Jedox? What Fabric Planning is good for, where a dedicated planning system wins, and how to tell the difference.
BI & dataA year after the Power BI rollout there are sixty reports online, and the management team still works from Excel. That is not a tool problem. It is usually the same ten findings – and none of them lives in the software.
Report designSame numbers, a different decision: one page from a monthly report, designed three times – and what the management board can do with it at each stage.
KPIsMost KPI systems do not fail on technology. They fail on three assumptions that refuse to die. How to recognise these KPI mistakes, what they cost and which rule fixes each of them.
IBCS®IBCS® is the standard for reports people understand without a legend: one notation, seven rules for structure and message. Since June 2026 its notation part is also an ISO standard. What that means for your monthly management report – in ten minutes.
KPIsMost KPI sets are built by collecting: whatever the system delivers and whatever someone once asked for. Start with the decision instead, and you need fewer metrics – each with a reason to exist.
Steering the businessA management report nobody reads is not a cosmetic flaw. It costs a six-figure sum every year — and decisions that are never taken.