Profit & Loss Variance Report with Companies in The Rows

What is a Profit & Loss Variance Report with Companies in The Rows?

Profit & Loss Variance Reports with Companies in the Rows are considered month-end consolidation tools and are used by CFOs and Analysts to easily compare account-level performance across entities. Key functionality in this type of report displays a typical monthly column layout, while the row layout is quite unique. The rows first list a GL account and then lists subsidiaries, each with their own departments. You will find an example of this type of report below.

Purpose of P&L Reports with Entities in the Rows

Companies and organizations use P&L Reports with Entities in the Rows to easily compare account balances across subsidiaries and departments. When used as part of good business practices in a Finance & Accounting Department, a company can improve its cross-company benchmarking, as well as, reduce the risk that contributors to significant variances go undetected.

P&L Reports with Entities in the Row Example

Here is an example of a Profit & Loss Variance Report with companies and departments listed in the rows.

Profit & Loss Variance Report with Companies in Rows Example

Profit & Loss Variance Report with Companies in Rows Example

You can find hundreds of additional examples here.

Who Uses This Type of Report?

The typical users of this type of report are: CFOs and Analysts.

Other Reports Often Used in Conjunction with P&L Reports with Entities in the Rows

Progressive Finance & Accounting Departments sometimes use several different P&L Reports with Entities in the Rows, along with standard P&L reports, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow Statements and other management and control tools.

Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From?

The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others.

In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions.

What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards?

Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:

  • Native ERP report writers and query tools
  • Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
  • Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
  • Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)

Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Cloud Solutions and More Examples

/by