How do you exceed BIG EXPECTATIONS when analyzing non-standardized metrics … in little time?
Answer: BIG DRILL
Drilling down on ‘the numbers’ is second nature for financial reporting professionals when performing analysis on their own company’s financial information, metrics and KPI’s. Technology has increased the efficiency of this process with automation now commonplace in most accounting software programs and platforms. Thus, we have experienced significant improvement in the internal financial reporting process and in the quality and accuracy of the information we share by being able to quickly drill down to the sources of our data and access the details that drive our numbers.
Speak Confidently and Carry a Big Drill.
…..and that’s all fine and dandy and extremely valuable. But, what happens when we are asked to broaden our analysis and comparison of metrics that extend outside the scope of our own ledgers and reporting platforms?
Ugh! You want me to do what? Run the same metrics for those in our peer group, industry and similarly sized companies in the S&P?
The days of painful long hours of research quickly come back from memory. Especially, when the financial information is non-standard, outside of the GAAP financial statements or is calculated/adjusted uniquely by individual companies. The ‘non-GAAP’ metrics and the increasing proliferation of this data that companies present to stakeholders come to mind. After all, it would take hours of research because we don’t have the ability to drill down as easily and quickly on numbers and metrics that are not our own.
Or Do We?
