Mid-market CFOs are having to adapt to growing demands from the role. Growth targets are ambitious, margins are under constant pressure and boards expect sharper answers at greater speed. Yet a focus on speed can often have impact on quality. That’s why there stands a clear difference between finance leaders who are reacting and those who are shaping the agenda often comes down to one thing: the quality, speed, and credibility of their reporting.
Leading CFOs don’t just report the numbers. They deliver insight - consistently, accurately, and in time to influence decisions.
So what does best-in-class reporting actually look like?
From volume to value: fewer reports, better decisions
Many finance teams are overwhelmed by lengthy reporting packs that take days to produce and even longer to digest. Too often, these reports focus on what can be reported rather than what needs to be decided.
High-performing CFOs take a more disciplined approach. They strip reporting back to what truly matters.
Their focus is on:
- A concise set of KPIs directly linked to strategic objectives
- Clear variance analysis that explains why performance has changed, not just that it has
- Consistent definitions and structures so stakeholders trust the numbers without hesitation
When reporting is slow and manual, decisions are often made using information that is already out of date or lacks the detail needed to act with confidence. Data extracted into spreadsheets, reworked offline, and circulated in multiple versions introduces error, creates version-control issues, and makes it difficult to trace figures back to source transactions. Over time, this erodes trust - even when the underlying data is technically correct.
Leading CFOs recognise that a clear and thorough approach, not volume, is what drives better outcomes.
Real-time visibility beats month-end surprises
Traditional reporting cycles often mean finance teams are explaining the past while the business is already facing new challenges. By the time issues surface in a month-end pack, the opportunity to act may have passed.
Best-in-class CFOs close this gap by investing in better financial visibility. They prioritise systems and processes that deliver:
- Faster close cycles
- Near real-time access to actuals
- Early warning indicators across cash, margin, and risk
Simplified visibility removes uncertainty from decision-making. When reporting is clear, consistent, and easy to understand, leaders can focus on what the numbers are telling them rather than questioning how they were produced. With earlier insight, performance conversations happen sooner, and corrective action can be taken while there’s still time to make an impact.
Performance-led reporting that connects finance and operations
The most effective CFOs design reporting that goes beyond finance. They connect financial outcomes to the operational drivers behind them.
That means linking:
- Revenue performance to customer behaviour
- Cost trends to operational efficiency
- Cash flow to working capital and funding decisions
This type of multi-dimensional reporting provides context, not just totals. It allows organisations to analyse performance by department, project, fund, or cost centre - without relying on complex spreadsheet workarounds. When finance reporting speaks the same language as the rest of the business, accountability improves across teams and finance becomes a true strategic partner.
Automation frees finance teams to add strategic value
Manual reporting doesn’t just slow things down - it actively limits the value finance teams can deliver.
Modern reporting tools dramatically reduce the time spent reconciling data, rebuilding reports, and checking spreadsheets. Reports generated directly from live financial data improve accuracy, ensure consistency, and allow finance teams to focus on higher-value work such as trend analysis and performance insight.
Live data connections into tools like Excel or Power BI mean reports refresh automatically, without repeated exports or manual intervention. Business users gain real-time visibility, while finance teams spend less time distributing numbers and more time interpreting them - adding strategic value not just within finance, but across the organisation.
Multi-entity reporting without the stress
For growing organisations, multi-entity reporting is often one of the most complex and time-consuming areas of finance.
Many teams are still manually consolidating entities - aligning charts of accounts, managing intercompany eliminations, and pulling everything together in spreadsheets. The result is a slow, risky, and stressful process, particularly at period end.
Leading CFOs recognise that the challenge isn’t organisational complexity - it’s using systems that weren’t designed to manage it. With standardised reporting structures, automated intercompany eliminations, and one-click consolidation, finance teams can produce accurate group and entity-level reports quickly, with full drill-down to the underlying transactions.
Consistency builds credibility
Trust is the foundation of effective reporting. When numbers change depending on who runs the report, confidence quickly erodes.
High-performing finance teams standardise:
- Data sources
- Chart of accounts and reporting structures
- Reporting templates and cadence
This consistency ensures leaders focus on insight and action rather than reconciling discrepancies. It also allows finance teams to scale their impact as the business grows - without increasing workload.
Reporting as an integral leadership tool
The reports that set leading CFOs apart aren’t necessarily more complex. They are clearer, faster, and more relevant. They provide insight, not just information.
The question facing CFOs has shifted to a new level: “Can your reporting influence decisions, drive performance and support long-term growth?”
To explore these challenges in more depth, watch Part 1 of the Q&A series from our Pre-Sales Consultant Zaina Haider, where she discusses the real-world reporting issues finance teams face, and how leading CFOs are addressing them through better visibility, automation and insight-driven reporting.
👉 Watch the first part of the series now
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