This article is all about your financial reporting options for Professional Services organizations relying on Microsoft Dynamics AX for analytics and data management.
In the modern business culture, perhaps more so for Professional Services teams, a powerful, dynamic financial reporting solution is essential to understanding how you’re doing in today’s marketplace, economy, and your specific industry – so you can make strong decisions that develop your business and your brand. This article will zoom in on the top financial reporting tools today, focusing on the best features and functionalities, so you can choose wisely when shopping for a solution to expand your Professional Services team’s Microsoft Dynamics AX processes.
Independent software vendor (ISV) solutions usually query financial data from your accounting system and/or other data sources, whether through a live integration from Microsoft Dynamics AX or from a Business Intelligence (BI) data store. Like most enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, AX come equipped with a built-in report writer, but a lot of Professional Services organizations are going with an ISV reporting software due to the ease of use paired with effective reporting capabilities that transcends the native reporting functionality. With the top ISV tools, you can design reusable report templates, which enables business end users to manage and analyze their own information, producing analytics for decision-makers. Having recently chatted with multiple accounting professionals at conferences at the end of last year, we talked about “free” Microsoft BI stack options versus ISV products. Financial reporting is, however, such a vital process that you have to pinpoint you’re your organization specifically needs and how a solution fits into your BI strategy. Things to consider when shopping around: data integration options, platform choices (Excel, Web, and/or proprietary), and ease of use, among other aspects.
As the arguable foundation to financial reporting, it makes sense to start with data integrations. Does your team require real-time analyses that can only really be achieved through a direct integration from Microsoft Dynamics AX? Or do you want to query data from a BI data store, like an online analytical processing (OLAP) cube or a data warehouse, for a higher performance? Live integrations pull data directly from AX without replicating company info to a warehouse or cube for up-to-the-minute financial reports. BI data stores, whether a cube, a mart, or a warehouse, are an additional cost, but some storage solutions allow you to house multiple types of data in one place. That said, if your organization has multiple Dynamics AX users that might be simultaneously pulling substantial data sets, it slow down the AX server.
To continue learning more about Financial Reporting for Professional Services with Dynamics AX, read the rest of this article here.
By Solver, Inc.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.