Requirement
Spreadsheet showing the report at the top with further information below
The client, a large UK Insurance company required a tracking spreadsheet to produce graphs and figures to use in budget review meetings.
The budgets were being restructured and cost savings for a particular type of spend were under intense scrutiny. As well as the high level figures, the budget manager needed a more detailed level of understanding in order to prepare for the meetings.
Challenges
The spreadsheet had to handle actuals and forecast against original and revised budgets across 12 months in a way that was easily understood. It also had to show how the 14 elements of the budget were each performing. The output had to be clear and concise, and also compact enough to fit onto one A4 page.
Solution
The solution was an Excel spreadsheet. Actual costs were updated manually using cut and paste from data provided by the finance team. The graphs and tables were designed to meet the budget manager’s very specific requirements.
Design Highlights
This spreadsheet demonstrates a simple but elegant way of presenting financial data that was designed for a very specific purpose.
Excel offers more sophisticated, dynamic solutions, but when the requirement is effectively ‘one sheet of A4 paper’ then it's the design that matters most.