fbpx Skip to content

How the Right Solution Can Help Tame the Government Agency Data Challenge

insightsoftware -
April 9, 2020

insightsoftware is a global provider of reporting, analytics, and performance management solutions, empowering organizations to unlock business data and transform the way finance and data teams operate.

Is Blogpost Govtdatachallenge Blog

Technology changes are happening everywhere, and government agencies are no different. There is more access than ever to data that improves awareness of agency health. Yet managing and extracting value from large amounts of data can be challenging. The ability to acquire and analyze data is still very manual and often depends on IT. Time-consuming manual processes prevent completion of other critical tasks. And neither manual processes nor IT can keep up with the number of reporting and data requests received each day.

Adapting to Policy and Law

With the increase in technology purchases and interest in technology across all areas of government, you must be able to support your agency with ROI analysis and audit capabilities. Chief Data Officer Dorothy Aronson of the National Science Foundation, an accountant-turned-technologist, explains the importance of information technology and the ability of agencies to be agile: “Our [information technology] needs to be cutting edge. It needs to be nimble and agile. It needs to allow for the frequent changes in policy and law.”

Harnessing, analyzing, and publishing the data needed for audits and agency spending decisions should not come at the price of your time. Leveraging purpose-built ERP reporting and analytics technology to simplify reporting and acquisition of data is the only way finance can keep up with daily requirements.

What to Look for in a Reporting and Analysis Solution

The good news is that technology is on your side. Investing in the right financial reporting software takes the manual work out of data acquisition and reporting. This frees up time for you to do the analytics and make the important decisions needed to keep up with key agency decisions.

To achieve the agility to manage your own analyses, consider software that can improve your workflow in several key areas.

Real-Time Data Access to Multiple ERPs

Your solution should integrate with leading ERP software such as PeopleSoft and Microsoft Dynamics to enable capturing data from multiple sources. Save your valuable time by avoiding manual data pulls that become stale as soon as you download them.

Make the Process of Gathering and Reporting on Data Simple

Eliminate the dependence on IT or power users to get your job done. Look for tools that are easy to learn and easy to use with an intuitive user interface and deep ERP integration. You can avoid the use of native ERP reporting tools that require specialist technical expertise.

Reduce Reporting Cycles in Preparing for Audits and Financial Reporting

The more your tools can standardize your reporting, the better. Reducing the reporting cycle through the use of pre-built templates or the capability to easily create custom templates is a must to save you time.

Keep Data Secure

Finance works with sensitive data, so security is paramount in the financial management solution you choose. You should feel confident that data is protected.

The right solution will also help you track your KPIs such as:

  • Collaborating internally as well as across government agencies, and reporting progress in a manner the public can easily track
  • Limiting personnel access to data and controlling which personnel have access to privileged networks and high value assets
  • Managing change in cash loss by getting payments right. The government can achieve the greatest return on investment for the taxpayer by ensuring that improper payments are eliminated in the highest-risk programs, such as in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), by focusing on reducing incorrect payments that result in monetary loss.

If you want fast agency reporting, better insights into agency spending, control over data pulls and reporting as well as simpler audits, consider insightsoftware solutions. To learn more, request a free personalized demo.

There are true benefits to automating reporting processes, especially when it comes to government. View our infographic to learn how you can take charge of government financial reporting through automation.