How Power BI Supports Data-Driven CFOs
In today's article, Conor Flanagan, ERP Team Lead at Storm Technology, outlines some of the key ways Power BI can help CFOs enhance data-driven decision making.
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Not only are CFOs the financial drivers of a business, they're strategic partners in driving growth, identifying risk, and forecasting the future. To deliver on these expectations, finance leaders must rely on real-time data and insights, not just historical reporting. However, 44% of CFOs say they struggle to make informed decisions due to challenges surrounding business data, according to the 2025 Strategic CFO Report. This is where Microsoft’s low-code business intelligence tool, Power BI can help. With the ability to create visual dashboards and reports, Power BI helps users develop a deeper understanding of their data, helping them to improve planning and decision-making. Below, we discuss some of the key ways Power BI can help support data-driven decision-making.
Real-Time Financial Visibility
Approximately 44% of CFOs struggle with data visibility, according to EY. Power BI helps CFOs tackle this challenge by providing real-time access to financial dashboards that pull data from systems like ERP, CRM, accounting tools, and Excel. With the ability to connect multiple data sources, Power BI allows CFOs to view a unified financial overview that is automatically updated with current and accurate data. This helps CFOs to avoid the challenges that come with disparate systems and fragmented data. Users can visualise and report detailed financial information like:
Cash flow dashboards that show up-to-the-minute liquidity.
Revenue vs forecast charts that provide early indicators of over or underperformance.
Expense analysis that breaks down spending by department and highlights areas for improvement.
Real-time profit and loss dashboards.
CFOs can also create custom reports and dashboards that align with their specific financial objectives and KPIs, ensuring they always have access to the information they need to support strategic and data-driven decision-making.
Advanced Forecasting
The 2025 Strategic CFO Report highlighted that 41% of finance leaders say they’re unable to react quickly due to data challenges. Going beyond simply reacting to data or market changes, Power BI enables CFOs to forecast with accuracy and act proactively. Power BI’s built-in AI and machine learning capabilities provide time-series forecasting, anomaly detection, and predictive analytics. This means CFOs can anticipate financial trends, detect risks early, and model “what-if” scenarios with confidence. This shift from reactive reporting to future-focused planning is a distinct characteristic of successful, data-driven finance leaders.
Secure and Compliant Reporting
With the sensitive nature of financial data, organisations need to be sure the systems they use to store and manage this information are highly secure. Power BI is built with enterprise-grade security, compliance, and governance at its core, giving CFOs peace of mind when it comes to the security of their important data. Power BI offers various capabilities to help teams guarantee data security, including:
Row-level security that ensures users only see data relevant to them.
Integration with Microsoft Purview for compliance tracking.
Support for compliance frameworks like GDPR, which helps mitigate risk.
By using Power BI to visualise and report financial data, CFOs can trust that insights are delivered safely and accurately, without compromising control and governance.
Continuous Performance Monitoring
With Power BI, CFOs can set up automated alerts and KPI tracking for ongoing performance management. This means that instead of reacting to existing problems, they can respond proactively, before the issue becomes greater. For example, Power BI can track key financial metrics and then send alerts to users when revenue drops below a certain threshold or send notifications for overspending in specific departments. This allows CFOs to react as quickly as possible to any issues, enabling agile financial leadership.
By consolidating data, automating reporting, enabling predictive insights, and ensuring secure collaboration, Power BI equips finance leaders with everything they need to make smarter, faster, and more strategic decisions. As organisations lean into a more data-driven culture, CFOs who leverage tools like Power BI will be those shifting from reactive financial reporters to proactive, data-driven strategists.
If you would like to learn more about Power BI, get in touch with one of our solution specialists today.
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