Power BI Solutions

Understanding Power BI

Making informed decisions about business intelligence tools for your finance team

📊 What Is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence and data visualisation platform that enables organisations to connect to multiple data sources, transform data into a consistent analytical model, and present insights through interactive dashboards and reports.

For finance teams, Power BI provides a structured way to move beyond static, spreadsheet-based reporting by enabling repeatable, transparent, and timely insight. It supports both detailed financial analysis and high-level management reporting, helping organisations understand performance, trends, and risks more clearly.

As part of the broader Microsoft ecosystem, Power BI integrates naturally with tools such as Excel, SQL Server, Azure, and Microsoft 365, making it a practical analytics platform for many organisations.

🔍 Business Intelligence Tools in the Market

There are a number of business intelligence platforms available in the market, including well-established enterprise and specialist analytics tools. These platforms can offer advanced capabilities, but they often come with higher licensing costs, steeper learning curves, and greater technical overhead.

Selecting the right BI platform depends on factors such as:

The size and maturity of the organisation

Existing systems and data landscape

Reporting complexity and governance requirements

Cost and long-term scalability

In many cases, organisations do not require the full complexity of enterprise BI platforms to achieve meaningful improvements in reporting and decision-making.

✓ Why We Focus on Microsoft Power BI

From our experience working with finance teams, Microsoft Power BI offers a strong balance between capability, accessibility, and cost.

Power BI is familiar to many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized organisations that already rely on Microsoft tools in their day-to-day operations. This familiarity reduces adoption effort and supports broader use of reporting and analytics across the business.

Its flexibility allows organisations to start with relatively simple reporting and evolve towards more advanced analytics over time. In addition, licensing costs are relatively low compared to many other BI platforms, making Power BI an accessible and scalable option for organisations seeking robust insight without unnecessary complexity.

Our Power BI Services

Comprehensive Power BI solutions for finance teams

🚀

Power BI Implementation

End-to-end implementation of Power BI solutions tailored to your finance processes. From data modelling to dashboard design, we build solutions that work in real-world environments.

Our Approach:

Requirements gathering and process documentation
Data source integration and Power Query development
Data model design with proper relationships
DAX measure development for financial calculations
Dashboard and report creation
Testing, validation, and deployment
Documentation and knowledge transfer

⚡

Power BI Optimization

Power BI Not Delivering Expected Value?

We help finance teams optimize their Power BI implementation and improve return on Power BI investment.

We're finance professionals first with a passion for tech — we understand finance and reporting. We can therefore deliver technology solutions that meet your needs, without the risk of misalignment.

Maximize Your Power BI Investment

You've invested in Power BI. Let's ensure it delivers full value:

Improve report adoption and usage
Optimize performance and utility
Reconcile Power BI data to traditional reports
Align reports to user and business needs

What We Do

Assess your existing setup and provide gap analysis and a clear roadmap to improve decision support and usefulness of reports.

We Evaluate:

Report usage and adoption opportunities
Performance optimization potential
Data accuracy and validation
Functionality alignment with workflows

Common Problems We Help Solve

"Nobody uses the reports we built"

Usually a mismatch between how the reports work and how finance teams actually think. Technical solution ≠ usable solution.

"The numbers don't match our source systems"

Trust issues kill adoption faster than anything. There are specific techniques to address this.

"It looks good but doesn't do what we need"

The classic demo vs. reality gap. Fixable when you understand the actual workflow.

"Users are stuck when something breaks"

Dependence on external consultants or IT for every issue slows down decision-making and increases costs.

"Users can't modify or customize the reports"

Reports built as black boxes leave teams unable to adapt to changing business needs without expensive rework.

How It Works

Week 1-2: Assessment of reports and user feedback
Week 2: Roadmap with priorities and options
Week 3+: Implementation (if needed)

Get Started

Complimentary 30-minute call: Review 1-2 reports, discuss optimization opportunities, determine if we can help.

🛠️

Technical Support

We provide comprehensive technical support for Power BI solutions, supporting teams through development, optimisation, and ongoing operations. Our service helps resolve complex technical challenges, improve performance and usability, and ensure Power BI assets are delivered and maintained to a high standard.

Our Support Model

✓ Ensures you don't get stuck by providing expert help when issues arise
✓ Builds internal capability by supporting your team rather than replacing it
✓ Cost-efficient access to specialist Power BI expertise without full-time overhead

Support continues post-implementation, including a complimentary first month to resolve all stabilisation and testing issues.

Our Technical Support Services Include:

Data Connectivity & Refresh

Connecting Power BI to supported data sources such as SQL Server, Azure services, Excel, SharePoint, and APIs
Installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of on-premises data gateways
Resolution of scheduled refresh failures and refresh performance issues
Credential management, authentication methods, and refresh security configuration
Setup, maintenance, and issue resolution for incremental refresh

Data Modeling & DAX

Star schema design and data model optimisation
Troubleshooting relationships, including many-to-many and inactive relationships
Creation, validation, and debugging of DAX measures
Implementation of calculations, business logic, and advanced modeling patterns

Report & Dashboard Development

Visual creation, formatting, and layout improvements
Page navigation design using buttons, bookmarks, and menus
Conditional formatting, dynamic titles, and contextual visuals
Drill-through pages, report tooltips, and interactive report features
Accessibility and usability best practices

Security & Governance

Row-Level Security (RLS) design and troubleshooting
Workspace access management and role assignments
App publishing, audience setup, and permissions validation
Guidance on governance best practices and supporting documentation

Power BI Service Administration

Workspace setup, configuration, and ongoing management
Tenant settings guidance aligned to organisational requirements
Usage metrics, adoption monitoring, and reporting
Troubleshooting inconsistencies between Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service

Data Transformation, Automation & Advanced Features

Data transformation, cleansing, and shaping using Power Query
M query troubleshooting and optimisation
Handling large files, slow queries, and refresh bottlenecks
Error handling, data validation, and repeatable transformation patterns
Configuration and troubleshooting of data alerts and report subscriptions

AI & Intelligent Assistance

Guidance on using ChatGPT to support Power BI development activities, including DAX, Power Query, report design, and troubleshooting
Support for built-in AI features within Power BI, such as AI visuals, natural language Q&A, and automated insights
Setup and basic configuration of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to enable governed and controlled AI assistance
Responsible and appropriate use of AI tools in line with data protection, security, and governance considerations

User Support & Training

End-user troubleshooting related to filters, slicers, exports, and navigation
"How do I…?" support requests related to report usage
Guidance on Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service functionality
Creation of user documentation and quick-reference guides
Office hours and drop-in support sessions

Issue Resolution & Incident Support

Resolution of broken reports, dashboards, or visuals
Investigation of data discrepancies and validation issues
Troubleshooting refresh failures and gateway outages
Root cause analysis and implementation of corrective fixes

🎓

Training & Skills Transfer

Power BI, Analytics and AI Training That Builds Capability

At CMN Consulting, we deliver practical, hands-on training across Power BI, analytics and AI, designed to build internal capability and confidence in data-driven decision-making.

Our training is grounded in real-world business scenarios, using practical examples rather than theory. Participants gain skills they can apply immediately within their roles — whether consuming dashboards, analysing insights, or building and governing BI solutions.

Training focuses on building Power BI literacy and awareness for users, while developing the technical capability required to design, deliver and govern effective BI solutions.

Training for Users and Decision-Makers

We provide training for business users, executives and operational teams who utilise Power BI reports and dashboards.

User-focused training includes:

• Understanding and navigating Power BI dashboards
• Interpreting insights, trends and KPIs
• Using interactive detail and drill-through effectively
• Asking the right questions of data
• Using Power BI to support day-to-day and strategic decision-making

Training for Developers and Analysts

We provide training for Power BI developers, analysts and technical teams responsible for building, maintaining and scaling BI solutions.

Developer-focused training can include:

✓ Building data models and data warehouses, reports and visualisations, including dashboards
✓ Connecting to data sources and transforming and enriching data
✓ Sharing and distributing reports using the Power BI Service
✓ Power BI Service features, deployment and lifecycle management
✓ Security, access control and governance
✓ Using AI capabilities to enhance the development and maintenance of Power BI solutions

This ensures BI solutions are robust, secure, scalable and aligned with business needs.

Flexible Delivery

Training can be delivered through:

• Workshops
• One-on-one sessions
• Team-based engagements

Sessions are available on-site or remotely and can be structured to support different skill levels and organisational needs.

Power BI Budget vs Actual Summary Report

📈

Dashboards & Decision Support

Power BI Dashboards for Insight-Driven Decision-Making

At CMN Consulting, we design and deliver interactive Power BI dashboards that transform complex data into clear, actionable insights for executives, finance teams and operational decision-makers.

Our dashboards are designed with a strong focus on user experience, ensuring that users are presented with only the most relevant information required to make informed decisions. By deliberately avoiding information overload, we enable users to quickly identify trends, risks and areas that require attention.

Designed for Clarity, Insight and Action

Dashboards are purpose-built to support effective decision-making and timely action. They are designed to:

• Highlight key metrics and performance indicators
• Surface exceptions, risks and opportunities
• Enable fast interpretation and confident decision-making

Dashboards provide interactive detail and drill-through, allowing decision-makers to easily navigate from high-level insights to the underlying transactions when deeper analysis is required.

Tailored to Your Needs

Dashboards are tailored to your specific needs and designed to align with your strategy, KPIs and decision-making requirements. Solutions scale as your organisation grows and support a wide range of reporting needs, including financial, registration, admissions, payroll, procurement and performance reporting — delivering a single source of truth for informed decisions.

Each dashboard is designed for its intended audience, whether executive, management or operational users, ensuring relevance, clarity and usability at every level of the organisation.

Supporting Better Decisions Across the Organisation

Our dashboard solutions help organisations move beyond static reports to dynamic, interactive insights that support:

✓ Stronger financial and operational oversight
✓ Improved visibility and accountability
✓ Faster identification of issues and opportunities
✓ More confident, data-driven decision-making

By focusing on relevance, clarity and usability, our dashboards empower users to act on insight — not just view data.

Management Accounts Automation – Higher Education

End-to-end Power BI automation delivering on-demand management reporting for a multi-campus university

🎓 Context

University operating in a complex finance and ERP environment, with recurring monthly management reporting requirements across multiple activities, functions, departments, and faculties.

⚠️ Challenge

The preparation of management accounts was time-consuming and painful, with the month-end management reporting process taking approximately 3–5 days to complete. The process relied heavily on manual spreadsheets and offline reconciliations, resulting in inconsistencies and accuracy challenges.

Reports were often finalised late, leaving the finance team with little time to analyse results or investigate exceptions. Management accounts were largely one-dimensional, typically produced at a high-level activity view, while functional, departmental, and faculty-level analysis required additional manual effort and was extremely time-consuming.

✅ Solution

Designed and implemented a Power BI-based management accounts automation solution, delivering end-to-end process automation with minimal manual input.

Management accounts are prepared from granular transactional data, allowing users to drill down from summary-level results to underlying detailed transactions within a single platform, at the click of a button.

The solution provides a single source of truth for management reporting, with data refreshed and updated daily through scheduled refreshes. Management accounts are securely published and shared via the cloud, making them available on demand to authorised users.

The reporting framework supports both traditional functional management accounts and departmental and faculty-level reporting, all within a single, integrated model. The solution includes a user-friendly interface and supports self-service reporting and analytics.

🔧 Power BI & Technical Scope

✓ End-to-end management accounts automation

✓ Granular transactional data modelling

✓ Drill-down capability from summary to detailed data

✓ Traditional functional management accounts reporting

✓ Departmental and faculty-level financial reporting

✓ Power BI data modelling and DAX measures

✓ Data cleaning and transformation (ETL)

✓ Integration with ERP finance data

✓ Scheduled refreshes and Power BI Service deployment

✓ Governed self-service analytics

📈 Outcome / Value Delivered

→

Management accounts preparation time significantly reduced

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Improved accuracy, consistency, and trust in reported figures

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Management accounts available on demand, rather than only at month-end

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Enabled drill-down analysis from summary to transaction-level detail within a single platform

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Enabled flexible functional, departmental, and faculty-level analysis from a single source of truth

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Finance managers and users now spend more time analysing data and investigating exceptions, and significantly less time preparing reports

Ready for Similar Results?

Let's discuss how we can transform your finance reporting and automation