Chicago-based Grant Thornton (FY17 net revenue of $1.8 billion) has equipped the 1,600 professionals in its tax practice with Microsoft Power BI a data visualization tool. The firm announced that the move demonstrates Grant Thornton’s commitment to innovative technologies that benefit clients. While we mention data visualization tool, there are also a variety of Online Collaboration Tools that companies may be able to implement within their business to help boost team productivity. When it comes to running a business, there’s so much to manage, so anything that can make it easier is worth looking into at least. If a business is utilizing Microsoft Office software packages, they may also wish to implement end user experience monitoring to keep track of how the software is performing and if its use is benefitting the business.
Using Power BI, Grant Thornton will be able to aggregate large amounts of data into graphs and charts that tax professionals can instantly understand helping them go beyond spreadsheets. Making Microsoft Power BI available to all professionals at every level of the tax practice reflects our belief that data is the future of tax accounting and professional services, says Jamie Fowler, national MP of tax services.
Applying data visualization tools to tax data makes it easy for anyone to understand a company’s tax position, and anyone can learn how to use it by taking things like this Power BI course. Moreover, it can yield unexpected business insights. Because tax information touches almost every aspect of a business from sales to compensation, performing data visualizations as part of a tax engagement often provides revelations that go beyond taxation, adds Fowler.
Power BI will complement Grant Thornton’s previous deployments of data-visualization software and also serve as the foundation for new offerings. All Grant Thornton tax professionals are receiving extensive training in Power BI and related efforts.
