A useful monthly MIS for a CFO has four layers: the financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow), a KPI dashboard, budget-vs-actual variance analysis with commentary, and a cash and receivables view. Built on Excel/Power Query and Power BI, it should refresh from source data with minimal manual work.
The four layers of a good MIS
| Layer | Contents |
|---|---|
| Financial statements | P&L, balance sheet, cash flow (month + YTD) |
| KPI dashboard | Revenue, margins, EBITDA, DSO/DPO, working capital |
| Variance analysis | Budget vs actual, with driver-based commentary |
| Cash & receivables | Cash position, ageing of debtors/creditors |
KPIs the CFO looks for
- Growth & margins — revenue growth, gross/EBITDA/net margin.
- Working capital — DSO (debtor days), DPO, inventory days, cash conversion cycle.
- Liquidity — cash balance, current ratio, runway.
- Compliance — GST/TDS paid, returns filed, dues outstanding.
Build it efficiently
- Export the trial balance / ledgers from Tally or the ERP.
- Use Power Query to clean and map accounts to MIS groups (a mapping table).
- Build the statements and KPIs with pivot tables or a data model.
- Visualise trends and variances in Power BI; refresh monthly.
Investing once in a mapping table and Power Query steps turns the monthly MIS into a refresh-and-review task.
Make it decision-useful
- Lead with a one-page executive summary and 3-5 key messages.
- Explain variances by driver (volume, price, cost), not just numbers.
- Show trend (12-month) alongside the current month.
- Keep formatting consistent month to month for comparability.
Key takeaways
- Four layers: statements, KPI dashboard, variance, cash/receivables.
- Track margins, working-capital days, liquidity and compliance.
- Build with Power Query + Power BI for one-click refresh.
- Lead with an executive summary and driver-based commentary.