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Power BI Update: September 2024 – Smarter Reporting and Security Tools for Accountants

Writer's picture: Lachlan McLeodLachlan McLeod

The September Power BI update brings exciting new features designed to streamline reporting, enhance data security, and simplify analysis for professionals. Here’s a look at these updates and why they matter for firms aiming to improve their client service and internal efficiencies.


Fabric Metrics Layer: A New Era of Metric Management

Consistency is key in financial reporting, and the Fabric Metrics Layer brings precisely that. Power BI ensures uniformity and accuracy across reports by allowing trusted creators to establish standardised metrics.


Why This Matters:

  • Maintains data consistency across multiple clients by ensuring that all financial reports pull from the same, trusted metrics.

  • Reduces errors and discrepancies, crucial for maintaining data integrity across services.


Bottom Line: The Fabric Metrics Layer empowers firms to deliver accurate, consistent reporting across clients and departments, reducing errors and ensuring precision.


Default Full Report Summaries in Copilot Pane

Efficiently navigating large reports just got easier. With automatic summaries, Power BI’s Copilot pane provides quick access to key insights across all report pages without the need to scroll through multiple sections.


Why This Matters:

  • Simplifies the review process by offering instant high-level summaries across multiple report pages.

  • Allows accountants to identify financial trends and insights without having to request specific summaries.


Bottom Line: For firms working with extensive, multi-page reports, this feature speeds up data analysis and insight delivery for clients, making the review process smoother and faster.


Subscribe to Reports on the Last Day of the Month

Month-end reporting is critical, and timing is everything. Power BI’s new subscription option ensures that month-end reports are delivered to clients at the right time, every time.

Used with permission from Microsoft.

Why This Matters:

  • Automates the delivery of month-end reports, so accountants don’t need to worry about varied month lengths.

  • Reduces the manual intervention required during critical reporting times, improving efficiency.


Bottom Line: This feature ensures firms can deliver timely, accurate month-end reports without any manual scheduling, helping clients manage their finances.


Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Power BI in Teams

Data security is paramount, especially in the financial sector. Enhanced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in Power BI for Teams protects sensitive client data.

Used with permission from Microsoft.

Why This Matters:

  • Ensures that only authorised personnel can access sensitive financial reports, preventing unauthorised access.

  • Meets data protection regulations, a critical requirement for client confidentiality and trust.


Bottom Line: With MFA, firms can protect client data and enhance compliance with security standards, making it safer to collaborate on shared reports.

 

Visual Calculations & Visual Level Format Strings

Delivering clear, customised reports is crucial in financial data presentation. With new options for visual calculations and formatting, Power BI enhances flexibility for accountants creating client-specific reports.

Used with permission from Microsoft.

Why This Matters:

  • Enables on-visual formatting, allowing for easy adjustment of currencies, percentages, and other metrics.

  • Allows customisation without altering the underlying model, improving report clarity and client comprehension.


Bottom Line: This update enables firms to produce tailored, visually polished financial reports that enhance client understanding and satisfaction.


Multiple Org Apps per Workspace

With the ability to create multiple apps per workspace, Power BI now allows for more tailored reporting environments. Firms can separate content for different service lines, making data access more organised and secure.

Used with permission from Microsoft.

Why This Matters:

  • Enhances organisation by allowing firms to create distinct apps for services such as audit, tax, or advisory.

  • Provides custom permissions for each app, ensuring that data remains accessible to the right people.


Bottom Line: This feature supports efficient segmentation of client services and helps firms manage data securely across departments.


NFC Tag Support in Power BI Mobile

Power BI Mobile’s new NFC Tag support allows you to link reports and dashboards to NFC tags. This feature creates a connection between physical locations and digital insights.

Used with permission from Microsoft.

Why This Matters:

  • Adds physical context to data by allowing users to access specific reports or dashboards at client sites with a simple tap.

  • Streamlines data retrieval for on-site assessments, making it ideal for audits or inventory checks.


Bottom Line: For firms with clients in sectors like logistics or retail, NFC tags can make data more accessible and contextually relevant during on-site audits and financial analyses, enhancing the client experience with location-specific insights.

 

Power BI’s September updates bring impactful tools for firms seeking to improve client service, report accuracy, and operational security. From streamlined report creation and consistent metrics to enhanced security and customised report environments, these features allow professionals to work more efficiently and deliver greater value to their clients.

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