If you’re a CFO or a member of your organization’s executive team, you likely know the process of planning for the upcoming year of business and putting together your company’s budget items. And, if you’re familiar with that process, you also know that things don’t always go as planned.

Ed Gromann, the chief product officer at Centage Corporation, writes for Accounting Today, “In 2017, the U.S. economy was expected to grow by 3 percent, but growth only clocked in at about 2.3 percent.”

In uncertain environments, e.g. the ever-evolving U.S. economy, business leaders need reliable data to make decisions, which is where business intelligence solutions come in to play.

“I think of [business intelligence solutions] as a data warehouse that can pull in data from a variety of sources,” Gromann writes. “Business users can easily layer those datasets on top of one another in interesting and relevant ways.”

Business intelligence tools also can present data visually, making it easier to show end users (i.e. your customers and clients) and pull more information than just financial data, providing a more extensive view of your organization’s operations.

To learn more and read Gromann’s recommendations, head over to Accounting Today.