A controller becomes a data expert the moment they can answer a management question from live Business Central data themselves, without waiting for IT to build a report. The tool that makes that possible is the one they already use: Excel, connected directly to Business Central tables, refreshed with one click and respecting the same permissions they have inside Business Central. In this post, Elielma Silva, Senior Consultant Exsion Reporting at Exsion365, explains what that shift looks like in practice and how to make it.
Picture the usual version first. As a financial controller you receive an urgent request from management about the margin on a specific project. The data lives in Business Central, but turning it into a usable report normally takes days. You wait until IT has time, someone builds a custom report, and by the time it lands the information is already outdated. Many controllers will recognise the situation, and it is why more and more of them want to work directly with their data.
The role of the controller has changed significantly in recent years. You are no longer only responsible for monitoring the numbers; you are expected to provide the insight that supports strategic decisions. That shift requires a proactive mindset and the right tools.
As a consultant I often see controllers frustrated by the lack of flexibility in their reporting process. You do not want to rely on IT for every report. You already have the financial expertise. What you often lack is the means to turn that expertise into a report you can adjust yourself.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a capable ERP system, and it holds a wealth of financial data. Accessing and combining that data is the difficult part. Business Central's own reporting options, described in Microsoft's reporting and business intelligence overview, range from built-in reports and financial reports to Power BI. Each covers a slice; none of them lets a controller combine, say, G/L Entry (table 17), Job Ledger Entry (169) and the dimension set on each posting in one flexible layout without help.
Common challenges include:
The table below shows how the three ways of working compare for a typical month-end question.
[[TABLE_START]]
Way of working | Who builds the report | Time to an answer | Data freshness | Can the controller change it
Custom report from IT | Developer or consultant | Days to weeks | Current at delivery | No, new request needed
Manual export to Excel | The controller, by hand | Hours, repeated every month | Snapshot at export | Yes, but the layout breaks on the next export
Excel connected live to Business Central | The controller, once | Minutes, then one click | Live on every refresh | Yes, at any time
[[TABLE_END]]
Most controllers work in Excel every day and are comfortable in it. The real issue is the gap between Business Central and Excel.
As a controller you are already an Excel expert. You know the formulas and you know how to present data clearly. What you need is a bridge between the ERP and Excel, so you can apply your Excel skills directly to your Business Central data.
That is exactly what Exsion Reporting offers. The add-in installs from AppSource in about five minutes, signs in with the controller's own Business Central account and inherits their permissions. The controller picks the tables and fields, the query is stored in the workbook, and every refresh pulls live data into the same layout. If you want to see the mechanics, how to build Business Central management reports in Excel in 7 steps walks through a first report.
With the right tool you can take full control of the reporting process. Start small and build from there: one report you produce every month, rebuilt once on live data.
A good example comes from a construction company using Exsion for budget control. They deal with complex budgets that span several construction phases, from groundwork to completion. With traditional tools it took them days to get a clear overview. Now they refresh the report with one click and immediately see how actual costs compare to budget per phase. When a figure looks wrong, they drill from the total to the posted entries in Business Central without leaving Excel.
The same pattern applies to aged receivables from Customer Ledger Entry, to a monthly P&L by dimension, and to any question that starts with "can you quickly check...". How to reduce IT dependency in Business Central reports covers the workflow step by step.
Controllers who build their own reports see the benefits quickly:
As a controller you are at a crossroads. You can keep waiting for others to provide the data you need, or you can take control yourself. With a tool that integrates with both Business Central and Excel, you have everything you need to become the data expert in your organisation.
In my view the choice is clear. Controllers who take this step not only save time, but deliver sharper insight and contribute more strategically to the business. Try it yourself with the 30-day trial, or get in touch for a demo.
[[FAQ_START]]
What does it mean for a controller to be a data expert? | It means answering management and audit questions from live Business Central data yourself, in Excel, without waiting for IT to build or change a report.
Do controllers need to learn SQL or Power BI for this? | No. Exsion Reporting lets a controller select Business Central tables and fields from inside Excel and keeps the query in the workbook, so Excel skills are enough.
How is this different from exporting Business Central data to Excel? | An export is a snapshot that has to be repeated and reformatted every month. A live connection refreshes the same layout with one click and allows drill-down to the posted entry.
Does self-service reporting bypass Business Central permissions? | No. Exsion Reporting signs in with the user's Business Central account and inherits their permissions, so nobody sees more in Excel than they could in Business Central.
How quickly can a controller get started? | The add-in installs from AppSource in about five minutes and a first report is typically built the same day. A 30-day trial is available.
[[FAQ_END]]