Interactive charts and sensitivity analysis

And normally, that’s the way they stay when they’re placed online. They’re still of interest to investors, of course – but companies are missing out on all the opportunities the web provides to make graphics even more informative and dynamic. For example, charts can be brought alive to demonstrate trends or help with analysis. Alternatively, charts or graphs could allow readers to input their own data to map out potential future scenarios.

Few companies provide sufficient information about the principal assumptions that underpin their calculations, or show the potential impact of variations in these assumptions. But the web makes this easy to do: companies can show their assumptions in a spreadsheet, allowing users to change some of the data to assess the impact on the company’s performance.

What investors want:

• Graphics and charts that show trends clearly, without being over-cluttered with numbers and data.
• Clear, diagrammatic representation of numbers in an online format.
• A better understanding of what management is planning for – or should be planning for.
• Sufficient understanding about the principal management assumptions to allow an understanding of the inherent sensitivities and uncertainties.
• The ability to ‘play around’ with numbers, changing inputs to see how this might impact financial performance or position.

What we’ve done to make it work:

• Used dynamic charts sensibly and sparingly.
• Enabled investors to input their own data and see the potential impact.
• Introduced dynamic charts that allow users to explore the key drivers of revenue growth.
• Enabled users to explore the impact on the pension deficit if underlying assumptions are changed.
• Ensured management estimates of performance are always available.
• Located assumptions in easy-to-access tables and spreadsheets, allowing users to change data to test their own assumptions.

See this in action 1

See this in action 2