8 Tips To Improve Nursing Home Accounting Reports

You play a vital role in the financial management of your nursing home, long-term care facility, or retirement community. Developing accurate, engaging, and informative financial presentations is a way to positively benefit your organization and demonstrate your expertise. 
Creating powerful accounting presentations is a valuable skill. Read on to learn eight tips for creating stellar reports that make a lasting impression at your next meeting. 

Why Financial Presentations Are Critical To Your Organization

Effective financial reports present financial information in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Some reasons they are essential to your organization include: 

Accurate financial statements enhance decision-making

Board members depend on accurate financial information to make positive decisions that ultimately impact your organization's mission. Accurate financial reports provide a snapshot of your organization's financial health, enabling stakeholders to monitor progress and make informed decisions.

Financial statements typically included in presentations include income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, cost reports, and supplementary notes. Additional documents that fulfill compliance requirements for nursing homes include annual and quarterly statements, cost reports, and payroll records.  

Financial reports enable effective communication.

Communicating financial information plays a crucial role in employee collaboration and the decision-making process. Financial reports that facilitate communication typically use standardized economic language. In addition, they avoid using complex technological concepts, ensuring all stakeholders can interpret the information.

Financial reports provide accountability.

The board of directors has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure responsible financial management. Financial presentations help provide accountability through accurate reporting, transparency, and performance measurement across time. Further, financial reporting is essential to maintain compliance with laws and regulations. 

Comprehensive financial reports increase donor confidence.

Accurate and up-to-date financial presentations increase donor confidence by providing transparency and accountability. Further, an external audit of financial statements can increase trust by assuring donors that funds are allocated for their intended purpose.

8 Tips for Creating Powerful Financial Presentations

Financial presentations ensure stakeholders have the information required to make strategic decisions. Here are eight tips to help you create a compelling presentation that will leave a positive impression at your next meeting:

Tip #1: Understand your audience.

The first step to creating an effective presentation is to clarify and analyze your audience. For example, organizational stakeholders, government agencies, regulatory bodies, and health agencies require different information. Further, some individuals in these groups may be experts, while others have a general understanding of financial concepts.

For example, the board of directors may be interested in high-level financial metrics, while managers may be more concerned with detailed financial analysis. Further, a bank manager may require specific data to make a lending decision, while a government health care agency may request information to assess compliance with regulatory requirements.

Customizing financial statements is essential for creating a compelling presentation. To help streamline the process, try configuring your accounting application or long-term care software to produce custom reports for your intended audience. 

Tip #2: Clarify the purpose of your presentation.

Once you have clarified your audience, the next step is to define the presentation's purpose. By defining the intention of your presentation, you can focus your efforts on ensuring your information is relevant to your intended audience.

Clarifying your purpose additionally helps you structure the content in the most meaningful way. Doing so helps save time when generating reports and ensures you include an appropriate level of detail when communicating key concepts. 

Tip #3: Use a Logical Structure

Create a logical structure by first outlining the key components of your presentation. Next, ensure that each section flows logically from one point to the next and is followed by a clear and concise explanation of any financial data. 

Using a logical structure provides clarity and focus, and drives engagement by connecting key concepts that are most relevant to your audience. Further, a logical structure effectively supports your key arguments, conclusion, and any calls to action. 

Tip #4: Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Numbers often speak louder than words. That’s why it’s essential to focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to your audience. 

KPIs are critical because they provide your audience with the most impactful information by communicating the most important metrics and measures. Ensure you choose KPIs that align with your intended audience, presentation purpose, and organization's strategic goals and objectives.

Tip #5: Ensure Total Transparency

Transparency is essential when presenting financial information, whether it’s positive or negative. Resist the urge to hide challenges while communicating your nursing facilities’ finances, and be sure to include any issues that require immediate attention. 

Being transparent additionally ensures compliance by demonstrating a commitment to maintaining regulatory reporting responsibilities. Further, it creates opportunities for dialogue and feedback, builds trust, establishes credibility, and inspires confidence in your expertise. 

Tip #6: Provide Context 

Context is critical when disclosing financial information because it adds meaning to the data. For example, rather than just presenting numbers, provide insights into economic conditions or industry changes that may have led to those figures. 

Without context, financial reports can be challenging to interpret and may not provide meaningful insights to your audience. In addition, providing context is a valuable opportunity to showcase your economic knowledge and communication skills. 

Tip #7: Use Visual Aids

Visual aids are a powerful tool in any presentation. Instead of just presenting financial records, use graphs, charts, and other aids to help create a story that helps your audience better understand the information. By incorporating visuals into your presentation, you can enhance engagement, improve retention, and simplify complex information.

Tip #8: Provide Actionable Recommendations

Successful accounting managers understand that presenting numbers is not enough. That’s why offering actionable recommendations for improving financial performance is important. Doing so demonstrates your expertise and dedication to the organization’s success.

For example, if your facility is experiencing a decline in profitability, offer recommendations for new services for nursing home residents that can boost revenue. Further, you can advise on less profitable business functions and how they can be optimized to reduce costs. 

Providing actionable recommendations is a critical part of the presentation process. Besides demonstrating your credibility as a finance professional, offering insights can establish you as a trusted advisor to your stakeholders.

Modern Accounting Software Makes the Difference

Modern cloud-based financial management software can help you create compelling financial presentations in several ways:

Customizable Dashboards

Most accounting systems provide customizable dashboards that allow you to create visual representations of financial information. These include charts, graphs, and other visual aids that make it easier for board members and managers to understand complex financial data.

Consolidated Financial Statements

The most effective financial software allows you to consolidate nursing home financial statements from multiple entities. Doing so enables you to create presentations that provide a complete picture of the nursing home’s financial performance.

Automated Reporting

Automated reporting enables you to quickly create financial statements on a regular basis in accordance with established accounting principles and reporting requirements. This allows you to save time when creating financial presentations so you can focus on providing visual elements and other elements to engage your audience.

Drill-Down Capabilities

Modern accounting software provides drill-down capabilities that allow you to dive deep into accounting data to identify the underlying causes of financial performance. This enables you to provide additional context and recommendations based on a thorough understanding of your organization's financial activity.

Enhanced Collaboration

Cloud-based accounting software enhances collaboration, enabling everyone to work together to create presentations that are accurate, comprehensive, and engaging to a broader audience. 

Popular Software Options for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities

There are several popular software options available for nursing home accounting, including: 

• QuickBooks
• Netsmart
• Epicor
• AccuFund
• Sage Intacct

Choosing a solution can be a challenging process — that’s why it’s critical to thoroughly evaluate each option to determine which one best fits your requirements. 

Powerful financial presentations require the right accounting software. 

Effective financial presentations are vital to the success of your nursing facility, retirement home, or assisted living community. They enable you to communicate crucial information that informs decision-making and ultimately impacts your mission. 

enSYNC can help you make the best choice. With over 25 years of nonprofit experience, we can help you unlock the power of technology to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Contact us for a complimentary assessment to learn more.