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June 21, 2024
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How to analyse the data using the Fiscal calendar in Power BI ?
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Businesses keep track of their finances carefully to make smart decisions and stay on top of the ever-changing economy. Most businesses use the calendar year, but some use a fiscal year that better matches their business cycle.
A fiscal year is like a calendar year, but it starts and ends on different dates. Businesses use fiscal years because they want to track their finances in a way that makes sense for their business.
For example, a toy store might use a fiscal year that ends in December because that's when they make most of their money from holiday sales. By using a fiscal year, the toy store can get a better picture of how well they're doing each year.
Another problem with fiscal years is that they can make it difficult to track trends over time. For example, if a company changes its fiscal year from ending on January 31st to ending on March 31st, it is difficult to compare its financial performance in one year to its financial performance in the next year.
Despite these problems, there are a number of benefits to using a fiscal year instead of a calendar year. Some of these benefits include:
● Alignment with business cycles: Fiscal years can be aligned with a company's natural business cycles, which can provide a more accurate picture of its financial performance. For example, a retail company might choose to use a fiscal year that ends on January 31, after the holiday season has ended. This would allow the company to report its financial results for the entire holiday season in one fiscal year.
● Tax planning: Companies can use fiscal years to minimise their tax liability. For example, a company might choose to use a fiscal year that ends on March 31, so that it can deduct certain expenses in the current fiscal year rather than the next fiscal year.
● Compliance with government regulations: Some government regulations require companies to use fiscal years. For example, companies that are publicly traded in the United States are required to use fiscal years that end on September 30.
● Flexibility: Fiscal years give companies more flexibility in how they report their financial results. For example, a company might choose to use a fiscal year that ends on a date that is more convenient for its auditors or its investors.
Here are some specific examples of how companies have benefited from using fiscal years:
● Walmart and Target: Walmart and Target both use fiscal years that end on January 31. This allows them to report their financial results for the entire holiday season in one fiscal year.
● Apple: Apple uses a fiscal year that ends on the last Saturday of September. This allows them to align their fiscal year with their product launch cycle.
● The US government: The US government uses a fiscal year that ends on September 30. This allows the government to align its fiscal year with the congressional budget process.
Overall, fiscal years can provide a number of benefits to companies and governments. By carefully considering their needs, companies can choose a fiscal year that will help them to achieve their financial goals.
Cases example
Let us assume a company that has a fiscal year that starts from the last Saturday of September . And this company has a fiscal year of 4–4–5 calendar . The first two months will have 4 weeks and the last month will have 5 weeks in its quarter .
Steps
Step 1 : Generating a Calendar Table
The first step is to create a table containing the calendar dates from September 23, 2022, to October 5, 2028. This table will be used as the basis for calculating the fiscal date.
Calendar = CALENDAR(DATE(2022,9,23),DATE(2028,10,5))In the above code we uses the CALENDAR that can generate date from the Start to the End date that we have provided
Step 2 : This step involves calculating the fiscal calendar date for each record in the Calendar table. The fiscal calendar date is based on the last Saturday of September, which marks the beginning of the fiscal year.
This code defines a measure called Fiscal calendar date that calculates the fiscal calendar date for each record in the Calendar table. It first identifies the last Saturday of September for the current year and the previous year. Then, it checks if the current date falls within the fiscal year (between the last Saturday of September of the previous year and the last Saturday of September of the current year). If so, it calculates the number of days since the last Saturday of September of the previous year. Otherwise, it calculates the number of days before the last Saturday of September of the current year. The result is the fiscal calendar date for the current record.
Step 3: This step involves calculating the fiscal quarter for each record in the Calendar table. The fiscal year is divided into four quarters, each consisting of 91 days.
This code defines a measure called FiscalQuarter that calculates the fiscal quarter for each record in the Calendar table. It first calculates the running total of the fiscal calendar date for each record. Then, it uses a SWITCH statement to assign a fiscal quarter based on the running total. If the running total is less than or equal to 91, the fiscal quarter
Step 4 :This step involves calculating the fiscal month for each record in the Calendar table. The fiscal year is divided into 12 months, each consisting of approximately 28 days.
This code defines a measure called Fiscal Month that calculates the fiscal month for each record in the Calendar table. It first calculates the running total of the fiscal calendar date for each record. Then, it uses a SWITCH statement to assign a fiscal month based on the running total. If the running total is less than or equal to 28, the fiscal month is "P01". If the running total is greater than 28 and less than or equal to 56, the fiscal month is "P02", and so on.
Step 5: This step involves calculating the fiscal year for each record in the Calendar table. The fiscal year starts on the last Saturday of September and ends on the last Saturday of September the following year.
This code defines a measure called FiscalYear that calculates the fiscal year for each record in the Calendar table. It first identifies the start date of the fiscal year (the last Saturday of September). Then, it calculates the number of days between the current date and the first Sunday after the start date of the fiscal year. If the number of days is greater than 0, it means the current date is within the fiscal year, so it returns the year of the current date. Otherwise, it means the current date is before the start date of the fiscal year, so it returns the year of the previous fiscal year.
We have created all the required columns to use for the further analysis . We will also be attaching the power bi dashboard as a reference for this process .
Conclusion
Fiscal years can be a valuable tool for businesses and governments, but they can also be complex and confusing. It is important to carefully consider the needs of your organisation before choosing a fiscal year.
If you are considering using a fiscal year, it is important to weigh the benefits and challenges carefully. Power BI can be a helpful tool for managing fiscal years and creating reports and dashboards that track financial performance.
