INTHEBLACK December 2023/January 2024 Special Edition - Flipbook - Page 47
data in the cloud, while the free version of Power BI
does not allow users to share or publish reports.
Tableau offers multiple paid versions of its software,
such as Tableau Creator, which is ideal for power
users. Tableau Platform is designed to be an end-toend analytics platform. More recently, Tableau GPT
and Tableau Pulse have also been launched. These
incorporate generative artificial intelligence (AI) and
are powered by Salesforce’s AI, Einstein. Tableau
dashboards can be embedded into web pages and
web applications as well as collaboration tools. It offers
a particularly tight integration with cloud messaging
app Slack, which is also owned by Salesforce.
VISUALISATION POSSIBILITIES
Tableau can also be used to represent data in
interactive maps with multiple layers of information,
complete with built-in demographic datasets such
as region names and population data.
“Representing geographic data on maps and
letting you drill down is one area where Tableau
really shines,” Ahmed says.
“That’s a real benefit for accountants when it
comes to visualising insights, especially when you
consider how much business data has a geospatial
element, such as regional sales reports.”
Tableau offers a myriad of options when it
comes to presenting data. However, accountants
must remember that data visualisation is about
clearly conveying insights rather than dazzling
an audience, says
Dr Stuart Black,
enterprise fellow within
the department of
accounting at the
University of Melbourne.
UPSKILL NOW
“Visualisation is an
Tableau fundamentals
important tool for modern
accountants, but just
because you can create a
seven-dimensional chart
doesn’t necessarily mean
UPSKILL NOW
anyone needs to see it
Advanced
Tableau –
or that it adds value,”
LOD calculations
Black says.
“Never lose sight of the
fact that it’s about getting
your message across
effectively, to help people
UPSKILL NOW
make better-informed
Advanced
decisions, not baffling
Tableau –
them with a dizzying array
data model
of special effects.” ●
STRATEGIC UPSKILLING intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 47
