Top 8 Financial Analysis Tools for 2024

The fate of any business today hinges on accurate financial analyses. An organization’s financial analytics function serves myriad purposes. It helps assess the degree of profitability in an enterprise and ensures that the company maintains cash flow, timely payments to vendors, and long-term stability. Financial analysis helps determine whether the business will need to scale or discontinue its operations, invest in more or less infrastructure, and pursue a new revenue line or not. Conducted internally, financial analysis allows fund managers to study historical successes and make decisions for the future. Done externally, it allows investors to identify the best investment opportunities. 

That said, the quality of the analysis will only be as good as the financial analysis tool that’s used to run it. 

There’s a plethora of popular financial analysis software available today, which allow finance departments and CFOs to derive the most possible value from analyzing their business and financial data. But, what are these tools and why are they needed in the first place? Which are the most preferred financial analysis tools used by businesses worldwide today? This blog explores. 

Why Are Financial Analysis Tools Needed?

Today’s organizations are IDBs (Insights-Driven Businesses); ones that consistently can intelligently derive and act on enterprise insights to perform well financially and/or outperform competitors. Forrester has stated (correctly so) that ‘IDBs reap what they sow,’ as advanced IDBs are 8x more likely to have grown by more than 20%, as opposed to businesses that are new to these data practices. 

A huge challenge most organizations face is that while they collect vast swathes of data from diverse and disparate sources, that also makes it difficult to use the data effectively and create a single window of truth. The path from raw, unstructured data, to insights-led and actionable decision making is fraught with obstacles — but it doesn’t have to be. 

This is what sets IDBs apart. They are more likely to make effective use of their data to discover new sources of revenue, create differentiation in the market, and make better financial decisions. How? With the help of financial analysis tools. 

What Is a Financial Analysis Tool?

Simply defined, a financial analysis tool is a software that helps collect and interpret a business’s financial data (income statements, balance sheets, etc.) to ease budgeting, forecasting, reporting, risk management, and more. They are typically composed of a suite of complementary technologies, including AI and machine learning in some of the more advanced tools. 

What Are the Benefits of Using a Financial Analytics Tool?

Financial analysis tools aim to provide accurate, timely financial insights, and support detailed financial forecasting. The best ones available today can:

• Create a single source of operational and financial intelligence, streamlining reporting processes
• Simplify and enrich financial data, as well as improve data preparation to enhance analysis productivity
• Automate the simplification and consolidation of key financial metrics for consumption
• Provide pre-built KPI reporting templates based on industry best practices, reducing IT dependence
• Execute advanced 'what-if' scenario analyses to identify trends and potential financial challenges and opportunities early
• Ingest data from various sources to provide a comprehensive view of financial insights
• Support seamless management of expenses and payments, and provide insight into profit margins

Top 8 Financial Analysis Tools 

The best financial analysis tools out there drastically ease the burden on finance professionals by cutting down on manual work and pulling data from a variety of sources to give them a complete and unified view of an organization’s financial health. 

Here are some top financial analysis tools to consider:

1. Savant Labs 

Generative AI is a fairly recent innovation. Yet, Gartner’s survey finds that 66% of finance leaders believe GenAI has the most immediate impacts on budget variances and forecasting. 

In this context, Savant Labs has emerged as an exciting and pioneering meld of automation and analysis. The analytics automation platform’s GenAI features enable users to execute many tasks, including accessing, preparing, transforming, and analyzing data from hundreds of modern sources, using simple conversational language. Furthermore, the platform also directs the delivery of this data to hundreds of modern applications and dashboards. All this, without the need for any specific skills or coding knowledge.

A stand-out benefit of Savant’s low-/no-code platform with drag-and-drop features is that it boosts analyst productivity (both technical and non-technical) across industries by 5-10 times. Importantly, it also boasts a 50% lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) than non-cloud-native analytics automation solutions. 

It also has pre-built financial analysis workflow templates for cash flow forecasting and more, aimed at simplifying and streamlining financial data, as well as its effective preparation and analysis. 

The platform’s comprehensive Finance KPI Analysis tool helps automate the consolidation and preparation of key metrics for quick and easy consumption. Similarly, the Sales Tax Variance tool not only improves the quality of tax filings, but also speeds up the process. 

Know more: SavantLabs.io

2. Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite is quite a popular choice as a financial analysis software, particularly for its comprehensive planning, budgeting, and reporting functionalities. 

While it's known for its robust CRM, inventory management, supply chain, e-commerce functions and more, NetSuite’s AI-powered Analytics and Reporting solution is especially useful for financial analysts. This is because of its ability to create a single source of operational as well as financial intelligence, all brought together through streamlined, customizable reporting processes and improved communications. 

Businesses can get access to pre-built report templates and monitor KPIs in accordance with industry best practices. The platform has self-service capabilities, eliminating dependence on IT teams for financial analyses. Its budget and forecasting features also prove useful, enabling users to run an unlimited number of ‘what-if’ analyses. 

Read more: NetSuite.com

3. Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft’s Power BI (Business Intelligence) has found an essential place in the financial accountant and CFO’s analysis toolbox. Aimed at creating a data-driven culture for all, Power BI brilliantly converts financial data into rich visuals. 

It uses the One Lake data hub, which is made of data sets created from any type of source, so that analysts get the full picture of both macro and micro insights, as well as the forecasted impact of various business decisions and market trends. 

Power BI is also infused with AI — most recently, the CoPilot for Microsoft Fabric — to help create reports in seconds. Users can interact with the platform in natural conversational language, eliminating the need for coding expertise. 

Power BI can quickly ingest, standardize, and clean data directly from a wide range of sources (Excel, Oracle, SAP etc.), helping users to spot data trends — say, something that indicates a financial headwind — from miles away and act proactively. 

Read More: Microsoft Power BI

4. Sage Intacct

Proven to be useful for small businesses in particular, Sage Intacct is a dedicated financial analysis tool for tracking income, expenses, inventory, and managing invoices. 

It comes with multi-currency support, meaning users can manage their expenses seamlessly regardless of the currency being used. Its invoice management feature is integrated to accept payments via a myriad of preferred methods, automate payment notices, as well as gain quick insights into profit margins. 

The accounting solution’s A/P (accounts payable) and A/R (accounts receivable) features allows business owners to have clear insight into how much is owed to suppliers and how much customers owe them respectively. 

Its business reporting feature is probably the most beneficial one, given that it allows users to see all financial reports — from balance sheet data and flow statements to vendor reports, profit analyses, and more — in real time.  

Know more: Sage.com

5. Alteryx

Another data analytics and visualization platform, Alteryx is aimed at helping users maximize performance and efficiency across finance functions like accounting, audit, tax, FP&A (Financial Planning and Analysis), and more.  

The FP&A solution in particular helps create smart scenario analyses and improved forecasting techniques to grow the business. 

Accounting Analytics helps skip hundreds of manual hours spent on data extraction, cleaning, record keeping, and more. Similarly, Tax Analytics automates the tax data management processes. 

Finally, Alteryx Auto Insights helps users find insights to spot trends and opportunities quickly, and to act on information in a timely and decisive manner. 

Read more: Alteryx.com

6. Oracle Essbase

While the tech giant only recently unveiled the ‘Fusion Data Intelligence Platform’ (so that businesses can take decisive actions quickly based on insights and data), Oracle’s Essbase has been popular among data analysts and modelers for quite some time. 

Essbase helps users quickly evaluate and model complex scenarios using simple workflows. For instance, you can upload Excel sheets into Essbase and build ready-to-use business models in mere seconds. 

Oracle is also exploring embedded GenAI in Narrative Reporting, which inspires confidence, since it has been a leader in NLP (Natural Language Processing) before the recent explosion of GenAI’s and ChatGPT’s popularity. This has been partly due to the sheer breadth of the company’s offerings, its abilities in augmented analytics, and a legacy of working with enterprises globally.  

Read more: Oracle.com

7. QuickBooks

While QuickBooks has been primarily known for its bookkeeping abilities (ideally preferred by small businesses), the software also comes with a range of financial analysis solutions. 

For instance, your business can use it to analyze expenses and invoices so that upcoming payments can be made in a timely manner. 

The Project Profitability feature is particularly noteworthy, as it allows users to get a clear idea of how profitable their projects are and control costs accordingly. 

Its reporting features are also used to quickly run and export reports on balance sheets, P&L (profit and loss) data, and more. 

Learn more: QuickBooks.intuit.com 

8. Microsoft Excel

A common pattern in this list is that all the tools mentioned so far can derive their intelligence — i.e., number crunching, pivot tables, charts, regression models, and more — from spreadsheets. 

This is because Microsoft Excel sheets have long served as simple but invaluable building blocks for advanced financial analysis equations. The main reason for the ubiquity of Microsoft Excel is the sheer versatility of the tool for financial analysis. It can be used for a whole spectrum of analyses, including risk analysis and capital budgeting analysis, as it comes with hundreds of standard analysis models. 

Consultants and accountants also use Microsoft Excel to run tailored functions for everything from amortization rates and budgeting to depreciation and much more. 

Read more: Microsoft.com

How To Choose the Right Financial Analytics Tool for Your Business?

As it goes with any choice, if you are a business owner or responsible for the decision of choosing the right software, you must begin by establishing a clear idea of your business needs. 

For instance, the accounting team may benefit from detailed ledger analytics, while your finance team may need a tool that enables advanced scenario modeling. To ascertain a roadmap and a working budget, it is always best to begin by mapping requirements from different departments and taking them through the available options in the market. 

When assessing vendor suitability, it helps to understand what kinds of clients they have successfully served in the past and for which use cases. A history of successful engagements with organizations similar to your own is a good sign that the vendor may be a good fit. 

Then comes ease of use. How comfortable will your team be with the solution? Does it have drag-and-drop features for non-technical users to easily create data workflows? How about conversational AI bots that enable users to execute complex processes without the need for coding expertise? This is where product demos come into play.

Consider both the vendor’s and your own team’s adaptability and plan a suitable proof-of-concept or pilot program accordingly. Also look into what kind of training and support will be required to get your team up to speed with the new solution. Will the vendor provide the necessary level of support?

Finally, it is of utmost importance to understand the KPIs that will help you calculate the ROI and predicted performance of the financial analysis software. Discussing the holy trinity of metrics, cost of ownership, and expected ROI with departmental stakeholders is vital — it will give you adequate wherewithal to negotiate the ideal terms of engagement. 

How Savant can Help You With Finance Analytics Automation

Your organization’s ability to quickly and accurately analyze data and act on it can be the difference between staying ahead of the competitive curve and falling behind. 

Financial analysis tools enable everything from streamlining data preparation and enhancing productivity to ensuring accurate financial reporting and forecasting. Each of these functions is crucial for maintaining long-term profitability, stability, and peace of mind.

Savant Labs stands out as a pioneer in finance analytics automation, providing generative-AI-powered tools that simplify and streamline financial data preparation and analysis. The platform offers a suite of workflow templates that address a wide range of financial needs — KPI analysis, cash flow forecasting, sales tax variance, international currency calculations, and more. 

Savant doesn't just automate tasks; it transforms the way financial teams operate, empowering them to quickly and easily leverage data for smarter, faster, and more impactful financial decisions.

Explore how businesses are successfully achieving their financial goals with Savant’s analytics automation platform. Discover more about the Savant platform here.