In this blog, we explore how Workiva has transformed from a finance-focused tool into a versatile platform that simplifies complex reporting needs while empowering creative teams.
Five or six years ago when Workiva emerged more prominently on the corporate scene, it was not well regarded by corporate communicators, particularly designers who didn’t like the compromises required to make their designs look good. Overall, it felt like a product built for finance teams and not for those who lived for a finessed font or sophisticated graphic language.
Complexity drives new thinking
But that was the early days and so much has changed since then. For starters, the world of compliance, risk and regulation has become many times more complex as corporate teams navigate regulations such as CSRD, TNFD, TCFD, ISSB, EU taxonomy and many more initiatives driven by the investor’s need for comparable sustainability data to drive better decision-making.
And things have changed rapidly in the agency world too as teams have embraced the technology and started to totally rethink their working practices. Workiva’s designed reporting features have also continued to evolve, empowering creative teams to deliver impactful solutions fully in platform.
Built for tomorrow
For those who don’t know the Workiva platform, it’s been developed to simplify and connect financial reporting, ESG, audit, governance and risk, so businesses can handle the challenges of today and the changes coming tomorrow with confidence and clarity. With the burden of complexity growing year-on-year, Workiva has become more relevant than ever. Its fundamental premise is to write once and to publish everywhere with all data verified and published to a datebook which becomes the single source of the truth.
All content referencing company performance, data and regulatory compliance is traceable to its source and is then used consistently across all communications with a complete audit trail. Disparate teams across businesses and continents can effectively be brought together within the platform.
More ways to be consistent
For years, one of the biggest challenges for agencies working in the corporate world has been cross-checking and proofreading content from multiple sources, and frequently spotting inconsistencies. Workiva now helps to iron out these inconsistencies.
A further Workiva development is the delivery of agency support in platform. This includes activities such as proofreading, tagging and adding comments and suggestions. This can be done through inline commenting with @yourname functionality and users can also create customisable status labels so everyone is clear on actions. This integration eliminates the risks of manual errors and version discrepancies often associated with traditional methods and removes the need to go outside of the platform for communication on the project, effectively eliminating the challenge of email overload.
At Luminous, our expertise enables the Workiva platform to deliver designed communications that don’t compromise the look and feel, delivered through outputs in print and PDF, while simultaneously updating linked information in the online report and corporate website. Whereas other platforms are focused on reporting outputs such as the annual and sustainability reports, Workiva enables a connected universe of client communications, including RNS, investor presentations, proxy forms, tagged filings, ESG and sustainability reports, ESG data books and many more.
Deep expertise designed in
With our deep expertise, Luminous seamlessly integrates design and project management within our clients’ Workiva workspaces. Our extensive team of certified Workiva experts handle the entire project workflow within the platform. This flexible approach allows our clients to manage and view data in real time, directly within the final design. And, despite those early concerns at the start of our Workiva journey, we are now experts at making it look great and communicate effectively too. So, if you’re tired of complexity making you work harder, come and talk to us about Workiva and how we can help make work easier.
To find out more, please contact Vaughn Winn.