Stakeholder Communication Template (Simplified)
[!NOTE] This is a simplified version of the stakeholder email with minimal technical jargon. The detailed version is available in Stakeholder Email.
Subject
Financial data processing results — January 2026 month-end
To
Business Stakeholders
From
Data Platform Team
Date
February 1, 2026
Hi Team,
Sharing the results from the latest run of our new automated financial data processing system and what it means for reporting and compliance.
What This System Does:
This new automated system takes transaction data from spreadsheet files stored in cloud storage, checks the data for errors and completeness, and saves the checked data in an organized format. This approach would replace the previous manual spreadsheet processing once fully running.
System Run Results:
- Run Date: January 31, 2026 (18:00 CET)
- Data Coverage: January 1-31, 2026 (31 days)
- Processing Duration: 22 minutes
- Process: Spreadsheet files → automatic checking → organized data files
- Note: This is our first production-like test run. Some metrics are expected to improve as we optimize the system.
What Changed (Before vs After):
| Aspect | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Processing Time | 2-3 days after month-end | Same-day (ready by end of business day) |
| Matching Totals (reconciliation) | 2 days manual work | 2 hours automated |
| Data Quality | Errors found during matching | Errors caught automatically before reporting |
| Record of Changes (audit trail) | No record | Complete unchangeable record of all steps |
| Source of Truth | Multiple spreadsheets | Single checked dataset |
Processing Performance:
- Data Ready For Reporting: Available same-day (January 31, 2026) — previously would have taken 2-3 days after month-end
Health Metrics Summary
| Metric | Value | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| How Up-to-Date (data freshness) | Current as of January 31, 2026 18:00 CET | Less than 1 hour behind | Green |
| Completeness | 98.5% (1,427,700 of 1,450,200 expected) | More than 99.5% | Amber |
| Matching Totals (reconciliation) | Match within €350 | Within €100 | Amber |
| Error Rate (exception rate) | 0.12% (2,200 records) | Less than 0.5% | Green |
| Processing Time | 22 minutes | Less than 30 minutes (target) | Green |
| Compliance Readiness | Record of changes in progress | Yes | Amber |
| Cost | €2.80 per million records | Stable | Green |
Overall status: Amber — System working, improvements needed.
Summary:
- Total Records Received: 1,450,200
- Successfully Processed: 1,427,700 (98.5%)
- Set Aside for Review (invalid data): 22,500 records (1.55%)
Error Categories (Top 3):
- Invalid Currency: 1,800 records (0.12% of total)
- Issue: Currency codes not in the international standard currency list (mostly "XBT" codes, which is not a recognized currency code, and some typos)
- Previously: These errors would have been caught manually during matching (2-3 days later)
- Now: Caught automatically before reporting, excluded from analysis
- Missing Required Information: 350 records (0.02% of total)
- Issue: Missing transaction amount or date fields
- Invalid Dates: 50 records (0.003% of total)
- Issue: Dates in incorrect format or future dates
Areas for Improvement (First Run Observations):
- Completeness: 22,500 records (1.55%) were not processed due to data quality issues. The Data Quality Team is working with source teams to understand and resolve these patterns.
- Matching totals variance: €350 difference between systems (target: €100). Initial investigation suggests timing differences in how transactions are recorded. Matching logic will be refined in the next iteration.
- Compliance Readiness: Record of changes functionality is implemented but still being validated. Expected to be complete by next run.
Single Source of Truth:
Once fully running, this checked dataset would serve as the single source everyone uses for all month-end reporting, replacing the previous manual spreadsheet processing and eliminating the "numbers don't match" issue between Finance and Product reports.
Expected Impact on Your Workflow (Once Fully Running):
- Month-end close: Would complete on day 1 instead of day 3-4
- Matching totals: Would be reduced from 2 days to 2 hours
- Reporting: Month-end reports would pull from this checked source automatically
- Data Quality: Issues would be caught before reporting, not during matching
Next Steps:
These results show the system can process January 2026 transaction data. While some metrics need improvement, the system successfully processed 98.5% of records and caught data quality issues automatically. The checked dataset from this run is available for review and testing. Completeness and matching totals variance will be addressed before the next run.
If Issues Found:
If currency information is provided for the invalid codes, we will process the affected records again to include them in future reports. The Data Quality Team is reviewing the records set aside for review and will coordinate fixes with source teams.
Questions? Contact the Data Platform Team for detailed information or support.
Best regards, Stephen
Related Documentation
- Stakeholder Email - Detailed stakeholder communication template
- Technical Reference - Technical architecture summary
- Data Lake Architecture - Core storage design
- Executive Overview - High-level project summary