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Stimulus: it is a word we have heard a lot more about in recent months. With failing banks and bankrupt automotive manufacturers, the stimulus package has been called the answer to our challenging economic climate by some and cursed as a dangerous sociological experiment by others. Truthfully, there is always the potential either one could come to pass, though the former is far more likely than the latter. Now with the passing of the US Recovery Act, some much-needed transparency is being offered. How are the billions of dollars in expenditures going to be allocated by those who receive them? After the AIG bonus debacle, it is unlikely Americans will be sitting idly by, trusting the adminstrators. But it is not simply the government's intent to catch the unlawful. The stimulus package is not a scarlet F for failure to the businesses in need of monies. It is an attempt to boost the growth of the economy, so jobs and income can continue to be available to American families. As such, a top concern is to ensure the funds are dispensed fairly, accurately, and swiftly. Of course, there should be full disclosure to the ones footing the bill, but at the same time, many of us stand to benefit from the windfall of jobs and economic growth to come. With so much money changing hands, going to so many different places and programs, abuse would be inevitable without the proper reporting tools in place to track disbursements. As a result, reporting tool companies, such as behemoths such as IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and a popular entrepreneurial business intelligence specialist such as InetSoft of Piscataway, NJ, are poised to win opportunities. In order to provide the level of transparency of how much is spent when and on what, reporting tool software will be the answer, distilling billions of dollars and hundreds of programs into easy to understand graphs and reports, so the government and the taxpayers can more easily make sense of it all. Added transparency will lead to greater consumer confidence that all that can be done is being done, but only if the reporting is clear, interactive, and ultimately accurate. To help agencies comply with the reporting requirements, and so the public can understand where their money is going and have full confidence in the economy once more, reporting tools are needed in order to provide capabilities such as monitoring and analysis. Today's reporting tools offer a visually compelling, interactive Web-based view into the data inside these agencies. With easy to use drop-down menus and selection boxes, users can sift through mountains of data much more easily and quickly. The report development workload for a given agency is also minimized because a single interactive dashboard report can replace dozens of static ones. Citizens can rest assured the availability of this new reporting technology will set and maintain standards of accountability that will, in fact, prevent future abuse of budget. Agencies that find themselves recipients of stimulus funds can also take solace that there are such reporting tools at their disposal, which will ensure fair and worry-free accountability on the road to recovery. Only a transparent approach will restore consumer confidence in government bureaucracy, demonstrate accountability, and rebuild the growth of the US economy. With the right reporting tools, this can be easily accomplished, and the country's government can make a giant step forward in proving its worth to the American people. Mark Flaherty TFI Consulting reporting tools
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