Click here to request support.

 

 

This FAQ is a living document and will be updated periodically.  The information here pertains specifically to FINANCE and might not hold true for other data areas.

 

For an FAQ about the MicroStrategy tool, please click here.

 

What data is available in MicroStrategy?

 

The Finance data model in MicroStrategy is linked directly to the tables in the Banner finance data warehouse.  Each night, finance transactions in Banner are uploaded to the data warehouse so the data you will access in MicroStrategy reflects Banner transactions through the prior day. The data can view is based on your defined fund/org access in Banner.

 

What are the user roles in MicroStrategy?

 

Finance Reporting Consumer

 

  • ·         Runs standard web reports using the Finance Reporting Menu
  • ·         Can export documents to PDF and run the underlying report (data set) and export to Excel
  • ·         Can save copies of standard reports to My Reports folder
  • ·         Can subscribe to documents to run automatically
  • ·         The Consumer role is automatically granted to VT employees who have Banner Finance access or are defined as financial manager (FTMFUND) or principal investigator (FRAGRNT)

 

Finance Reporting Analyst

 

  • ·         All the same permissions as the Finance Reporting Consumer
  • ·         In addition:
    • o    Can create ad hoc reports and other MicroStrategy objects such as documents, dashboards, filters, prompts and metrics
    • o    Can share ad hoc reports with other Analysts and can run objects that other Analysts have created and shared
  • ·         The Analyst role is granted by request only using the authorized form on the Controller’s Office webpage or by attending the MicroStrategy for Finance Analysts Reporting Basics training.

 

Finance Reporting Steward

 

  • ·         Manages user roles and data access
  • ·         Creates standard documents and reports for the Finance Reporting Menu
  • ·         The Finance Reporting Steward role is only granted to authorized Accounting Operations employees and technical support staffs.  

 

What is the difference between a document and a report?

 

A Finance document is a high-quality, print-ready document that can display multiple grids and graphs at the same time, along with images and text, hyperlinks, headers and footers, and so on.  When you run the standard reports on the Finance Reporting Menu, you are opening a document in presentation view.

 

A Finance report contains one specific set of data containing attributes (department, fund, etc.) and metrics (actual amt, budget balance available, etc.).  The report data is typically filtered based on user defined parameters such as fiscal year equals 2016.  A report can be set to display as a grid, graph, or grid-graph combination.  When you click the “Data extract” button on the upper right corner of the document, you are executing the underlying report.

 

How do I get access to MicroStrategy?

 

That depends on the role you will have in MicroStrategy (see above).  MicroStrategy Finance access at the consumer level is automatically granted to VT employees who are assigned Banner Finance access or are defined as financial manager or principal investigator on FTMFUND and FRAGRNT, respectively.

 

Consumers who wish to be upgraded to a Finance Reporting Analyst role should complete the MicroStrategy Finance Reporting Analyst Form on the Controller’s Office website or register for the reporting basics class.

 

How do I get training on MicroStrategy?

 

Contact Nette Johnson at nettej@vt.edu

 

 

 

 


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