Enhance your IBM Cognos Analytics reports with custom visualizations aligned with IBCS standards or any customized reporting for clear, consistent, actionable insights.
In today’s data-driven organizations, clarity and consistency are non-negotiable. Leaders expect reports that highlight what matters, analysts need visual standards they can rely on, and organizations want reporting processes that scale efficiently. This is where the International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) – currently evolving toward global adoption through ISO/DIS 24896 – Notation for business reporting in 2026 – play a crucial role.
IBCS is built around the well-established SUCCESS formula, a set of visual communication principles designed to make business reports clearer, more comparable, and easier to interpret.
As an IBM Gold Partner, CROZ brings these standards directly into IBM Cognos Analytics through our new IBCS-compliant visualization extension. We also offer services to customize your IBM Cognos reports, tailoring dashboards, templates, and charts to your organization’s specific needs. This enables companies to modernize dashboards, unify reporting practices, and accelerate decision-making.
About IBCS
International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) provides a unified visual language for business communication by standardizing how charts, tables, KPIs, and variance analyses are displayed. The initiative was launched in 1980 by Dr. Prof. Rolf Hichert, now Managing Director of the IBCS Institute, with Dr. Jürgen Faisst joining later. IBCS Version 1.2 provides practical guidelines for consistent report, dashboard, and presentation design. Its further development is managed by the not-for-profit IBCS Association.
By applying clear semantics, consistent notation, and structured storytelling, organizations can present complex information in ways that are both understandable and actionable.
The SUCCESS Formula Explained
IBCS rests on seven core principles, summarized by the acronym SUCCESS:
- SAY – convey a clear message
- UNIFY – apply semantic notation
- CONDENSE – increase information density
- CHECK – ensure visual integrity
- EXPRESS – choose the right visualization
- SIMPLIFY – avoid clutter
- STRUCTURE – organize content logically
Applying these rules ensures decision-makers receive clear, reliable, and comparable insights at a glance.
Use Case Example: Income Statement Visualization (P&L Redesign)
Problem
The finance team distributes a monthly P&L in a traditional table format. Analysts spend hours scanning rows to identify trends, anomalies, or variances. Commentary is often unclear or buried in text, making it difficult for management to grasp the real story.
Solution
- Redesign the P&L using a vertical waterfall chart aligned with the IBCS waterfall template (C12). Features include:
- Calculation waterfall: shows how revenues, costs, and other line items cumulatively build toward net profit (e.g., Sales revenue → Operating result → Group result).
- Variance visualization: additional waterfall tiers display absolute and relative deviations from plan or prior year.
- IBCS notation: solid, outline, or hatched bars clearly distinguish actuals, budgets/plans, forecasts, and prior-year values.
- Message-driven titles and consistent formatting: key insights are immediately visible without deep analysis.
Benefits
- Monthly review time decreases dramatically – from hours to minutes.
- Management instantly sees which line items drive profit or loss.
- Variances are transparent, enabling faster root-cause analysis and corrective action.
- Clear, comparable visualisations improve board-level reporting and accelerate decision-making.
Why Waterfall & Budget Charts + IBCS Works
IBCS templates (C12 for P&L, C13 for budgets) make complex financial flows explicit. Waterfall and comparison charts reveal contributions, deviations, and trends that tables hide, while standard notation ensures semantic consistency and improves comparability across periods and projects.
Key Takeaways
- Consistency drives clarity: IBCS visualisations reduce interpretation errors and strengthen trust in data.
- Standardization unlocks speed: Teams save hours weekly with unified, automated Cognos templates.
- Better insights lead to better decisions: Clear visualisations focus executives on what matters.
- CROZ + IBM Cognos: a powerful combination for modern, standards-aligned reporting.
- Customization & future-ready: Tailor dashboards to your needs while evolving toward ISO 24896 compliance.
Executive Summary
CROZ extends IBM Cognos Analytics with IBCS-compliant custom visualisations, enabling organizations to deliver clearer, more consistent, and more trustworthy reports. Leveraging the SUCCESS principles and preparing for ISO-aligned reporting, companies gain faster decision cycles, improved communication, and unified dashboards across all teams.
Real-world implementations, from standardized management dashboards and redesigned income statements to project budget controlling, demonstrate time savings, reduced complexity, and elevated analytics quality for leadership. With our Cognos customization services, reports and dashboards are tailored specifically to your organization’s needs, ensuring maximum clarity and impact.
Clear reporting drives confident decisions. If you want to modernize your IBM Cognos Analytics dashboards, implement IBCS standards, or explore ISO-aligned reporting, the CROZ team can help.
We offer services to customize your IBM Cognos reports, tailoring dashboards, templates, and visualisations to your organization’s needs. Ask yourself: are you using the right visualizations for the insights you need? CROZ ensures your Cognos environment delivers actionable, decision-ready visualisations.
Find out more – contact CROZ sales or book a 30-minute meeting.
