September 8th
February 22nd
10 Jul 2025 At Heijmans, financial reporting was once a slow, and manual process. Each business unit worked in silos, using different reporting formats, KPI definitions, and disconnected Excel-based workflows. Finance teams had to pull data from multiple systems, manually consolidate figures, and create static PowerPoint presentations for senior management. The lack of standard formats and disconnected systems forced teams to spend excessive time aligning data and reconciling reports.
To solve this challenge, Heijmans implemented Zebra BI within Power BI, transforming financial reporting into a more efficient, standardized, and interactive process and fully aligned with the IBCS principles. Executives now have instant access to decision-ready insights, removing manual bottlenecks and empowering faster, more confident decisions at every level.
A key milestone in this transition was the creation of the Board of Directors Dashboard — a centralized financial overview that delivers on-demand, data-driven insights with built-in context. It enables leadership to focus on key exceptions and respond with greater speed and clarity.
For the first time, our Board of Directors has direct financial insights. They don’t have to wait for the next quarterly report to understand what’s happening.
In parallel, Heijmans launched the Future Finance Program, a broader initiative to modernize finance processes, improve data management, and introduce predictive analytics. With Zebra BI at the heart of this transformation, Heijmans is redefining what it means to be a data-driven finance organization: one where the finance department doesn’t just deliver numbers, but drives strategy.
Heijmans N.V. is a leading Dutch construction and engineering company, specializing in property development, residential and non-residential building, and large-scale infrastructure projects. Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Rosmalen, Heijmans has grown into a key player in the Dutch construction industry, with a strong focus on sustainability, innovation, and data-driven decision-making. With over 5,100 employees, the company operates across multiple business areas, including urban development, commercial real estate, energy-efficient housing, and infrastructure modernization. By embracing digital transformation and finance automation, Heijmans is equipping its CFO and finance teams with the tools and insights needed to drive efficiency, enhance governance, and support long-term business growth.
No standardization. No automation. No actionable insights.
Each month, the business units compiled their numbers separately using different formats, templates, and KPI definitions. The financial data came from different systems, such as SAP, Salesforce, and HR platforms, forcing teams to manually consolidate the numbers in Excel before turning them into static PDFs or PowerPoint presentations.
Before Zebra BI, each business unit had its own format, making a unified financial picture impossible. Now, we finally have one standard across the company—everything is clearer and faster.
Finance teams were busy with manual work, leaving little time for analysis. Inconsistent reporting between business units made cross-company comparisons nearly impossible. Executives relied on outdated reports and struggled to agree on key financial insights due to conflicting figures.
With reporting processes slow and fragmented, the CFO’s office needed a new approach — one that would improve efficiency, enforce standardization, and provide executives with clear, actionable insights to support better decision-making.
After evaluating several solutions, Heijmans selected Zebra BI for Power BI to modernize its financial reporting. The decision was driven by Zebra BI’s ability to enforce reporting standardization, provide actionable insights, and integrate seamlessly into Heijmans’ existing Microsoft ecosystem.
We chose Zebra BI because it lets us apply IBCS standards out of the box, making our reports clear, actionable, and consistent.
With 100% IBCS-compliant visuals, Zebra BI provided a clear, standardized reporting structure that could be implemented company-wide. Designed with ease of use and financial reporting best practices built in, Zebra BI empowered finance teams to create interactive, actionable dashboards on their own, without relying on the IT department. Managers no longer had to wait for finance teams to create reports. They could analyze financial data on demand, ensuring faster and more informed decision-making.
The result? With this new approach to financial reporting, Heijmans was able to automate insights, enforce data-driven decision-making, and significantly reduce the workload on finance teams.
While Zebra BI played a key role in implementing standardized, interactive dashboards, the company took a larger step toward long-term transformation with the launch of the Future Finance Program. Led by the CFO, this initiative aims to make finance more strategic, data-driven, and predictive across the organization.
The Future Finance Program isn’t just about reporting. It’s about creating a truly data-driven finance function. Zebra BI plays a crucial role in helping us achieve this vision.
Heijmans’ Future Finance Program is a long-term initiative to modernize financial operations by 2030, focusing on five critical pillars:
By integrating automation and predictive analytics, the company is laying the foundation for a truly data-driven finance function that drives business performance.
The CFO leads the transformation and ensures strategic alignment, while a dedicated team drives adoption, data accuracy and automation. Senior finance directors, business intelligence and reporting teams as well as IT and data governance experts work together to implement standardized reporting and predictive analytics.
One of the key milestones of this initiative was the Board of Directors Dashboard, which provides management with instant access to key financial insights. Not just numbers, but clear, actionable information. Turning complex financial data into actionable insights has improved transparency and enabled senior management to make faster and more strategic decisions.
Disclaimer: The data on the image is fictional and intended solely to demonstrate the layout and structure of the dashboard.
Previously, board meetings relied on static, manually generated reports that lacked standardization and consistency across business units. With the help of Zebra BI for Power BI, the team at Heijmans created an interactive Board of Directors Dashboard that gives executives instant insight into key financial data.
With Zebra BI, we were able to create a Board of Directors dashboard that ensures leadership has direct access to the most critical financial data. This is a key part of our Future Finance Program.
The Board of Directors Dashboard has redefined the way Heijmans leadership accesses and interprets financial data.
Here is why:
Heijmans executives can now see the entire financial picture at a glance and make faster, data-driven decisions.
Disclaimer: The data on the image is fictional and intended solely to demonstrate the layout and structure of the dashboard.
Since implementing Zebra BI for Power BI, Heijmans has transformed financial reporting across the organization. Business units now follow a standardized, IBCS-compliant reporting format that ensures consistency and comparability. What used to take hours in Excel and PowerPoint is now done in no time. With the Board of Directors Dashboard, finance leaders have direct visibility into key metrics, enabling them to identify risks and opportunities faster than ever before and turn financial data into a strategic advantage.
Before Zebra BI, we were spending hours manually assembling reports. Now, everything updates automatically, and leadership can access real-time data anytime.
Disclaimer: The data on the image is fictional and intended solely to demonstrate the layout and structure of the dashboard.
With Zebra BI and the Future Finance Program, Heijmans has not only improved financial reporting but built a finance function that is truly data-driven. Standardization, automation, and actionable insights have turned Heijmans' finance teams into strategic drivers of business growth.
As Heijmans continues to drive its finance transformation, the company is proving that CFOs who prioritize automation and insights will lead the future of finance leadership.
Standardization isn’t just about compliance — it’s a competitive advantage. A single, unified reporting structure speeds up insight and improves decision-making.
Actionable data insights are always better than outdated reports. When managers have instant access to financial insights, they can act faster and smarter.
The right tools make all the difference. Seamless integration with existing tech stacks ensures adoption, scalability, and long-term success.
