Overview of Cognos
Cognos is an analytical tool that can be used to look at and analyze information from different angles or views. A Cognos cube is a multi-dimensional data storage bin used by Cognos to retrieve data at various levels of aggregation for reporting purposes. A Cognos report is data pulled from the Cognos cube and organized in a structured report format.
The objective of this training manual is to summarize the basic features and tools in Cognos that will assist users in accessing and printing their monthly Financial reports.
Basics
Director’s screen shot upon initial sign on
Manager’s screen shot upon initial sign-on
R EPORTS UNDER D IRECTOR ( OR M ANAGER ) LEVEL (A ICON INDICATES THAT THE DRILL THROUGH FEATURE IS AVAILABLE IN THAT REPORT )
Director ( or Manager ) Level Reports
Decision Support
1. Top 25 CMGs Hospital Level Report 2. Top 10 CMGs by Program Level report
3. Inpatient discharged statistics by program (nursing units) 4. Inpatient discharged statistics by programs (Doctor service)
Finance
1. Income Statement by Program – Director Level - not available at Manager level 2. Income Statement by Program – Manager Level
3. Functional Centre Financial – Manager Level -not available at Director level 4. Functional Centre Operations Report (Director (or Manager) Level)
5. Income Statement by Division – Director Level – not available at Manager level
6. Fund Financials – Director Level – not available at Manager level
Payroll
1. Payroll (Month and YTD) Detail Report 2a. YTD Worked Hours Detail
2b. YTD Worked Salary Detail 3a. YTD Benefit Hours Detail 3b. YTD Benefit Salary Detail
4a. YTD Staffing Hours FT/PT Report 4b. YTD Staffing Salary FT/PT Report
5. Payroll Vacation over Report (Director) – not available at Manager level Stats
1. Program Statistics – Director Level– not available at Manager level 2. Functional Centre Statistics Report
Material Reports
1. Combined Usage Report
2. Grand & Toy reports (for relevant cost centers) 3. Inventory dept. usage report
4. Non Inventory dept usage report
Cube
DAD Cube Financial Cube
Financial Trending Cube
Functional Centre Operations Cube Payroll Cube
Statistic Cube
Statistic Trending Cube
Haygroup
Getting Around In Cognos...
To access, view, print or simply navigate to any of the reports available to you, common Cognos user options and tasks have been outlined below.
** Note **
Due to reporting hierarchies, Directors will have to drill down a bit further than Managers to obtain department specific information. Vice Presidents will also have to drill down further than Directors to obtain department specific information.
Below is a sample of the screen you would see upon logging into Cognos. For demonstration purposes, a manager’s screen has been selected.
Index Tab section Content Frame section
Start-Up Screen: Your “NewsIndex”
Upon starting Cognos, the first screen you will always see is your NewsIndex folder and its contents (see above screen shot). When navigating through Cognos, you will notice the general layout is comprised of two main sections – the Index Tab and the Content Frame.
The INDEX TAB section is located on the left, and is a hierarchal representation of the links to various folders and options available to you. By (single) clicking on any of the folders in this section, the contents of the folder will be displayed in the Content Frame (which is the second main section to the right of the Index Tab). For instance, your inventory usage reports can be found by clicking in the Material Reports folder (in the Index Tab), whereby its contents are displayed in the Content Frame.
** Note**
Depending on the task you are performing in Cognos, the screen may not always be divided into two sections.
Dimension
Viewer
Navigating Through Cognos: Common User Tasks and Procedures The Index Tab…
Is a hierarchal representation of the links to folders and reports available to you.
Single click on any of the folder links to display its contents in the Content Frame.
When you see the symbol, this indicates that sub-folders are available.
The Content Frame…
Shows which reports and other folders are available within the folder you selected in the Index Tab.
You can also navigate to other folders and reports by single clicking the links in the Content Frame. (Hint: links to other options and reports are underlined throughout Cognos).
If available, you may select the Home button to get back to the main screen.
COGNOS ESSENTIALS: Terms of References and Definitions…
CUBE
Is an aggregation of data. Types of data cubes used currently include financial, statistical and payroll cubes.
Cubes are mainly used for drilling down to details. As well, Cognos users can re- organize their (data) cubes to create customized summaries or analysis.
REPORTS
Pre-structured reports. Outside of date and/or cost centre selections, no other options exist to modify report settings.
Some reports may have an option to drill through, but will largely depend on whether the drill through icon is enabled.
FOLDERS
Functions exactly as folders used in our network (H drive). Folders are used to organize files and other options by subject content.
“HOME” BUTTON
If displayed, pressing this button will return your Cognos display back to the NewsIndex screen (the same screen as when you first log in).
FISCAL YEAR
When running any report, the fiscal year will need to be defined. A single click in the box or on the ‘down’ arrow will allow the user to select the fiscal year that the report will be based on.
SELECTING THE CURRENT MONTH
Upon selecting the Fiscal Year, the user may need to define the current month by single clicking on the Fiscal Year just selected. The drop down menu will list all the months available in the fiscal year. Historical data and reports may be available simply by selecting a prior month and/or year.
APPLY ZERO SUPPRESSION
Enabling this feature will exclude entire rows that do not have any data or values from being
displayed the report.
“OK” BUTTON
Pressing the “OK” button will engage Cognos to run the report the user selected based on the fiscal year, month and level of detail settings.
“CANCEL” BUTTON
Pressing the “Cancel” button will return your Cognos display back to the previous
menu screen.
“CHANGE REPORT SETTINGS” BUTTON
Located at the bottom left corner of the report viewer, users can single click this button to return to the report settings screen.
“DRILL THROUGH” BUTTON
Will provide a detailed list (with some description) of each journal detail that comprises the current month, year-to-date, revenue or expense total.
“RETURN TO SOURCE” BUTTON
Located at the bottom right corner of your screen, pressing this will return your
Cognos display back to your main NewsIndex screen (the same screen as when you first log in).
“SAVE AS” BUTTON
When you produce either a pre-structured report or customize an existing report and wish to save the report, selecting this option will save your report in your NewsBox.
This is located at the bottom right corner of your Cognos screen.
Navigating to your NewsBox can be easily achieved by single clicking on the NewsBox link on the left side of the Cognos Screen.
“ BACK” BUTTON
Pressing the Back button on the browser will generally take you back to the previous
screen. ** However, if you’re currently viewing the Drill Down Screen, you’ll have
to select the Return button found at the top right corner of the screen to exit.
ADOBE (PDF) BASED REPORTS
Cognos financial, statistical, and payroll reports will utilize Adobe (PDF) software to produce reports you can view on the screen or print hardcopies.
An Adobe menu bar (see below) within Internet Explorer will identify whenever you’re in the Adobe software environment.
P RINTING R EPORTS IN A DOBE
1. To print reports displayed in Adobe, single click on the print icon on the Adobe menu bar. (Do not use the print option in Internet Explorer).
2. A Print options menu window will follow, providing other user defined printing options.
To print ALL pages, select ALL
To print the CURRENT or only a defined sequence of pages, select the appropriate option in the menu window.
3. Single click on the “OK” button to print the
report.
S AVING R EPORTS I N A DOBE
Any report viewed in Adobe can be saved as a PDF file in any network drive or folder. (ie, your H drive)
1. To save a copy of the report you’re viewing as a PDF file, single click on the save icon found in the Adobe menu bar.
2. The “Save A Copy” menu window will appear.
3. In the “Object Name” window, change the filename to a report title you will recognize.
4. Using the same method of navigating to a folder in Windows, select the folder in any of your network drives to save the report.
5. Click on the “Save” button.
Other Useful Options (in the Adobe Menu bar)
Find: Can be used to search for specific contents within the report. Search criterion is user defined.
Page (First, Previous, Next, Last): Can be used to flip through the various pages of a
report.
Financial Packages
Approximately 10 business days after month end financial reports can be viewed on Cognos
The following table list reports sent to Directors and Managers as part of their monthly financial package and shows you the steps to follow in printing these reports.
DIRECTOR REPORTS
CURRENT DIRECTOR’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Income Statement By Division – Director Level
Current & YTD revenue &
expense detail by secondary account for each functional centre w/in the program (followed by statistics detail). All departments reported separately.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Director Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Finance” folder
3) Click on “2. Income Statement by Division – Director Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) Note that your Division name appears in a box adjacent to the year/month selection box. By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to further limit your report to a particular Manager or even to a single cost centre within your Division. You do this by clicking on the downward arrow to select the Manager (and - if required - again clicking on the downward arrow to select a specific cost centre. You can get even more specific by continuing to click on the downward arrow one or more times to further specify sub- categories of revenues and expenses right down to the secondary code level.
7) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 8. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 7 again.
8) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
PRINTING STATISTICAL REPORTS (if required) - Follow exactly the same steps from 1 to 7 above to print out Statistical reports - except that for step 2 – Click on the “Stats” folder and for step 3 Click on “2. Statistics Functional Centre Report”.
Then follow steps 4 to 8 as above.
CURRENT DIRECTOR’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Income Statement By Program – Director Level
Current & YTD revenues &
expenses summarized by major (revenue & expense) groups.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Director Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Finance” folder
3) Click on “1. Income Statement by Program – Director Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) Note that your Division name appears in a box adjacent to the year/month selection box. By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to further limit the report to Revenues or Compensation Expenses or All Other Expenses categories by clicking on the downward arrow and selecting the relevant category.
You can get even more specific by continuing to click on the downward arrow one or more times to further select a cost centre and/or sub-categories of revenues and expenses right down to the secondary code level.
7) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 8. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 7 again).
8) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT DIRECTOR’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Program Statistics – Director’s Level
Current & YTD statistics summarized by statistic grouping.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Director Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Stats” folder
3) Click on “1. Program Statistics – Director Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 7. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 6 again.
7) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
MANAGER REPORTS
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Income Statement By Program – Manager Level
Current & YTD revenue &
expenses summarized by major (revenue & expense) groups for all functional centres reporting to the Manager.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Finance” folder
3) Click on “1. Income Statement by Program – Manager Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 7. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 6 again).
7) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Functional Centre Financial
Current & YTD revenues &
expenses detail by the selected (primary) functional centre.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Finance” folder
3) Click on “2. Functional Centre Financial Report – Manager Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) To select the cost centre, activate the drop down menu where your name appears and click on the cost centre.
By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to further limit your report to Revenues or Compensation Expenses or All Other Expenses categories by clicking on the downward arrow
and selecting the relevant category. You can get even more specific by continuing to click on the downward arrow one or more times to further specify sub- categories right down to the secondary code level.
7) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 8. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 7 again.
8) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Functional Centre Statistics
Current & YTD statistics by the selected (primary) functional centre
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Stats” folder
3) Click on “1. Functional Centre Statistics Report – Manager Level”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) To select the cost centre, activate the drop down menu where your name appears and click on the cost centre.
By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to further limit your report to particular Statistical categories by clicking on the downward arrow and selecting the relevant category.
You can get even more specific by continuing to click on the downward arrow one or more times to further specify sub-categories right down to the secondary code level.
7) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 8. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 7 again.
8) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Functional Centre Operations Report
Current & YTD summary of financial data, key volume information and ratio analysis for the selected (primary) functional centre.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Finance” folder
3) Click on “Functional Centre Operations Report”
4) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Yr” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
5) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
6) At this point it is also necessary to specify a cost centre.
To select a cost centre, activate the drop down menu where your name appears and click on the cost centre.
By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to further limit your report to a particular category (Financial Data, Activity Indicators, Ratio Analysis) by clicking on the downward arrow and selecting the relevant category. You can get even more specific by continuing to click on the downward arrow to select further sub-categories.
7) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 8. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 7 again.
8) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Payroll month and YTD Detail (formerly A08)
Monthly Budget and Actual Worked and Benefit hours and dollars by job type for the selected (primary) functional cost centre.
1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Payroll” folder
3) Click on “1. Payroll (Month and YTD) Detail Report”
4) If prompted, type in your password in the area indicated.
Press enter or click the “Log On” button.
5) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Year” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
6) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
7) To select the cost centre, activate the drop down menu where your name appears and click on the cost centre.
By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen. An added feature is that you may use this selection box to limit your report to a particular staff category (Management & Operation or Unit Producing) by clicking on the downward arrow and selecting the relevant category. You can get even more specific by again clicking on the downward arrow and selecting a unique staff designation code and title.
8) Click on “OK” once you have completed your selection to generate the report on screen. If you wish to print the report go to step 9. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 8 again.
9) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
CURRENT MANAGER’S FINANCIAL PACKAGE
REPORT CONTENT &
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO PRINT THIS REPORT IN COGNOS
Payroll Worked Benefit
Detail (formerly A09)
YTD Worked and Benefit hours and dollars by designation and category (Regular, W/Stat, Overtime, On Call, Evening, Weekend and Nights and Others) for the selected (primary) functional cost centre
.1) From the News Index screen, click on “Manager Level Reports”
2) Click on the “Payroll” folder
3) Click on “2a. YTD Worked Hours Detail”
4) If prompted type in your password in the area indicated.
Press enter or click the “Log On” button.
5) Click on the downward arrow besides “Fiscal Year” to activate the drop down menu and select the fiscal year.
6) Click the same downward arrow to activate the drop down menu and select the month.
7) To select the cost centre, activate the drop down menu where your name appears and click on the cost centre.
By simply clicking “OK” at this stage, you will be able to generate your report on screen.
8) If you wish to print the report go to step 9. If you wish to start over, select the icon at the bottom right most corner of the screen (Return to source). This will allow you to execute steps 3 to 8 again.
9) To print the report, click on the print icon found along the Adobe tool bar (you will not be able to print the report using the PRINT command in Internet Explorer).
Follow exactly the same steps from 1 to 9 above to print out the other 4 reports which are part of the Overall Payroll Worked Benefit Detail report. These are:
YTD Worked Salary Detail YTD Benefit Hours Detail YTD Benefit Salary Detail
YTD Staffing Salary – FT/PT Report
(The only thing to note is that for step 3 you have to click on either “2b. YTD Worked Salary Detail” or “3a.
YTD Benefit Hours Detail” or “3b YTD Benefit Salary Detail” or “4b. YTD Staffing Salary FT/PT Report”
depending upon which report you wish to print. Then follow steps 4 to 9 as above).
