Before we can actually generate professional looking financial statements based on the latest data in our source system, we need to have the tools to build those reports. In this chapter, we covered the basic tools and building blocks that we need in order to design our financial statements. We discussed the underlying architecture of Management Reporter, how to navigate through the Report Designer interface, and how to use the building blocks to create our Row, Column, Reporting Tree, and Report definitions. We also covered some tips and techniques for taming the inevitable building block sprawl in a multicompany, multiuser environment.

In our next chapter, we will see the end result of our work with the reporting tools we used in this chapter. Specifically, we will look at the various options related to generating a report from the Report Designer. Then, we will cover the separate Report Viewer interface from which we can view and manage the reports we've generated. Finally, we...