IBCS - International Business Communication Standards

Communication standards for better and faster insights

Compose compelling stories using ISO 24896 notation for business reporting

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Join the IBCS Certified Analyst course

The upcoming online training course in English starts on March 16, 2026 at 8:00 AM CET.

IBCS Version 2.0 (draft)

This draft of the IBCS Standards Version 2.0 is open for public consultation. All members of the IBCS Association are invited to submit their comments by January 31, 2026.

Review the draft

Exercises in Excel
IBCS Workshop+

Are you IBCS certified? Explore our new course and enhance your skills.

+ Gain a deeper understanding of how to apply IBCS notation in a real-world Excel environment, learning how to use Excel’s native functions more effectively.
+ Get hands-on experience creating IBCS‑compliant charts and tables directly in Excel, using the XLBuddy add‑in.

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IBCS Annual Conference 2026

The IBCS Annual Conference will take place on June 12, 2026. Save the date!

Join the IBCS Certified Consultant course

The upcoming training in English will take place on May 13, 2026 in Warsaw.

Events

Get to know the SUCCESS formula of IBCS® and learn how to apply it.

Certifications

Get your own IBCS® certification or find software and/or consultants already certified.

Resources

Get inspired by examples, templates, and learning materials.

News and features

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Jürgen Faisst & Diego Berea

IBCS goes ISO

Watch the recording of live-talk about the registration of a project leading to a new ISO standard for the notation of business reports.

Get ready for ISO 24896 bundle for IBCS Certified Analysts

Explore key insights into IBCS 2.0 and the ISO 24896 standard, its scope, terminology, benefits, and relevance for automation and AI in reporting.

Learn more about this bundle

ISO plain language standard | Business reporting made easy

An article is about ISO 24896 and its approach to notation. It explains who is working on the standard, what it includes, who can benefit from it, and when it is expected to be published.

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Solid, outlined, hatched (online with exercises)

Learn how a consistent notation ensures that your reports and dashboards are read and understood. About 30 short lessons with interactive videos, questions, tests and a workbook with practical exercises.

Enroll in the course

Upcoming online course for IBCS Certfified Analyst

Understand the SUCCESS formula of IBCS and learn how to apply it in practice.

Enjoy checking out recent news from IBCS.

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Speaker request

Book an IBCS speaker for your event

Please contact us to request an IBCS speaker for your public conference or internal event. You can choose one of the following topics:

+ Time: the CFO’s most valuable currency
How standardizing the conceptual and visual design of business reports transforms communication and frees space for strategic decisions

+ Do we really want to make the same mistakes again?
How visual consistency fuels smarter decisions in AI-powered reporting

Learn more

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Esin Özkan

Optional: Analyst certification course with exercises using SAP Analytics Cloud

Watch this video to see how our IBCS Certified Analyst training using SAC can transform your organization.

Meeting of the IBCS community

IBCS Annual Conference 2026

IBCS Annual Conference will take place on June 12, 2026.

This year, we will meet in Konstanz. Registration is now open.

We look forward to your topic suggestions for discussion and ideas you’d like our IBCS community to explore.

Recertification Lumel Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)

The IBCS-driven reporting, planning and data management suite for Microsoft Fabric. Plan, budget, and forecast model, build IBCS reports and IBCS visualizations, and writeback data at source. Designed for business users with a no-code, self-service architecture while maximizing your Microsoft Fabric investments.

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Recertification graphomate suite (charts, chartrix, matrix and bubbles) 2025.3

With the graphomate suite - consisting of several specialized chart and table components - you can create clear and meaningful visualizations of complex data in Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Lumira Designer, and other SAP Analytics tools according to IBCS rules.

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Recertification VitaraCharts 5.3

VitaraCharts is currently the only certified IBCS chart provider for Strategy. An easy-to-use, intuitive library of charts, the Vitaracharts library is a seamless add-on for Strategy Desktop, Web, Library, and Mobile.

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Recertification Longview Analytics

Longview Analytics is the ideal environment for the creation and distribution of highly customized business intelligence and reporting solutions for mobile and desktop deployment.

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Free for members of the IBCS Association

IBCS® Standards (PDF)

PDF transcript of the IBCS® Standards, 150 pages illustrated with more than 180 instructive figures, covering all conceptual, perceptual, and semantic rules for the design of comprehensible reports, presentations, and dashboards.

Join IBCS Association and get a free copy of the PDF.

Get PDF

Editable template

Notation manual (PPT)

Editable PPT template for the creation of a company specific notation manual covering the major design principles for IBCS compliant charts and tables.

Get template

Selected resources

What it means for business leaders and CFOs?

IBCS notation becomes ISO standard

An article on why IBCS notation is shaping ISO 24896 covers its impact on business reporting and traces its journey from ISO approval to global development. This standard aims to unify business reporting, improving data visualization, decision-making efficiency, and corporate communication.

View resource

IBCS article

A guide to IBCS certifications | Professional skills & software compliance

An article on IBCS Institute certifications, designed to help professionals enhance clear and effective business communication. Learn about certification levels, benefits for BI professionals, and how IBCS-aligned tools can transform business decision-making.

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IBCS video

IBCS - Fostering comprehension

A video showing how, by applying the International Business Communication Standards (IBCS), we can understand our reports, presentations and dashboards faster and better.

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