LearnETRM — Visual Storyboard

Reports That Run
a Trading Desk

Nine core report types — from exposure to VaR — and the End-of-Day process that produces them. Scroll to explore what each report does, who consumes it, and what goes wrong when it's wrong.

9Report Types
7 AMTypical Delivery
OvernightWhen EoD Runs
5Report Families
Scroll to explore
Chapter 01 — Process
01
Process

End of Day
/ COB

The EoD (End of Day) process runs each night: ingest prices, compute curves, recalculate exposure and MtM/PnL, value inventory, update credit, run invoicing, and push data to scheduling/accounting/ERP. Think of it as running every trade through the lifecycle every day.

It must complete on time so reports land on desks by morning. Failure handling, fallbacks (e.g. missing prices), and lean design are critical.

When
After business hours
Output
All reports by ~7 AM
Parallelism
Many steps parallel
Monitor
Steps, start/end times
Key Consumers
EoD Team BA Front / Mid / Back Office
Late or failed EoD means reports are late or wrong — trading and risk decisions based on stale data. Dependencies like exchange prices can delay steps; fallbacks and monitoring are essential.
EoD Process Flow
1Housekeeping & price ingestion
2Custom curves & exposure calc
3MtM & PnL calculation
4Inventory & credit valuation
5Invoicing, payments, 3rd-party feeds
6Report generation & distribution
Typical Steps
HousekeepingPrice ingestionCustom curvesExposureMtM/PnLInventoryCreditInvoicingPayments3rd party feedsReport distribution
Chapter 02 — Position
02
Position

Exposure
Report

The exposure report tells traders how long or short they are — the volume (and value) of commodity that is unhedged and therefore exposed to market moves. Built per book, commodity, or geography. Wrong exposure → wrong hedging → unintended speculation.

Formula
Physical − Hedged
Amount
Exposure × Mkt Price
When
Overnight / EoD
Sliced by
Book, commodity, region
Front Office Mid Office (Risk) EoD Team
Wrong exposure leads to wrong hedging: the firm may think it's hedged but is effectively speculating. Common causes: new/amended trades, wrong UoM, wrong book, pricing terms, basis risk not considered.
Interactive: Exposure
Physical (bbl)
Hedged (bbl)
Market ($/bbl)
Exposure (vol)200,000 bbl
Exposure ($)$12,000,000
Exposure = Physical − Hedged → Amount = Exposure × Market price
CounterpartyBuy/SellTrade TypeProductVolumeExposureDelivery Start/EndMonthTrade NumberLocation
Chapter 03 — Operations
03
Operations

Inventory
Report

Reflects inventory levels across the supply chain — tanks, pipelines, trucks, ships, underground storage. Crucial for traders and operations to know how much commodity is on hand and how much needs to be bought or sold.

ETRM captures storage asset master data (type, location, size, rates, product, capacity) and often integrates with specialized optimization software. Valuation uses FIFO, LIFO, WAC, or MtM.

Scope
Tanks, pipelines, ships
Valuation
FIFO, LIFO, WAC, MtM
Asset Master
Type, location, capacity
Integration
3rd-party optimization
Traders Operations Scheduling Back Office
Wrong inventory levels or valuation lead to misstated positions, wrong P&L, incorrect procurement or sales decisions, and audit and reconciliation issues.
Inventory Snapshot
Trade NumberProductStorage TankLocationIn/OutDateQuantityUnit
Chapter 04 — Valuation
04
Valuation

Mark-to-
Market

One of the core ETRM outputs. Extends the exposure report by adding the price dimension: MtM = Volume × Price. Answers "What are my positions worth today at market?"

Wrong prices propagate to wrong MtM, P&L, invoices, and settlements — so price check and reconciliation are critical. For power and long-dated commodities, MtM can involve millions of data points.

Formula
Volume × Price
Purpose
Value at market
Scale
Millions of data pts
When
Overnight; on time for desk
Front Office Mid Office
Wrong prices → wrong MtM → wrong P&L → wrong invoices and settlements. Price data must be accurate and complete.
Interactive: MtM
Volume (bbl)
Price ($/bbl)
MtM value$12,400,000
MtM = Volume × Price
Scenario
Pricing dateDelivery dateProductVolumePriceMtM valueBookPortfolio
Chapter 05 — Valuation
05
Valuation

P&L
Explained

Shows profit or loss and attributes the change to specific drivers: flat price, FX, new/amended/canceled trades, quantity, pricing date, costs, interest, and "other." Delivered crisp and on time as part of EoD.

Engineering P&L reporting is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks for an ETRM BA. It requires understanding trade context, IT landscape, and the many costs in energy trades.

Formula
(Trade−Market) × Qty
Delivery
With morning coffee
Attribution
Price, FX, new, costs
Goal
Keep unexplained low
Traders Risk Control Back Office
Unexplained or wrong P&L causes loss of confidence, wrong trading decisions, reconciliation and control issues.
Interactive: P&L
Trade price ($)
Market price ($)
Quantity
Side
P&L$400,000
Buy: (Market − Trade) × Qty  |  Sell: (Trade − Market) × Qty
Flat priceFXNew tradesAmendedQuantityPricing dateCanceledCostsInterestOther
Chapter 06 — Operations
06
Operations

Price
Check

An ETRM without correct prices is "a car without brakes." The price check report reconciles prices in the ETRM with the price provider. Any delta must be analyzed and fixed so downstream valuation is correct.

Issues include overnight copy failures, server/network problems, exchange holidays, and master data mismatches.

Goal
0 delta (ETRM = Provider)
Break Causes
Copy fail, server, holidays
Tooling
Power BI, Tableau
Columns
Date, Price, Delta
EoD Team BA Mid Office
Wrong or missing prices → wrong MtM → wrong P&L → wrong invoices → settlement and cash flow issues; escalations from front, mid, back, and accounting.
Interactive: Price Check
ETRM price
Provider price
Delta0.00
Status✓ Match
Pricing DateDelivery DatePrice ETRMPrice ProviderDeltaRegion/Commodity
Chapter 07 — Risk
07
Risk

Credit
Exposure

Reveals how much the firm owes or is owed by counterparties — i.e. exposure to counterparty credit risk. Credit departments assess counterparty quality and set limits. Netting aggregates buy/sell with the same counterparty to one net value.

Shows
Exposure to CP
Time Profile
+100k Apr, +150k May
Netting
Buy/sell → one value
Columns
CP, Limit, Exposure, Rating
Back Office Credit Dept Risk
Unchecked credit exposure leads to default or non-performance by counterparty; losses on receivables; regulatory and limit breaches.
Interactive: Credit Utilization
Exposure ($)
Limit ($)
Utilization75%
StatusWithin limit
Trade NumberCounterpartyCredit LimitExposureCredit TermCredit RatingNetting
Chapter 08 — Operations
08
Operations

Trade
Reconciliation

Physical trades create exposure that the paper desk hedges on exchange. The trade recon report matches ETRM to the clearer/broker: quantities, prices, fees, accounts, margin. Breaks are investigated by the ETRM BA to find root cause.

Compares
ETRM vs Clearer
Checks
Qty, price, fees, margin
Flow
Exec platform → ETRM
Breaks
BA investigates root cause
Paper Desk Risk EoD Team ETRM BA
Breaks cause wrong position view, margin errors, failed settlements; operational and reputational risk.
Interactive: Trade Recon
ETRM Qty
Broker Qty
Difference0
Status✓ Match
Trade No.Broker QtyETRM QtyQty DiffBroker PriceETRM PricePrice DeltaMargin
Chapter 09 — Risk
09
Risk

Value at
Risk

VaR answers "How much could we lose over a given period and with what probability?" E.g. 99% one-month VaR of $50k means there is a 1% chance losses exceed $50k. Methods: historical simulation, parametric, Monte Carlo.

Example
$2mn / 10d @ 95%
Meaning
5% chance loss > $2mn
Methods
Historical, Parametric, MC
Uses
Limits, stress test, capital
Mid Office Risk Managers Regulators
Misestimated VaR leads to understated risk limits, unexpected losses; regulatory and capital issues.
Interactive: VaR (Simplified)
Portfolio ($)
Confidence %
Horizon (days)
VaR (approx)$50,000
Simplified: ~5% of portfolio × √(days/10) for illustration
PortfolioVaR (currency, horizon, %)MethodComponents