DMW Advisory

The best financial analysis in the world is worthless if nobody understands it. We’ve watched CFOs present 40-slide decks full of detailed waterfall charts and variance tables to a room of engineers, marketers, and salespeople — and seen every eye glaze over by slide 4.

Communicating financial results to non-finance stakeholders is a skill, and most finance professionals are terrible at it. Here’s how to get better.

Lead with the Story, Not the Numbers

Don’t start with “Revenue was $2.3M, which was 4% above plan.” Start with “We had a strong month driven by two large enterprise deals closing earlier than expected. This puts us in a great position for the quarter.” Then show the numbers as evidence for the story.

Three Numbers Maximum

For any audience that doesn’t live in spreadsheets, limit each topic to three supporting numbers. Revenue, margin, and cash. Or: growth rate, retention, and burn. If you need more detail, put it in an appendix for those who want to dig deeper.

Use Comparisons, Not Absolutes

“Gross margin is 62%” means nothing to your head of engineering. “Gross margin is 62%, up from 55% last year, which means we’re keeping an extra 7 cents of every dollar to invest in product” — that resonates.

Visualize Trends, Not Snapshots

A single data point is meaningless. A 6-month trend tells a story. Use simple line charts showing direction. Green/yellow/red status indicators. Progress bars toward targets. Make it visually obvious whether things are going well or need attention.

Connect Finance to Their World

Sales team: “Our CAC payback is 8 months, which means every deal you close starts generating pure profit by month 9.” Engineering team: “Every point of gross margin improvement funds another engineer for a year.” Marketing team: “Your content marketing channel has the lowest CAC at $180 — that’s 3x more efficient than paid search.”

Do This Monday

  1. Take your last financial presentation. Count the slides with more than 3 numbers on them. Can you simplify?
  2. For each department, identify the 2-3 financial metrics most relevant to their work. Share those metrics monthly with context they understand.
  3. Practice explaining your company’s financial health in 3 sentences to someone outside your industry. If you can’t, your messaging needs work.

If you want help building financial communications that drive alignment, book a free consultation →

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