Last week, we introduced the 3D system to nail your next FP&A presentation.

We dove headlong into the DEFINE phase - getting crystal clear on our audience, our desired outcome & the key takeaway from the presentation.

But now we face the real challenge: how do you transform those complex financial findings into a presentation that doesn't just inform, but captivates and convinces?

Enter the DISTIL phase – here we turn data & analysis into a clear & compelling narrative that resonates with both hearts and minds.

Specifically, we'll explore how to structure your content, craft a compelling story, and create visuals that bring your financial insights to life.

STRUCTURE

No matter how complex your analysis, your messages need to be

• logical

• easy to understand

Think of structure as a handrail for your audience, guiding them through the numbers and showing how each part fits into the whole.

We're not aiming for "beautiful mind" leaps of logic that leave your audience scratching their heads. Instead, we want a step-by-step walkthrough of the situation and its financial implications, with you holding your audience's hand throughout the journey.

Structure takes many forms in any walk-through of the numbers - Let's break it down using a deep dive we did at Numbers Behind the Net into Cardiff City's financials.

Structure of Presentation Order

We started with a question : “how did Cardiff burn through £200m in a decade?”

Up front we laid out a clear sequence we would use to answer that question:

• Revenue

• Profit

• Cash flows

To reinforce that structure, we even added a little key in the top left corner of each slide, reminding the audience where we were in the story at any point.

Of particular importance - your starting point.

Whilst you have spent hours wrangling with the numbers, your audience is coming in cold.

In our Cardiff review, revenue is the obvious entry point - it’s the top line of the P&L, and a concept everyone understands.

After we break down the top line - we move onto profits where we literally step-through each of the major cost buckets to get to operating profit (& from there onto cash flows, answering the question posed at the beginning)

Start at the shallow end with your audience and wade step-in-step into deeper waters.

Structure of Data

How you order and group your numbers can make or break your audience's understanding. Take Cardiff City's P&L:

Tempting as it might be to walk through this line by line, we’d soon be bogged down in the weeds of accounting terms.

Take buying & selling players - rather than explaining “amortisation of intangible assets” as the cost of transfer fees & “profit on disposal of player registrations” as the transfer fees from players sold….

…we combined the two into one simple category: “Transfer Fee costs”.

Remember, your goal is to make the data digestible, not to be compliant with external accounting standards.

STORY

Storytelling in FP&A is a widely vaunted skill.

Numbers & a logical flow of data are important, but it's the story behind those numbers that truly engage your audience… a narrative connecting your financial data to real-world implications and business situations.

But how do we actually do it?

Arcs & frameworks

Presentations on specific business problems lends itself to traditional story-telling arcs. Take the example we highlighted last week on a major office move that was going over budget - it fits within the 5-act story arc:

EXPOSITION - The office move was approved 6 months ago.

RISING ACTION - Since approval, the CEO has required major changes in scope & we have run into other issues.

CLIMAX - If we do nothing, the move will go millions over budget.

FALLING ACTION - We believe we can deliver savings from the dilapidations negotiations & can also reduce spend on the remaining floors if needed.

RESOLUTION - We are confident we can deliver the move under budget.

In the Cardiff City presentation, we lean on the “mystery” of how did the Bluebird’s burn through £200m of cash in a decade and what they got for it….

Even for drier presentations (hello, monthly actuals review), we can use communication frameworks to convey the messages in a more compelling way:

Jim Cook (Netflix co-founder &ex-Mozilla CFO) suggests gems like:

”where we were, where we are, where we’re going”

”this is what happened, this is why we think it happened, this is what we’re doing about” 

Notice that last part in both? Your CFO doesn't just want to hear that sales are down – they want to know what’s being done to fix it….they want resolution!

Adding Context

In his newsletter this week, Cook highlighted the value of including storytelling elements in his presentation [CFO as storyteller]

Specifically, on turning a dry topic (Mozilla office spending costs) into a more engaging one.

How? Instead of focusing on $ spent, he initially broke kitchen expenses by gallons of milk drunk, thousands of cups of espresso ordered….

That armed the audience with both a vivid picture and context as he moved on to the crux of the story - was office spending costs too high?

In our Cardiff City presentation, we didn't just talk about transfer fee costs hitting the P&L– we showed the actual players involved. Suddenly, we're not just discussing abstract millions, but the action happening on the pitch.

Anytime you can pause on the abstract numbers and transport your audience back to the real-world will boost your impact. And it’s not just mental images we can capitalise on…

VISUALS

Imagine you're the head of sales, and I present you with this table - what’s your first question?

Mine would be “Why are sales below budget?”

Now look at each of the 4 charts (all could be shown by the table)

Would your first question be the same?

The right visual can cut straight to the heart of an issue faster than numbers alone.

But which should you use?

The key in my experience is to identify which one trait of the data to highlight.

• Trend over time? Line chart.

• Components? Stacked bar/column chart.

• Relationship between 2 data sets? Scatter plot.

Remember, your visual should tell a story at a glance.

If you need to spend five minutes explaining your chart, it's the wrong one..

COLOUR

Colour is a powerful tool in your visual arsenal, but with great power comes great responsibility. I have been guilty of rainbow slide fever many times in the past - using every colour of the spectrum & overwhelming my audience.

Use colour strategically to highlight key information and guide your audience's attention. One colour for highlighting & grey for contrast can be incredibly effective.

The goal of your visuals should be to speak for themselves. Aim to create charts and graphs that your audience can understand quickly without needing extensive verbal explanation. This doesn't mean you won't discuss the numbers, but rather that the discussion can focus on insights and implications rather than explaining what the chart shows.

Bringing It All Together

The DISTIL phase is where the magic happens in your financial presentations. By focusing on structure, story, and visuals, you can transform complex financial data into a compelling narrative that holds your audience’s attention and drives action.

Remember:

• Structure provides the roadmap for your presentation

• Story breathes life into your numbers

• Visuals enhance understanding and emotional impact

Master these elements, and you'll be well on your way to creating financial presentations that not only inform but captivate and convince. You might even make EBITDA exciting 🙂 

Next week, we'll dive into the final phase of our journey – DELIVER. We'll explore techniques for reviewing your work, presenting with confidence, and incorporating feedback to continuously improve your financial storytelling skills.

What did you think on this week’s “HIT THE DECK”?

💩or 🥂 ? Let us know in the comments