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  1. Module 1: Embed finance across the company
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  2. Module 2: Identify profit and cash initiatives
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  3. Module 3: Oversee and drive business change
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  4. Module 4: Deliver data-driven strategic insights
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  7. Module 7: Represent your business externally
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Topic 6, Lesson 7
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Communicating financial information to non-finance people

Dan Wells October 11, 2023
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Many finance leaders struggle to communicate financial information to non-finance people.  Communicating is universal and it is really important to recognise your audience.

During this video extract, experienced CFO and professional mentor Catherine Clark shares insights on how you can communicate financial information to non-finance people within key presentations, such as during board meetings:

It can be very tempting to assume that your audience wants to hear the exact things that you really want to tell them.  However, your perspective is not always the same as others – in particular, given that they are likely to be doing very different roles and come from other career backgrounds.

Heavy use of numbers can confuse people and others may prefer a mixture of numbers, visuals, words and body language.

Communicating financial information to non-finance people is about telling a story and determine the best way to get your message across to them.

Think about what you are really trying to tell people and what outcomes you are looking for.  This includes the key messages that they need to remember and the actions that you want them to take away.  Are you trying to share a fact or are you asking somebody to change something?

It often helps to focus on three key points within your presentation and to provide any further detail within an Appendix.

Never assume that people already know things, especially those who are outside of the day-to-day running of the business.  To make something happen, you need everybody to be on board with the same level of information and knowledge.

Avoid over-complicating your board papers in an attempt to demonstrate your worth.  Focus more upon how you can get your message across in the simplest way that brings the most important points to people’s attention.  You cannot risk something really important being lost in the level of detail.

Assess your skills

How good are you at presenting financial information to non-finance people?

Do you use a good mix of numbers, visuals, words and body language to convey your messages?

Are you consistently able to deliver the outcomes required from your presentations?