​

Hello Reader 👋

Sorry for the delay in the newsletter, I was giving a wonderful training yesterday and it was a bit far 😓

But I'm still on time to tell you about a feeling shared by many finance professionals.

After years of prepping all kinds of presentations, for team leads, ExCo and boards, I’ve learned one thing:

Same content. Different audience. Totally different story.

This week, I’m showing you how to adapt your message depending on who’s in the room.
​

So take a coffee, sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 23k other readers.

This week in FP&A Stories

🗣️ The 4 Audiences You Should Never Treat the Same

When I train FP&A teams on presentation skills, this is one of the first things we talk about:

The message is your first step, but the next one is adapting it to your audience.

And that, even before opening PowerPoint!

Because believe me, I’ve seen ExCo frown at a presentation that made the a marketing team nod.

I’ve seen operational teams disconnect because the message was made for compliance.

And I’ve seen All-Hands updates confuse the room because the structure came straight from the QBR deck.

So here’s a breakdown I created to help you get it right:

1️⃣ Internal Staff (Operational)

This is often the audience that gets the least attention in our presentations.
But they’re usually the ones who need the clearest direction.

If you want the other teams to take ownership, you need to talk about their performance.

Not in finance terms, but through the lens of what they can influence, what’s working, and what needs follow-up.

• What they look for: KPIs, operational metrics, follow-ups
• How I approach it: bring key figures that matter for their role and leave space to reflect
• Tone to keep: open, collaborative, grounded in their day-to-day

These presentations often shape the culture of accountability in your teams.

If you want progress, make sure they leave the room knowing what to do next.

2️⃣ Executive Committee (ExCo)

This is where the pressure rises.
You have 10 minutes to help them decide on a trade-off that will affect the next 6 months.

I learned not to show every detail of my work.
They don’t need to see what you worked on, but rather the logic, the outcome, and the consequences.

• What they look for: business implications, priorities, scenarios
• How I approach it: start from the impact and reverse-engineer the argument
• Tone to keep: sharp, structured, solution-oriented

And don’t expect them to ask the right questions: you need to lead with the answer proactively.

3️⃣ Board of Directors

Presenting to a board is a different game.
It’s not about reassuring them and make sure the future is as you internally decided.

They want to know the company is under control, the risks are understood, and the long-term value is being protected.

• What they look for: risk framing, strategic direction, governance signals
• How I approach it: build a solid pre-read, open with the key message, stick to key strategic levers
• Tone to keep: confident, focused, and transparent

One thing I always remind myself: board members don’t like surprises.

If something’s going wrong, say it early and frame what you’re doing about it.

4️⃣ All-Hands or Company-Wide Meetings

This is the moment where Finance gets to be visible at scale but this visibily can boomerang back at you if you deliver it boringly.

These presentations are often under-leveraged.

They’re a chance to motivate, clarify direction, and align everyone around the same ambition.

• What they look for: transparency, recognition, future outlook
• How I approach it: one message, simple visuals, speak to everyone
• Tone to keep: collective, positive, accessible

Don’t waste that moment by flooding people with charts.

Make them feel included and show that Finance knows how to speak to them and their reality.

This is THE moment where people need to feel they work for a successful company...or at least one that know what it does.

📺 Backup slide ≠ garbage

I used to hate it when my slides were "rejected" to the backup. I thought I worked for nothing and finished unmotivated.

But as I grew into leadership positions, I was the first to ask and use them intentionally.

Slides in the backup are not a punishment and you'll discover why in this video 👇

​

🏃‍➡️ Want to Go Further in FP&A Storytelling?

Knowing the numbers is one thing.

Making people listen and act on them is another.

If you want to step up your impact in Finance, here’s how:

📌 The Financial Storytelling Program: Your message is only as strong as how you deliver it. In this course, you’ll learn how to structure financial insights, craft a clear narrative, and make sure decision-makers actually take action.

📌 PowerPoint Guide for Finance – A great analysis can be ruined by bad slides. This guide gives you a no-nonsense method to create slides that are clear, structured, and focused on decision-making—without the usual design fluff.

See what they think about it

​

​If you want to go beyond reporting and start influencing, these will help.

That's a wrap for this week

See you next week!​