Hello Reader 👋

The football season is back after the winter break. And honestly, I forgot how much I missed it.

There’s something about those first games: the rhythm, the noise, the small routines that come back.

It also helped me blow off some steam after working hard on last week’s webinar (more on that later in this letter).

It was the first time I've taken my Financial Storytelling Maturity Model to the public, and boy it was great.

So this week, we talk about speaking like a CEO by fixing five communication mistakes that quietly kill our impact as CFOs and FP&A leaders.

So take a coffee, sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 17k other readers (I've cleaned a bit the list because I never want to arrive in a mailbow I'm not welcome).

This week in FP&A Stories

🖐️5 Common Communication Mistakes for CFOs

I’ve noticed something in the last couple of years.

Finance leaders are asked to be closer to strategy, closer to customers, closer to execution. And at the same time, more CFOs are stepping into CEO roles. That’s not a random trend, in my humble opinion.

It means the “finance seat” is getting more and more valued and that we have choices to make.

But in these choices, there is still our big weakness: many finance leaders still communicate like finance leaders… in rooms that require CEO language.

So let’s make it practical. Here are five mistakes I see all the time in exec meetings, QBRs, board pre-reads, and steering committees. I’ve done some of them myself. And every single one is fixable.

1️⃣ Starting too safely

Most finance updates start like this:

“Hi everyone. Today, we're going to analyse last month figures vs budget and last year.”

Even before you arrive at the word "budget", your audience has already disconnected.

Executives don’t wake up excited about a walk-through. They care about what has changed, what it means, and what decision is needed.

Fix it: start with action.​
Open with one of these:

• The decision
• The tension
• The consequence
• The risk

Small rewrite examples:

• “Revenue is down 3% vs plan” becomes “We’re trending below plan, and if we don’t change course in the next 4 weeks, we’ll miss the quarter. Here are the two levers that actually move it.”
• “I’ll present the forecast” becomes “We have lower visibility than last month. Here’s what we know, what we don’t know, and how I suggest we manage the risk.”

When you start this way, you don’t sound like a reporter. You sound like a leader.

2️⃣ Ending without landing the plane

If you end your presentation with things like:

“Let's skip this because we're out of time”
“Any questions?”
“I'll send you the material after the meeting”

You're in the typical zone of "bad finish".

This is where influence disappears. Because people remember the beginning and the end.

Fix it: end with a clear close.​
A strong close has three elements:

1. A recap of the decisions
2. The message in one sentence
3. The next steps

Small example:
“Thanks for the time. The key point is that our margin pressure is structural. I recommend we decide today between price action or scope reduction, because waiting pushes the recovery into next quarter.”

That’s an ending that creates movement.

3️⃣ Transitioning like you’re changing slides

Transitions are where you lose people. It’s also where meetings become messy.

Finance often transitions with:
“On next slide,…”
“So…”
“Anyway…”

And suddenly half the room is on email.

Fix it: use deliberate bridges.​
A strong transition does two things:

• Wrap the last point with a takeaway
• Pull the audience into what comes next

Examples you can steal:

• “So the takeaway from Q1 is that volume isn’t the issue, mix is. With that in mind, let’s look at where mix is changing and what we can actually do about it.”
• “Now that we agree on the size of the gap, the real question is which lever is realistic in the remaining weeks. Let’s walk through the two options.”

You’re not moving slides. You’re moving attention.

4️⃣ Hedging until you sound unsure

Finance people hedge when they care about precision, and it's normal.

But if you want to be taken as a "future-CEO-material", you'll have to avoid the:

“I think…”
“Maybe…”
“Sort of…”
“Kind of…”

If you say that repeatedly in a leadership room, your credibility takes a hit.

Everyone wants to rely on someone that sounds confident.

Fix it: substitute your hedges with executive intent.

Small rewrites:

• “I think we should delay hiring” becomes “I recommend we delay hiring until we see demand stabilize.”
• “Maybe we can still hit the target” becomes “We can still hit the target if we execute two actions this month. If not, we should reset expectations now.”
• “It’s kind of risky” becomes “The risk is that we lock in cost before revenue confirms. Here’s how we can stage it.”

You can still be intellectually honest but with a touch of assertivity.

5️⃣ Memorizing the script

This is what you usually do for a big presentation, for example, your first board or if you work in a public company, your first earning call.

You try to remember the perfect wording. You over-rehearse the script.

Then one interruption happens, and you lose the thread.

Fix it: build an outline that can survive interruptions.​
The goal isn’t to repeat a script but to have the structure in mind

What works well for finance leaders is a simple outline:

• Context: what changed
• Meaning: why it matters
• Options: what we can do
• Recommendation: what you suggest
• Ask: what you need from the room

If you can hold that structure, you can handle any question without panicking or going back to slide 3.

And that, for me, is the bigger point of this whole issue.

If CFOs are becoming CEOs, then CFOs and FP&A leaders need to start communicating like CEOs.

📺 Financial Storytelling Maturity Model - The masterclass

Last week I ran a webinar on the Financial Storytelling Maturity Model to help leaders assess where their team really is: reporting, explaining, or influencing.

People loved the clarity because it immediately shows what to fix first.

For those who missed it, I’m hosting a new session on March 09, and I keep it limited seats by design so I can take time for your questions and real interaction.

This one is designed for FP&A Leaders and CFOs who want to move their teams.

There will be separate sessions later for individual contributors who want to sharpen their own skills.

Here’s the page to save your spot:

That's a wrap for this week

See you next week!​

P.S.

After 17 years in FP&A, Consulting and Leadership, I’ve coached and trained finance teams across industries, from consulting and manufacturing to tech, media, and global logistics.
Through The Finance Circle, I’ve had the chance to work with teams from companies like Deloitte, Holcim, CMA CGM, Bauer Media, Indeed, Volvo, AbbVie, NATO, and many others.

If you want to sharpen your own storytelling skills or bring this work into your team, here are a 3 ways can work together:

• ​Financial Storytelling Program for Individuals​
  A practical program built on the same methods I teach in corporate trainings worldwide. More than 400 finance professionals have taken it to strengthen how they communicate insights.
• ​Train Your Team — Book a Call​
  For finance leaders who want their entire FP&A team to communicate more clearly, present with confidence, and build stronger business partnerships.
• ​1:1 Coaching With Me​
  A direct, personalised way to work together if you want deeper feedback and support on storytelling, executive presence, or high-stakes communication.

If you're unsure which option fits best, reply to this email. I’ll point you in the right direction.