FP&A Stories - Transparency vs. Saying-it-all

​

Hello Reader 👋

During my holidays, I reflected on my journey and thought about one of the first controversial posts I published on Linkedin.

It was about not communicating everything when you were in front of your audience, just so you are efficient and communicate only what matters for them.

While I admit this post was obviously exaggerated (yeah, I matured since then and didn't want to follow this "controversial posts just to generate engagement" technique), there are some important points that still need to be understood today.

This is why, in this newsletter, we will try to understand the difference between transparency (not hiding from your audience) and saying-it-all (giving all details)

So take a coffee (or a mojito if you're still on holidays), sit down and read FP&A Stories just like 30k other readers

This week in FP&A Stories

⚖️ The Balance Between Transparency and Over-Communicating

When you prepare and deliver a presentation, there's a fine line between transparency and over-communicating.

This is the post I published on linkedin

​

Whether you're in FP&A, controlling, or accounting, not understanding the difference between being open and drowning your audience in unnecessary details will have a huge impact on whether people will listen and act...or not

Transparency Isn’t TMI (Too Much Information)

If you want to build trust, transparency is super important. But being transparent doesn’t mean dumping every single piece of data onto your your business partners.

Instead, it's about delivering the right information at the right level of detail.

Here's the thing: providing too much information, especially all at once, can backfire.

It overwhelms people, dilutes your message, and makes it harder for them to understand what really matters and what they can do about it.

The Art of Selective Transparency

When you're transparent, you're sharing insights that matter and those that help guide decisions. Here's where selective transparency comes into play.

1. Filter for Relevance​
   You don't need to share every line item of a financial report or every scenario in a model. Instead, highlight what’s truly impactful for the decision-making process.
   ​
2. Keep the Big Picture in Mind​
   Transparency is about giving context. Your audience should leave with a clear understanding of the situation, but not necessarily the entire backstory.
   ​

Why Saying It All Can Undermine Your Message

While it might seem like saying it all will cover your bases, it can often do more harm than good.

1. Diluted Focus​
   When you include too much information, your key message gets lost in the noise. Your audience ends up missing the forest for the trees.
2. Cognitive Overload​
   Throwing too much at your audience causes them to tune out. Finance data is already complex—simplifying your message ensures they stay engaged.
3. Loss of Trust​
   Ironically, over-explaining can come across as a lack of confidence. When you're confident in your message, you know what to share and what to leave out.

Tips for Communicating Transparently Without Overloading

I will only give you one tip: reverse the narrative.

Find the business event behind the financial transaction and makes sure you have the

1. What: What happened and why
2. So What: This has an impact on your audience ('s work)
3. Now What: we can do something about it

When you have it, this is your message.

If you don't, maybe this does not need to be mentioned.

🧹 Cleaning up my mailing list

This week, I realised that, although you are 30k subscribers to get FP&A Stories in your mailboxes, more than 7k never opened a mail in the last 6 months.

So, because I don't want to keep sending mails that don't interest the ones receiving them, I sent a last mail this week to confirm the interest of these 7k subscribers.

If you received it in your mailbox, and want to keep receiving FP&A Stories, make sure you react before this Friday.

On Saturday, I will unsubscribe the subscribers who did not react.

But no worries, we have spent a good time together and I don't hold any grudge 😉

You're always welcome to come back

That's a wrap for this week

See you next week!

PS: Whenever you're ready to develop your financial storytelling skills and become the visible face of finance, join the Financial Storytelling Program​