It is only by telling the story behind the numbers that we can see the full picture and use the numbers to make value-adding decisions.

For FP&A, effective communication centres on 'storytelling' — the art of conveying numerical analysis as a cohesive narrative instead of a set of disjointed figures. It is hard to overstate the importance of storytelling. How FP&A professional presents their data determines how they are viewed

The financial planning and analysis (FP&A) storyteller has emerged as one of the five critical roles within the FP&A function. In a data-driven world, the volume of data that exists is exponentially increasing. Equally, the time available for managers to process insights from this data is decreasing. Therefore, the requirement that these insights be taken and used to drive leadership decisions has never been greater.

There are innumerable excellent stories to be told in FP&A, many of which can facilitate the decision-making process. At this time of advanced analytics, flexible dashboarding and effective data visualization, FP&A storytelling has become both an art and a science.

Increasingly, FP&A’s most valued skill is turning data/facts into a story and putting these into context. However, there is generally too little focus on the actual art and science of storytelling, the primary tool in business partnering. This article on Storytelling will evolve around the three core elements of a good story – the narrative, visuals and data and cover how combining these allows FP&A to fulfil our goal in life of influencing change.

FP&A Storytelling has already become both an art and science. Watch the recording of the Digital Benelux FP&A Board to learn more about the challenges & best practices of FP&A Storytelling and the power of FP&A visualisation.