The series of the International P&A Board discussions dedicated to FP&A Storytelling finally reached Zurich on the 9th of November, 2023. This session was marked by diverse top-notch insights on crafting a successful story.
Figure 1: Zurich FP&A Board №14, November 2023
33 senior finance leaders of local and global companies joined us at Michael Page's office. We extend our sincerest gratitude to people from companies as outlined below for attending the meeting:
- Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
- Mondelez International
- Hitachi Energy Ltd
- Amcor
- Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
- Sportradar
- Novartis
- Siemens Software Industry Gmbh
- Barry Callebaut
- Oriflame Cosmetics Global Pte. Ltd.
- SIG Group
- huntsman
- Ecolab
- Lonza AG
- IQVIA
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
- ETH Zurich
- and many others
Wolters Kluwer/CCH® Tagetik sponsored this FP&A Board in partnership with Page Executive. In this article, we briefly recollect how the forum in Zurich went and outline its key takeaways.
Critical Ingredients for FP&A Storytelling
The 14th face-to-face meeting in Zurich highlighted the most important factors for crafting compelling and insightful FP&A stories. As per the Zurich FP&A Board members, business understanding and simplicity are crucial considerations for an FP&A storyteller. Transparency, narrative, and clarity do not lag behind and are equally important. Finally, having a single data source can help you build trust and credibility.
Three Blocks of FP&A Storytelling
Figure 2
The exploration of the three building blocks of FP&A Storytelling followed the participants' thoughts regarding the success factors. First, the discussion facilitator emphasised that to make a good story, we have to combine narrative, design visuals and get the necessary data. A good narrative should contain three appeals – rational, emotional, and ethical.
The rational appeal presupposes using reliable data and presenting clear insights and visuals, while the ethical focuses on demonstrating expertise and transparency. Finally, the emotional part of your narrative deals with humanising the story and appealing to common values.
Figure 3
We have also touched upon the importance of tailoring your narrative to the audience's needs. This process can include adjusting your language and tone, managing the audience's priorities and expectations, wrapping your story in a context and providing the relevant KPIs.
While crafting a narrative is an important step for making your story successful, we don't have to forget about visuals. Easy-to-understand visuals can help even non-financial stakeholders grasp the key idea of your presentation. To help your FP&A team enhance the visual presentation of their insights, FP&A Trends Group has developed a Data Visualisation Maturity Model. The Zurich FP&A Board discussed it and underscored the importance of technological advancements in modern FP&A, which can be used for effective data visualisation.
Figure 4
Insights from the Field and Group Work
Jana Kottasova, VP Finance Global Shared Services & IT at Mondelēz International, shared her insights regarding the FP&A Storytelling with the attendees and answered different questions.
Shortly after hearing her insights, the forum was split into three groups to brainstorm the three questions:
- How can we create a clear, engaging narrative tailored to our audience?
- How can we design impactful, comprehensible visuals for our story?
- How can we effectively identify and analyse relevant data for our narrative?
Figure 5: Group Work, Zurich FP&A Board №14, November 2023
Each group presented their insights to the Zurich FP&A Board.
Some of the key takeaways from the group include the following:
- Listening, business understanding and driving impact are crucial when preparing your story
- Ensure you deliver your insights with clarity and accuracy
- Communication between the business becomes crucial
- You have to be able to translate the language of financial data to non-financial stakeholders
Conclusions
Figure 6: Group Work, Zurich FP&A Board №14, November 2023
Before the meeting ended, the attendees discussed a winning formula for FP&A Storytelling, outlined in the picture below.
Figure 7
The session went well, and the FP&A Board Members enriched their knowledge with valuable insights regarding FP&A Storytelling. Vivid networking followed the agenda; participants could make new connections and share feedback with colleagues after the event.
