Introduction
Another chapter of the International FP&A Board has recently hosted an ongoing journey of this think-tank for finance leaders. On the 19th of October, senior FP&A practitioners from renowned companies, such as Autodesk, Allianz, Kaiser Permanente, Sony Play Station, Visa, Lyft, Airbnb, and many others, gathered at the beautiful Spaces Menlo Park in San Francisco to discuss the essentials of FP&A Storytelling in a data-driven world.
Figure 1: San Francisco FP&A Board №9, October 2023
This article summarizes the key takeaways from that meeting and breaks down the most important insights voiced by the FP&A Board members at the session.
FP&A Storytelling Trends and Developments
The meeting swiftly started with the participants' introductions. Before exploring the essentials of a great story, the audience shared their views on the most vital factors required to make it successful. The most frequently cited insights are outlined below:
• Adjusting your message to the needs of your audience,
• Clarity,
• Actionable insights,
• Credibility,
• Simplicity,
• Trusted data,
• Good preparation,
• Meaningful narrative,
• Cause-effect attributions and,
• Sorting out relevant and irrelevant information.
As we see, many FP&A practitioners focus on conveying the right message tailored to the needs of their audience and driving actionable insights with the help of trusted data. This input aligns with a core idea of FP&A Storytelling presented by the discussion facilitator.
Figure 2
Following the agenda, the FP&A Board discussions addressed three essential components of FP&A Storytelling: narrative, visuals, and data. As Brent Dykes claims,
“When you combine the right visuals and narrative with the right data, you have a data story that can influence and drive change”.
The next point of the discussion was aimed at helping FP&A leaders better understand three essential dimensions of a narrative, outlined in the picture below.
Figure 3
In order to build an actionable narrative and a logical story, an FP&A professional has to incorporate three crucial factors: ethos, logos, and pathos. Coming from Ancient Greece, each refers to different appeals that a speaker should employ in their speech – ethical, rational, and emotional. They are equally important and allow you to demonstrate expertise, present clear insights, and humanize your story.
Figure 4
Visuals also play a crucial role, as they help to unveil the meaning behind your data. FP&A Trends Group developed a maturity model to help you understand where you are on the scale and what you will need to do to improve your data visualization.
Figure 5
The San Francisco FP&A Board members also discussed how technological trends, including Artificial Intelligence, can enhance our FP&A Storytelling skills. Factoring in the potential of data visualization software, integration of non-financial data, and real-time analytics can empower us to extract hidden insights and deliver more insightful narratives for our audience.
Finally, senior finance leaders explored a winning formula for FP&A Storytelling. It should encompass the following:
- Defining your audience,
- Crafting your story,
- Adding credibility to it,
- And, finally, bringing your passion to your story.
Storytelling in Practice: A Case Study from Lyft
Figure 6: Aurélien Nolf shares his insights at San Francisco FP&A Board №9, October 2023
Aurélien Nolf, VP and Head of FP&A at Lyft, shared a captivating case study on data visualization and the FP&A Storytelling journey at his company. Currently, they are moving:
- From multiple sources of information to a single source of truth,
- From disconnected operational and financial metrics to a connected and cohesive solution, and
- From a reporting-only to a real-time decision-making tool in order to simplify and standardize data visualization.
Small Groups Work and Conclusions
Figure 7: Group Work, San Francisco FP&A Board №9, October 2023
Closer to the end of the session, the audience was split into smaller groups to brainstorm three aspects of an effective story: narrative, data, and visuals.
Narrative: How can we create a clear, engaging narrative tailored to our audience?
- Avoid the ambiguity in the narrative,
- Use trusted data to create a credible narrative,
- Don't limit your narrative to the "finance perspective only".
Visuals: How can we design impactful, comprehensible visuals for our story
- Keep it simple,
- Standardize your data visualization,
- Use the best-fit technology for your data visualization.
Data: How can we effectively identify and analyze relevant data for our narrative?
- Use the right tool to analyze/visualize your data
- Choose between relevant and irrelevant data
- Factor in customers’/business insights
- Data should be driving actions
Figure 8: Group Work, San Francisco FP&A Board №9, October 2023
After the presentations of these insights, the meeting concluded with a vivid networking session where the participants could share their thoughts with fellow professionals.
Our Sponsor and Partners
We are grateful to Board International for sponsoring this event. Thank you, IWG and DeWinter Group, for your tremendous help with the event organization.
