Dear colleagues,

Storytelling has always been the cornerstone of the FP&A function, and its significance is only growing.

In today's data-rich world, where management has limited time to process information, the ability to present insights compellingly has never been more crucial. At our recent International FP&A Board meetings, we discussed that storytelling now emerges as the defining skill for FP&A professionals. A well-crafted story can transform complex data into clear, actionable insights that resonate throughout the organisation.

In this issue, we dive into the transformative power of FP&A Storytelling. The featured content includes articles on persuasive storytelling techniques, enhancing decision-making processes through storytelling, the value of time spent crafting narratives, the Insights Paper on the winning formula for FP&A storytelling and a short video about the role of dashboards.

I hope these insights will help you harness the power of storytelling in your FP&A processes.

Kind regards,

Larysa Melnychuk, CEO and Founder
FP&A Trends Group & International FP&A Board

Data visualisation is an essential part of a compelling business story. Good visuals should support your narrative and be backed up by relevant data to drive actions among your stakeholders.

To help you understand the key principles of making informative visuals and delivering great stories, FP&A Trends Group has created an insights paper focusing on the specifics of storytelling with data. We welcome you to explore the winning formula of the FP&A Storytelling and Data Visualisation Maturity Model.

Read this paper to understand where you are on the scale and how to make your data visualisation even better.

By Taylor Otstot

Crafting a story can be viewed as a multistep process to wrap your data in the appropriate context and inspire your audience to act. But how can we create a story that will persuade our audience? Data will not speak for itself as it is not the sole component of a story. You will need to craft a narrative that will give your data soul.

In this article, Taylor Otstot, VP Finance at Dashlane, suggests three simple steps for making your story effective.

By Amrish Shah

Storytelling is an essential skill for modern FP&A professionals, yet it’s not easily mastered. Numbers tell us what happened; FP&A storytelling explains why it matters and what we should do next. The challenge lies not in the data itself but in understanding how to engage your audience effectively. A well-crafted story can bridge the gap between data and decision-making, making insights more relatable and actionable.

Read this article by Amrish Shah, CFO at Metabolic, to learn how FP&A professionals can enhance their storytelling skills.

By Connagh Hopkins

Crafting the FP&A narrative and story: is it time well spent? As a modern FP&A professional, how do you tell yours? How do you know if your reports and visualisations are really adding value? Taking the time to answer these questions can be invaluable. Gathering feedback and creating a relatable narrative takes practice and patience but can pay big dividends.

Read this article by Connagh Hopkins, Head of Business Planning and Reporting at Western Power, to discover four practical tips to help you turn your FP&A visualisations into impactful messages that make a difference.

By Jürgen Faisst

Dashboards in FP&A storytelling are often misunderstood. Do dashboards alone tell compelling stories? Jürgen Faisst, Author, Speaker, Trainer, and Managing Partner at IBCS Institute, challenges this notion, arguing that they do not. He explores the limitations of dashboards in conveying the full narrative needed for effective decision-making, revealing the crucial role of context, emotion, and human creativity through a detailed analysis of a typical sales dashboard.

Watch this video as Jürgen Faisst demystifies dashboards and highlights the essential elements of storytelling that go beyond mere data visualisation.

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25 September 2024

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