
Master data storytelling by combining data, visuals, and narrative to explain why events happen. Communicate actionable insights to non-finance stakeholders.
Unify data from ERP, BI, intercompany reconciliation tools, and working capital and credit management systems to enable cross-talk. Clean and analyze to reveal patterns and insights for stakeholders.
Explore how visualization fits into the data storytelling framework and learn how to choose visuals that clearly convey your message to stakeholders.
Identify the audience and purpose, then design a data story backward; use horizontal bar charts to clearly compare regions and categories and reveal who is performing best.
Choose the right chart type to reveal clear comparisons; replace pie charts with horizontal bars and sort in descending order to highlight top categories like technology, furniture, and office supplies.
Use color sparingly and strategically to highlight the message; prefer grayscale with a green highlight to clearly convey the narrative that 2019 was the most profitable year.
Avoid misleading visualizations by using the right chart type and proper axis scales; show that average days to ship barely changed when the axis starts at zero.
Keep visualizations simple with one chart per slide, one graph per slide, and one message per slide. Use line charts to compare 2019 sales with the three-year average, highlighting patterns.
Learn to select chart types for FP&A, focusing on bar, pie, and line charts for tasks, and use area, scatter, bubble, and heat map to reveal part to whole comparisons.
Identify your audience and build the story backwards, tailoring data storytelling with strategic, analytical, or operational dashboards for senior leaders, mid managers, or frontline staff.
Identify patterns in data by analyzing trends, correlations, and outliers to craft a clear narrative and compelling chart headlines.
Convert timesheet data into actionable insights by highlighting red and amber flags through exception reporting, enabling managers to focus on performance, client mix, and payroll costs.
Present actuals to management using a concise, controlled narrative that highlights 2019 performance and the next financial year's budget, focusing on revenue, compensation, margins, and retainer versus project mix.
Use a waterfall chart to explain variances between two data points and reconcile starting and ending balances, highlighting price increases, staff costs, and rent.
Unlock the power of data storytelling to elevate your financial presentations and make an impact in FP&A. In this course, you'll learn how to turn raw financial data into compelling narratives that drive decision-making and engagement. We’ll cover the essentials of storytelling in finance, from structuring data insights to selecting the right visuals for your message. Dive into practical techniques, including how to clean and analyze data, visualize trends effectively, and create dashboards tailored for different organizational levels—whether you're presenting to senior management, mid-level managers, or operational teams.
With hands-on case studies like competitor analysis and profitability reporting, you’ll gain experience applying storytelling techniques to real FP&A scenarios. Our tips on effective visualization, from choosing chart types to avoiding common pitfalls, ensure your presentations are clear, impactful, and actionable.
Ideal for FP&A professionals, finance managers, and aspiring analysts, this course will equip you with essential skills to enhance your data storytelling capabilities and become a trusted advisor in your organization. Join us to make your financial insights memorable, impactful, and indispensable in today's data-driven business environment.
Through this course, you'll gain confidence in presenting complex financial data with clarity and purpose, transforming your role in the organization by delivering insights that truly resonate with your audience.