financial-model-narrative

Financial Model Narrative Skill

Turns financial model outputs into a clear, structured written narrative suitable for board packs, investor updates, or management reporting.

Required Inputs

• Financial data (paste key figures: revenue, costs, margins, EBITDA, cash)
• Period covered (month / quarter / annual / multi-year)
• Audience (board / investors / management / bank / internal)
• Key message (what is the headline story?)
• Actuals vs budget / prior period? (comparison context)

Output Structure

1. Headline Summary

3-5 sentences. The financial story in plain English. Lead with the most important insight — not "revenue was X" but what that figure means.

2. Revenue

• Performance vs prior period / budget
• Key drivers: what caused the movement
• Risks or opportunities in the revenue line

3. Costs and Margins

• Gross margin: % and trend
• Key cost movements and why
• EBITDA performance and drivers
• One-off items clearly flagged

4. Cash and Balance Sheet

• Cash position and movement
• Runway (for startups)
• Key working capital movements

5. Variance Analysis

For each significant variance:

[Line item] — Over/Under by [amount]

• Cause: [Plain English explanation]
• Permanent or temporary? One-time / Structural
• Action being taken: [If applicable]

6. Forward-Looking Commentary

• Expected next period
• Key risks to forecast
• Key opportunities
• Any reforecast or guidance change

Writing Rules

• Never just restate a number — always explain what it means
• Flag variances over 10% automatically
• Use past tense for actuals, conditional for forecast
• One insight per paragraph

Quality Checks

• [ ] Headline summary leads with meaning, not just the number
• [ ] Every significant variance has a cause, permanence, and action
• [ ] Forward-looking commentary includes specific risks and opportunities
• [ ] Audience-appropriate language (board vs investor vs management)
• [ ] One-off items clearly distinguished from recurring items

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not list numbers without explaining what is driving them — narrative must go beyond restating the figures
• [ ] Do not mix one-off items with recurring performance without clearly distinguishing them
• [ ] Do not write the same level of detail for all line items — focus depth on the items that matter most
• [ ] Do not omit forward-looking commentary — a narrative without outlook is incomplete for board or investor audiences
• [ ] Do not use technical accounting language without translation — the audience is executives, not accountants

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write a financial narrative for these results: [paste numbers]"
• "Turn this P&L into a board narrative"
• "Write the finance section of our board pack"
• "Explain these financial results in plain English"