Financial reporting is a cornerstone of decision-making in any organization. Yet, many reports go unread by a CEO, Executives Committee, departments heads or other internal stakeholders. The result? You are being reduced to just a financial report generator, with little to no strategic impact.
Why? Because your reports fail to deliver insight, or fail to do it in the right way. Our Finance Partner
Jean-Baptiste Deghorain shares in this article the top reasons why your financial reports aren’t getting the attention they deserve—and actionable solutions to turn things around.
Oh no, here comes Finance again!
Did you notice that look in your colleagues' eyes during the monthly staff meeting? It’s the look of people getting bored by slides, charts, and figures they either don’t understand or don’t care about. Chances are high they have the same expression when they open your monthly financial reports… that is… if they open them at all!
This is how Finance, as a department, risks losing opportunities to position itself as a true value creator and insights generator at the core of its organization’s business strategy.
So, why aren’t your financial reports being read?
Here are four reasons why.
Mistaking numbers for analysis
A common mistake is thinking that giving numbers equals sharing analysis. Producing a table showing budget, actuals, forecast and variations might feel like you’ve done your job, but stakeholders are left asking, “So what?”.
Jean-Baptiste Deghorain, Partner at Altesia Finance, recalls:“I once asked an analyst if they knew whether their reports were being read. They replied, ‘I don’t know, and in any case, I wouldn’t have time to answer questions.’ That’s completely missing the point of their role. Analysts often forget that their role is not to generate reports; it’s to extract and communicate the insights that the business needs.”
Finance professionals should not be judged based on how many reports they can generate, but by their ability to answer one crucial question: What’s the one key insight my audience needs to know? As Jean-Baptiste says: “My analysts never go see the CEO unless they have an elevator pitch.” Articulating the why behind the numbers is a skill every finance professional must develop.
✍️Solution:
Shift your mindset from producing reports to driving impact. Ask yourself: Are these reports actionable? Do they inspire confidence and enable decisions?
Frame slides and reports with executive summaries and titles that lead with the conclusion. Present the big picture first, then drill down into details for those who need them. Use tools like waterfall charts to illustrate variances instead of overwhelming tables.
Think like a storyteller: Don’t just present a 20% variance between budget and actuals—explain why it happened and its business implications. For example, “Revenue increased by 20% due to a successful new marketing campaign.”
Tie insights to strategic objectives, such as improving margins or customer experience. This helps focus the narrative and demonstrates alignment with business priorities.
Overwhelming volume of details
You may want to include all available data in your reports and be as exhaustive as possible. But the risk is to drown your stakeholders into too much details, dilute your key insights and distract them from the essential.
Jean-Baptiste highlights a common issue:“I worked with company that generated over 50 financial reports. The Executives Committee didn’t fully understand them, so they were asking for more. This only added confusion. The CEO said, ‘I don’t get it, maybe because I’m not data-driven.’ But even I, as a CFO, found those reports overwhelming. The problem wasn’t the CEO; it was the complexity of the reports. Reports should be intuitive, tailored to the user, and focused on what matters most.”
Reports must prioritize usability, just like Apple products. The complexity behind the numbers should remain invisible to the final user. For example, BI dashboards should guide stakeholders intuitively to the data they need.
Jean-Baptiste shares an example of keeping things simple:“To motivate the commercial team during a busy period, I shared a single slide with two figures: last year’s sales and this year’s sales, showing improvement. The message was clear and inspiring: ‘We’re doing much better—keep up the great work!’ That’s all they needed to know.”
✍️Solution:
Simplify: Follow the principle of “less is more.” Remove unnecessary details and focus on the essential.
Keep complex details in hidden slides or background materials to answer specific questions without overwhelming your audience.
Ensure reports are intuitive: dashboards should allow users to navigate and find insights effortlessly.
You lack the right reports
Simplifying isn’t about having fewer reports overall—it’s about having the right ones.
As organizations evolve—through growth, downsizing, or a strategic pivot—reports often lag behind. Metrics that were once critical can become irrelevant, while new priorities may remain untracked. For example, transitioning from a startup phase to market expansion might require a stronger focus on customer retention rates or margin optimization.
Tailored reports can help uncover insights you may be missing, providing a deeper understanding of your organization’s performance and opportunities. However, this doesn’t mean adding reports indiscriminately—it’s about selecting focused, high-impact reports that provide the right level of details to deliver clarity and value.
Oftentimes, evolving reporting requirements often reveal the limits of outdated or inappropriate tools, making it critical to reassess both the content and the systems supporting your reports.
“I once heard a client ask, ‘Did you take the turnover from Power BI or from Accounting?’” shares Jean-Baptiste. “Both sources delivered different figures, and they couldn’t be reconciled. This led to confusion, mistrust in the data, and missed opportunities. Such situations show trigger deeper reflection on streamlining reporting tools and ensure consistency in data quality.”
✍️Solution:
Start by conducting a financial diagnostic to evaluate your current reporting framework. Are existing reports outdated, redundant, or misaligned with new priorities? Are your current tools still adapted to your company size and growth stage?
Collaborate with stakeholders: Identify gaps by asking what insights they need but aren’t receiving. Which challenges are going unaddressed?
Failing to connect with the Business
Too often, Finance operates in isolation, producing reports without context or collaboration. Reports become detached from the realities of the business. This disconnect limits Finance’s ability to act as a strategic partner and can lead to misinterpretation of critical data.
“Recently, I noticed that our stock of raw materials was increasing, which was putting our cash flow at risk. The team of analysts tried to figure it out by analyzing spreadsheets, but it was futile. I told them to speak with production. That conversation revealed the answer: production had decided to buy in bulk to secure better prices before an expected price hike. Without that discussion, the numbers would have been misinterpreted or misunderstood.”
This highlights a crucial gap: Finance teams must not only understand the numbers but also the decisions and realities behind them. Whether it’s production schedules, customer behavior, or market dynamics, engaging directly with colleagues across departments provides invaluable context and ensures reports deliver accurate interpretations that align with field realities.
✍️Solution:
Talk to the business: Build relationships with teams across the organization to understand their goals, priorities, and challenges. Regularly engage with colleagues in production, sales, marketing, and other key areas to stay informed, align on shared goals and co-create solutions.
Bridge the gap between numbers and field realities: When analyzing data, always ask, “What’s the context behind these figures?” This ensures that your reports are grounded in real-world insights rather than abstract metrics.
Conclusion
Finance should drive strategy – not just crunch numbers. To make your financial reports something that your stakeholders look forward receiving, focus on clarity, alignment, and collaboration. By tailoring reports to specific needs, simplifying insights, reassessing priorities, and involving the right people, you can ensure your financial reports are not only read but also drive meaningful decisions.
At Altesia, we help you deliver the full potential of your financial reporting through tailored diagnostics, or by supporting your finance department with the right talent to drive transformation from within.
What steps will you take today to transform your financial reporting into a strategic asset?
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