I've been a CFO for 12 years across three companies. In that time, I've sat through roughly 400 board meetings, 200 investor presentations, and countless financial reviews.
Most financial charts are terrible. Here's what actually works.
What Board Members Actually Want
Let me save you some pain: board members don't want to "explore the data." They want answers to three questions:
- Are we on track?
- Where are the problems?
- What are we doing about it?
Your charts should answer these questions in under 30 seconds. Everything else is noise.
The Charts That Work
1. Revenue Waterfall (My #1 Most-Used Chart)
What it shows: How you got from Point A to Point B, with every add and subtract visible.
Why it works: It tells a story. "We started at $10M, added $2M from new customers, lost $500K to churn, expanded $1M from existing customers, landed at $12.5M."
When to use it: Monthly recurring revenue changes, budget variance analysis, profit bridge from last year to this year.
Pro tip: Color-code consistently. Green for additions, red for subtractions. Always. Your board will learn to read these instantly.
2. Variance Bar Chart
What it shows: Actual vs. budget (or vs. last year, or vs. target) for each line item.
Why it works: It immediately highlights where you're off-plan, in both directions.
The key: Sort by variance magnitude, not by line item. The biggest problems should appear first.
Bad: Showing expenses alphabetically
Good: Showing expenses sorted by variance percentage, largest to smallest
3. Rolling 12-Month Trend
What it shows: The last 12 months of any metric, updated monthly.
Why it works: It smooths out monthly noise while showing the real trajectory.
I use this for: Revenue, gross margin, burn rate, headcount. Anything where the month-to-month can be noisy but the trend matters.
The trick: Add a simple trend line or moving average. Not a complex forecast—just something that shows "are we generally going up or down?"
4. Cash Flow Timeline
What it shows: Projected cash balance over the next 6-12 months.
Why it works: It's the chart board members actually want to see, even if they won't admit it. "When do we run out of money?" is the real question.
Must-haves: Current balance clearly marked, key milestones (expected funding, large payments), minimum balance threshold.
The anxiety reducer: Show three scenarios—expected, conservative, worst case. It demonstrates you've thought things through.
5. KPI Dashboard (Simple Version)
What it shows: 5-8 key metrics, each with current value, trend indicator, and status.
Why it works: It gives the overview before diving into details.
The structure I use:
- Revenue + growth rate
- Gross margin
- Burn rate
- Runway
- ARR or key product metric
- Headcount
Each metric gets: current value, vs. target (green/yellow/red), trend arrow, and sparkline.
Charts That Don't Work (In My Experience)
Pie Charts for Revenue Breakdown
The problem: Board members want to compare segments across time. Pie charts can't do this. "Is enterprise growing faster than SMB?" requires mental math with pies.
Better alternative: Stacked bar chart over time, or grouped bars comparing current vs. previous period.
Complex Cohort Analyses
The problem: Only the data team understands them. Board members nod and move on.
When they work: One-on-one with a sophisticated investor who specifically asks for them.
Better for boards: Summarize the cohort insight in one number. "Q2 cohorts retain 15% better than Q1 cohorts at month 6." Then show a simple bar comparing the two.
Overly Detailed P&L Tables
The problem: 50 line items create information overload. Important variances get lost.
Better alternative: Summarized P&L with expandable detail. Show 8-10 major categories in the main view. Have the detail ready if someone asks.
The Presentation Tricks
Start with the Answer
Don't build suspense. Financial presentations aren't mystery novels.
First slide: "Revenue was $12.5M, 5% above target. Burn decreased 10%. Runway is 14 months."
Then go into the details.
Use Consistent Layouts
Every month, revenue should be in the same spot. Cash should be in the same spot. Board members build mental models—help them by keeping things predictable.
Annotate the Anomalies
If something looks weird, explain it on the chart. "Spike due to annual contract prepayment" saves five minutes of Q&A.
Have Backup Detail Ready
Your presented charts should be simple. But have the detailed backup in appendix or hidden slides. When a board member asks "what's driving the services revenue decrease?"—you should be able to show them without fumbling.
Tools and Process
I've used everything from Excel to enterprise BI tools. Here's my current stack:
For quick analysis: Still Excel or Google Sheets. Nothing beats a pivot table for exploration.
For board decks: Dedicated visualization tool. I've been impressed with AI-assisted tools like ChartGen.ai—they enforce best practices automatically and produce consistent, clean outputs.
For ongoing dashboards: Whatever integrates with your data warehouse. Consistency matters more than features.
The key insight: The tool matters less than the discipline. A clear chart in Excel beats a confusing chart in an expensive BI platform.
Common CFO Chart Mistakes
- Too many metrics: If everything is important, nothing is.
- No context: Showing revenue without a target or comparison is meaningless.
- Inconsistent time periods: Mixing monthly and quarterly data on the same chart.
- Over-precision: Board members don't need to see decimals on a $50M revenue number.
- Missing the narrative: Charts should support a story, not replace it.
The Preparation Checklist
Before every board meeting, I ask:
- Can each chart be understood in 10 seconds?
- Are the biggest issues immediately visible?
- Is there a clear "what does this mean?" for each section?
- Have I anticipated the three most likely questions?
Final Thought
The best financial chart is the one that prevents a follow-up question.
If board members constantly ask "but what does this mean?" or "can you break that down?"—the charts aren't doing their job.
Clarity beats comprehensiveness. Every time.