Before the meeting
Like any other activity, careful planning and preparation will give you the best results. Ensure that there is adequate time between your completion of the management accounts and the board meeting for you to carry out these preparation activities.
Flawless presentation
The reports that you will issue are going to be scrutinised in detail. Ensure that they are flawless:
- Tables add up correctly
- Formatting is consistent
- Cross references are correct. You need to be one step ahead of the smart director who will be looking out for inconsistencies in your figures.
- Grammar, syntax and spelling are completely correct. Use the automated checkers on your computer, but don't rely on them exclusively. If you aren't confident in your own written skills, get someone else to scrutinise the reports.
- Above all, you are relying on the management accounts to be correct and credible.
Logistics
If reports are to be distributed in paper form, check that each copy has all the correct pages before sending. Take a few spares with you to the meeting.
If the results are to be presented on a projector, ensure you have a back up plan in case of technology failure.
- A spare projector would be ideal.
- Ensure there are at least 2 computers available that could run the presentation.
- Have the presentation files on a memory stick for fast changeover.
- Have a hard copy of the presentation for your own reference. If the technology fails completely, you can quickly get paper copies run off.
- Practice connecting the computer to the projector and loading the presentation until you are completely comfortable with how it works.
Get to the meeting room early & stake out a good spot with plenty of space.
Check that the chairman has organised adequate seating, refreshments and coffee breaks.
Script
Think carefully about what you want to say & how you are going to say it. Reading out your report line by line will send the audience to sleep. You need to highlight the most salient points and invite questions.
You should always comment on sales & profit performance, on variance to budget and/or forecast, on changes from last year and on any unusual trends. Otherwise, if an item is on target, or has been discussed at a previous meeting, there's no need to raise it.
You do want to raise items that are unexpectedly good or bad, or where there is action needed.
Discussion
If you are going to raise a subject that may lead to criticism of another attendee of the meeting, you should always warn him or her about it beforehand. You should provide any counter-evidence and help develop the 'case for the defence'. Raising a subject without doing this will get you a reputation for being untrustworthy.
Consider what areas of the report are likely to be questioned and have your explanations ready. Also consider what areas are likely to lead to discussion and have additional evidence available if necessary.
If there are areas of particular controversy, it may be worth rehearsing what you are going to say. Better still is to practice your speech with somebody outside the business, if possible.
Additional data
You should have a data file prepared containing more detailed information than there is in the report. If you prepare this carefully, you should be ready for any questions that come your way.
During the meeting
Provided you've done your preparation thoroughly, the meeting itself should go smoothly.
- Stick to your script
- Answer questions as you go along, referring to your data file as required.
- Ensure you get over all the points you wanted to make.
If you are asked a question to which you don't know the answer, you should never bluff, but instead say 'I don't have the answer to that here, but will look it up and get back to you.'
If someone asks you a question that requires you to refer to your data file, you should set yourself a 20 second limit to find the information. Spending longer than that leafing through the file will make you appear disorganised and not on top of the numbers. Stop after 20 seconds and say. 'No, I don't have that with me. I'll look it up and get back to you.'
It's fine to say that once or twice a meeting, but any more and you probably haven't prepared in all the right areas.
Make notes during the meeting on actions and follow up questions allocated to you.
After the meeting
As soon as you can, take a few minutes to reflect on how you could have done better:
- Having different information available
- Answering questions in a different way
- Presenting the information more clearly
Be self-critical, but don't beat yourself up too much. You will have another meeting in a month's time at which you will be able to correct these faults. People will be impressed if they see you developing and learning from past experience.
If you have committed to get back to people with information, make sure you do that promptly.
Review any other actions from the meeting and ensure they are dealt with.
On a longer time frame, you should constantly be reviewing the contents of the reports that you present. Ask people what they need. Always be looking to remove items if they are not required. Most board reports are far too long and information could easily be removed without compromising the standard.
Your CEO is the key customer for the board report and you should consult him or her regularly about content.
Conclusion
Actors are only as good as their last performance. In presenting the monthly results, you have twelve opportunities a year to demonstrate your skill. Make sure you are constantly improving the way you do it and your true worth will be recognised.
Key Points
- Presenting monthly results is a golden opportunity for self promotion and career development
- Planning and preparation must be exact and thorough
- Have back up materials that will help you answer foreseeable questions
- After the meeting, reflect and learn from your experiences
- Follow up any actions promptly
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