You've been there. Twenty minutes into explaining the quarterly variance analysis, and you can see it in their eyes. The sales director is mentally planning next week's pipeline reviews. The operations manager is wondering why finance always makes things so complicated. The marketing lead is scrolling through their phone under the table.

The numbers are solid. The analysis is thorough. But somehow, you've completely lost the room.

This communication gap isn't a minor inconvenience, it's a strategic problem. When non-financial stakeholders can't understand financial information, decisions get delayed, strategies drift, and the FP&A function becomes seen as a reporting department rather than a strategic partner.

Here are ten ways to improve your communication with non-financial stakeholders:

1 - Start with the business outcome, not the methodology.

Non-financial stakeholders don't care about your methodology. They care about what it means for their world.

Instead of opening with "We've conducted a variance analysis of the Q3 actuals against budget and reforecast," try "Three things are affecting our ability to invest in your new product launch." Lead with the consequence, not the process.

Every presentation should answer the unspoken question: "Why does this matter to me and what should I do about it?" Structure communications around business questions rather than financial statements. "Can we afford to hire those five additional sales reps?" is more compelling than "Let's review the departmental expense phasing."

2 - Kill the jargon (or at least explain it) 

Finance has its own language, and we're often oblivious to how impenetrable it sounds to outsiders. EBITDA, working capital, gross margin, contribution margin, capitalisation — these terms trip off our tongues without thought. To someone outside finance, they might as well be ancient Greek.

You have two choices: eliminate the jargon entirely or define it in business terms the first time you use it. "Working capital is basically the cash tied up in running the business day-to-day" takes five seconds and saves twenty minutes of confused questions later.

3 - Master visual communication 

People process visuals dramatically faster than text and retain the information longer. Yet too many financial presentations remain trapped in dense tables of numbers that require forensic analysis to understand.

Some effective visualisation choices include:

• Trends over time → Line charts that show direction and momentum

• Comparisons between categories → Bar charts that make differences obvious

• Part-to-whole relationships → Pie charts or stacked bars showing composition

• Performance against target → Bullet charts or variance waterfalls

The visualisation should match the message you're trying to convey. If the story is about deteriorating margins, show a line chart with a clear downward trend. If it's about product mix shift, show composition changes over time.

Equally important is what to leave out. Every additional element on a chart makes the core message harder to see. Ruthlessly eliminate anything that doesn't directly support your point.

4 - Build narratives around the numbers 

Numbers don't speak for themselves. They need context, interpretation, and narrative to become meaningful. Every financial story has a structure: What happened? Why did it happen? What does it mean? What should we do about it?

Consider the difference between these two approaches:

Without narrative: "Revenue was down 8% in Q3. Operating expenses increased 12%. EBITDA margin compressed from 23% to 18%."

With narrative: "We saw demand soften in Q3 as customers delayed purchasing decisions due to economic uncertainty. At the same time, we'd already committed to the September product launch costs, which meant our expense base increased just as revenue declined. The combination compressed our margins by five percentage points. We're now evaluating which launch activities we can scale back without compromising the product's market entry." 

The second version tells a story. It explains causation. It provides context. It points toward potential responses. That's what drives action.

5 - Speak their operational language

Different functions have different priorities, vocabularies, and mental models. Effective translation means adjusting your message to resonate with each audience.

• Sales leadership thinks in terms of pipeline, conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length. "The revenue shortfall stems from conversion rates dropping from 28% to 23%" lands better than "We're seeing demand elasticity issues."

• Operations leaders focus on throughput, utilisation, quality, and efficiency. "The margin pressure comes from utilisation falling below breakeven while our fixed costs remained constant" makes more sense than abstract discussions of operating leverage.

• Marketing teams care about customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and campaign ROI. Frame financial discussions around the unit economics of customer acquisition and retention rather than consolidated P&L movements.

6 - Use scenarios and sensitivity analysis 

Non-financial stakeholders often struggle with probabilistic thinking. They want to know what will happen, not what might happen. But business is inherently uncertain, and your role includes helping them understand the range of possible outcomes.

Scenario planning makes uncertainty tangible. Instead of presenting a single forecast, show three scenarios: base case, upside, and downside. Explain the key assumptions driving each. This helps stakeholders understand both the most likely outcome and the boundaries of possibility.

Present scenarios in terms of decisions. "In the base case, we can proceed with both initiatives. In the downside scenario, we'd need to choose one and defer the other. Here's how I'd think about that choice..."

7 - Create interactive dialogue, not one-way presentations 

The best financial communication isn't a presentation, it's a conversation. Build space for questions, challenges, and discussion into how you structure your interactions with non-financial stakeholders.

This means sometimes presenting less information upfront to leave room for dialogue. Rather than creating a 40-slide deck that marches through every detail, create a 15-slide deck that covers the essentials and then facilitates discussion.

Ask questions that draw out stakeholders' perspectives. "What surprises you about these results?" "Where do you see opportunities I might have missed?" When stakeholders raise objections or alternative interpretations, treat them as valuable input rather than challenges to overcome. They understand aspects of the business you don't see from a finance perspective.

8 - Tailor the detail level to the audience 

Not everyone needs the same depth of information. Your CFO wants to understand methodology and assumptions. The board wants strategic implications. Department heads want actionable insights for their areas.

Create layered communication that allows different stakeholders to drill into the level of detail they need. Start with the executive summary: three key takeaways that anyone should understand. Then provide supporting detail for those who want it. Finally, make comprehensive analysis available for anyone who needs to examine the methodology. 

9 - Establish regular rhythms and consistent formats 

Communication becomes easier when it's predictable. Establish regular touchpoints with key stakeholders such as monthly business reviews, quarterly strategic discussions, and weekly operational check-ins that create natural forums for financial dialogue.

Use consistent formats across these touchpoints. When stakeholders see the same structure each month, they learn where to find key information. They develop literacy in how you present data. The cognitive load decreases, allowing them to focus on the insights rather than decoding the presentation.

10. Continuously develop your business acumen

The best translators are fluent in both languages. You can't effectively communicate financial concepts in operational terms unless you genuinely understand the operational context.

Invest time learning how different parts of the business actually work. Shadow sales calls. Spend time on the production floor. Sit in on marketing campaign planning. The deeper your understanding of operational realities, the better you can connect financial analysis to business decisions.

Ask operational stakeholders to explain their world to you. Most people enjoy talking about their area of expertise, and they'll appreciate your genuine interest. These conversations often reveal the business drivers and constraints that should shape your financial analysis.

The communication challenge facing FP&A professionals isn't going away. If anything, it's becoming more critical as the function evolves from financial reporting toward strategic partnership. The organisations that succeed will be those where finance professionals can effectively translate between financial reality and business strategy.

When you can effectively bridge the gap between finance and operations, you transform from someone who reports numbers to someone who shapes decisions. That's where FP&A creates real value.

Apliqo UX provides the visualisation and analytical capabilities that enable finance teams to communicate effectively with stakeholders across the organisation. Discover how we help FP&A professionals tell better stories by booking your demo today.