A lot of financial information and reports tabled at a committee of management meetings are presented in spreadsheet format and can often be hard to read and understand.

There are some different ways you can present the finance information that should make the presentation more effective and easier both to explain and to understand.

You could use a bar chart to show a comparison between the current year’s and the previous year’s figures.  This may relate to the overall performance of the organisation by showing the level of profit or surplus or maybe comparing actual figures against budget.

Another great way to show a breakdown of amounts is with a pie chart.  You could use a pie chart to show what makes up the total income and this may show the amounts from the components of the income.  For example, if you receive income from donations, sponsorships, grants, membership fees and fundraising, a pie chart can be an effective way to show how much each one has contributed to the total income.

You could also use a line chart to show the growth, for example, in memberships, enrolments or participation in events.  Line charts are also good for including previous year’s figures which can make it easy to identifying trends.

In addition to using charts, you could also use different colours on the finance reports.  For example, you may have a profit and loss report with the budget report and highlight in green where there are positive variations or red for negative variations.

The main issue we want to highlight is that you can look alternative ways to present your financial information other than in the traditional report format.

The use of charts and different colours can be used to highlight key figures and other results in a way that can make the presentation more effective and easier to understand.