Effective Board Reporting and Presentation Skills Training
Introduction
Who is responsible for the quality of board reports management or the board? If you said both, you’d be correct. Boards function best when they receive reports that have enough information for them to develop business strategies for short and long-term growth. Boards that dont fully analyze trends and data run the risk of making poor decisions, which may lead to increased liability for the directors. What happens when the board receives reports with too little or too much information? What happens when pertinent information is missing?
The board of directors has a responsibility to set managements expectations and provide directions for them on the type of information they need. Moreover, the board needs to put processes and controls in place to ensure that the information they receive is relevant and timely. Senior management has a mutual responsibility to make sure the reports are thorough, yet not so lengthy that board members wont read them. Best practices for board reporting in terms of preparation and presentation will help you cover all of your bases.
Senior management makes critical decisions every day. While they are responsible for the day to day operations of the company, they need to share information that the board needs to make key decisions. There are several ways that management can get in sync with the board.
The board secretary has a significant role in bringing management and the board together by putting together an effective agenda. The agenda should reflect the priorities of the board and management.
In addition to an effective agenda, the board book should be complete and consistent in the way that it presents methodology, objectives and reports pertaining to the objectives. A complete picture of the state of the companys affairs forms the basis for enlightening board discussions.
Boards need to inform management that they want to see more than standard financial statements. They want to see how the company arrived at the current financial state, including any drivers and sensitivities. Hard information gives the board the facts, and soft information adds a brief narrative to explain some of the hard data.
A positive up-and-coming trend for boards is to go paperless. Board portal software takes the place of stacks of paper documents. Using a software portal allows board members to see the numbers in between board meetings and do their own research to prepare for meaningful board meetings.
Because of the breadth of information, the board needs, all reports need to address key issues and present them using graphs where appropriate, and adding succinct summaries, as in the financial report example above. The board books/presentation should be well-organized with clear chapter headings and consistent color coding.
It helps to ask a few questions to learn whether the board has the necessary information for decision-making:
- Can the board trust the information?
- Do the reports cover all critical issues?
- Are the reports up to date?
- Is the data clear?
- Does the data assess past and future risk?
- Is the data reported in a consistent manner?
- Is the data presented in a way that board members can understand it?
- If it was electronically provided, was it sent via secure internet settings?
- Do the reports reflect negative information for review?
It goes without saying that board reports should be presented in a professional way and that good grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and syntax should be reviewed by someone for clarity.
Giving a presentation is an inevitable part of being in business, and its not just the domain of extroverts, salespeople and management. Your staff in all areas of the business need presentation skills to get their point across articulately and visually. Technology can be your best friend when youre called upon to give a presentation internally or to clients.
From product presentations to board room reports to motivational speeches, presentations are required as they go that step further to persuade, inform, motivate or inspire others.
Excellent presentation skills are essential as you lead your business. These skills are necessary to inspire your team and deliver clear messages. Often, the team and its members judge their leader by the way he/she presents ideas or projects. You will rely on your presentation skills to rally your team towards achieving your business goals. Also take note that business leaders are expected to be able to present their message with clarity and confidence to investors, clients, partners, and staff.
Whether you’re going into your first or your thirtieth Board of Directors meeting, the prospect can be intimidating. The Board of Directors for your institution is a group of successful, high-profile business and community leaders. They guide your company’s goals and planning; in some cases, they may even be the faces of your organization to the community.
In this highly interactive and practical training, you’ll learn how to lead a rock-star Board meeting, and leave a positive impression on the leaders of your institution.
Your presentations to the Board may vary in purpose and frequency. For example, you need to provide updates on current projects; accurately convey goals and why they matter; share relevant individual, department, and company wins; ask for assistance or support if needed; and even get buy-in for future initiatives. In each of these situations, you need to make a good impression on behalf of yourself and everyone on your team
Program Outline
Day one
| TIME | COVERAGE |
| 8.15 – 8.30 Am | Log In |
| 8.30 9.00 Am | Official opening of the program
Introduction and Climate Setting |
| 9.00 10.30 Am
|
Challenges overview
Course overview Why good reporting matters PACKO principle |
| 10.30 11.00 | TEA BREAK |
| 11.00 12.00
|
Team Exercise Understanding your board
Dynamics around the board table Each directors style and approach Pet subjects for the directors Their hot buttons and interests Their technical expertise What does the board want? |
| 12.00 1.00 | What is your goal
Giving information Creating Interest Persuasion Influencing decisions |
| 1.00 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 3.40 | The practical approach
Video – CIO board report case study Team discussion Team feedback |
| 3.40 4.00Pm | Individual presentation schedule |
| 4:00 5:00 | BREAK |
| END OF DAY ONE |
Day Two
| TIME | COVERAGE |
| 8.30 9.30 | Review/Recap of previous days discussions
|
| 9.30-10.30 | Keys to quality reports
Stepping into the directors shoes Relevance Context Clarity Sharing bad news |
| 10.30 -11.00 | TEA BREAK |
| 11.00-11.30 | Individual presentation preparations |
| 11.30 – 1.00 Pm | Practice and Feedback
3 Individual presentations Team feedback and input |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 3.30 | Practice and Feedback
2 Individual presentations Team feedback and input |
| 3:30 4:00 | Days recap |
| 4:00 5:00 | BREAK |
| END OF DAY TWO |
Day Three
| TIME | COVERAGE |
| 8.30 9.30 | Review/Recap of previous days discussions
|
| 9.30-10.30 | Best Practices Video discussion
Strategic alignment Picking the right KPIs Know the organization history Collaborating with other executives |
| 10.30 -11.00 | TEA BREAK |
| 11.00 -1.00 | Practice and Feedback
3 Individual presentations Team feedback and input |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 3.30 | Practice and Feedback
3 Individual presentations Team feedback and input |
| 3.30 4.00 | Days recap |
| 4.00 4.30 | BREAK |
| END OF DAY THREE |
Day Four
| TIME | COVERAGE |
| 8.30 9.30 | Review/Recap of previous days discussions
|
| 9.30-10.30 | Best Practices
Tell a story with your data Visually pleasing reports Planning ahead Targeting the presentation |
| 10.30 -11.00 | TEA BREAK |
| 11.00 – 1.00 | 3 Individual presentations
Team feedback and input |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 3.30 | 3 Individual presentations
Team feedback and input |
| 3.30 4.00 | Days recap |
| 4.00 5.00 | BREAK |
| END OF DAY FOUR |
Day Five
| TIME | COVERAGE |
| 8.30 9.30 | Review/Recap of previous days discussions
|
| 9.30-10.30 | Growth mindset
Be prepared to be challenged and learn Leverage on their expertise/strengths Expect interruptions Make it interactive |
| 10.30 -11.00 | TEA BREAK |
| 11.00 -1.00 | 3 Individual presentations
Team feedback and input |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | LUNCH |
| 2.00 – 3.00 | Review/Recap of weeks discussions |
| 3.00 3.30 | Course Evaluation and Feedback |
| 3.30 – 4.00 | Break |
| END OF DAY FIVE |
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