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How to Report to a Busy CEO: Financial Reporting Tips That Get Read.
- Päivi x riskrate
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
Do you send financial reports to the CEO every month, but have no idea if they’re being read? Grab these quick tips to ensure your reports never get ignored. CEOs in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are among the busiest individuals in the room, so financial reports shouldn't feel like homework for the CEO. Most importantly, they need to “get it” in under 10 seconds.
CEOs in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are among the busiest individuals in the room. They juggle strategy, operations, hiring, customer meetings, and sometimes even invoice approvals, all in the same day.
They don’t need another 10-page PDF with tables that require a finance degree to decode. They need clarity. They need speed. And most importantly, they need to “get it” in under 10 seconds.
In many cases, financial reports feel like enemies, not allies: overwhelming, unclear, and too slow. That creates friction in decision-making and leaves room for misinterpretation of the company’s financial health.
This post outlines three tactical tips to help finance teams (or reporting tools) communicate in a language that CEOs can act on instantly.
1. Make it human: drop a quick, sharp take.
The traditional financial report is a purple-toned data dump, packed with numbers, anonymous, and hard to read. It’s more overwhelming than helpful, especially for a CEO who just needs the bottom line. But it doesn’t have to be. Adding your sharp analysis, saying there's a person behind the numbers, instantly makes the report more relatable. It reminds the CEO: “A real professional made this for you, and this is important.”
Use a friendly headshot and write a short intro in plain English. Something like:
“Hi Sonja – here’s your June snapshot. Cash position remains stable, and margins are improving slightly. See the 3 key graphs below. Ping me if you want to dive deeper.”
Or let Riskrate automatically generate a natural-language summary, just like a human analyst would. It reads like a real conversation, not a spreadsheet.
Why it works:
Creates a sense of familiarity and trust
Turns a cold, data-heavy report into something approachable
Makes it easier for CEOs to respond, ask questions, or take action
2. Go mobile-first, graph-heavy.
Most SMB CEOs don’t open Excel on a 27-inch monitor. They open emails on their phone, in between meetings, at the airport, or from the driver’s seat. They have 10 seconds to get to the point, otherwise, your report goes to the Bin.
That means:
Short summaries
Clean visuals
Graphs that speak louder than tables
Use tools like Riskrate to send mobile-friendly digital reports. Highlight the top three insights up front: cash, profitability, and forecast.
Why this works:
The CEO gets the full picture in 10 seconds
Works in the real context of SMB life: trucks, coffee lines, field visits
Helps prioritize follow-up, not bury it
3. Book a quick call (at the right time).
Even the best dashboards can’t replace real conversations. Some CEOs need a human walkthrough, especially if numbers are surprising, complex, or tied to major decisions.
Book a quick video call (30 min) to go through the report.
Use the time to:
Show the top three takeaways with visuals.
Discuss what’s behind the numbers.
Align on decisions, next steps, or questions.
Send the topline summary before the call. Then, during the meeting, drill into the details only if needed.
Why this works:
Gives space for nuance, context, and questions.
Builds a stronger relationship between finance and leadership.
Turns reports into decisions faster.
Final Thought: Reports Shouldn’t Be Homework.
Financial reporting shouldn’t feel like extra work for the CEO. It should be the easiest part of their day: a signal, not noise. And the best way to make that happen is to blend automation, clarity, and a personal touch. With Riskrate, you can deliver all three with a click.
→ Want to make your reporting CEO-friendly? Try Riskrate for free.
Automate all your financial reporting with riskrate.
