The board pack has twenty-two charts. Every one of them is history.

Most management reporting describes a period that has already closed. The harder question is which of your numbers moves first, and how to tell a real early signal from a flattering one.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The board pack has twenty-two charts. Every one of them is history.

A month-end pack arrives. Revenue against budget, gross margin by service line, cash and debtor days, utilisation, headcount. The numbers are accurate, reconciled and useful for stewardship. They are also, without exception, a description of a period that has closed. The meeting then spends fifty minutes making decisions about the next quarter using evidence from the last one. The instinct is usually to ask for more reporting. The more productive question is narrower: does anything in this business move before revenue does, and how far in advance? Why lagging measures…

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