CFO Reporting Re-Imagined — Visual Storytelling, From Data to Action (Module 3)

Overview

In Module 3 of CFO Reporting Re-Imagined — Visual Storytelling, From Data to Action, you’ll move beyond spreadsheets full of numbers and examine visuals that drive decisions. Discover how to pair Excel’s charting, sparklines, and formula-driven conditional formatting with clean, executive-ready layouts that make trends and risks pop instantly. Then see Gen AI in action - suggesting optimal chart types, drafting concise commentary, and even providing follow-up questions—so you deliver clear, compelling insights quickly and accurately.

Highlights

Chart Selection for Trends & Comparatives — lines for rolling-LTM, clustered columns for YoY, waterfalls for bridge analysis, sparklines for quick context.

Conditional Formatting for Storytelling — heat maps, icon sets, and formula-driven highlights that flag KPIs needing immediate action.

Storyboarding with the "What-Why-How" Model — craft a three-sentence narrative that moves leaders from awareness to action.

AI-Assisted Narratives & Chart Suggestions — see live prompts that turn variance tables into first-draft commentary and recommend the most persuasive visual.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with core financial statements, common Excel formulas, and awareness of Excel’s Power Tools (Power Query, Power Pivot). Completion of Modules 1-2 is recommended.

Designed For

This course is designed for accounting and finance professionals who create management or board-level insights and want to sharpen their storytelling skills while leveraging Gen AI for faster and more effective results.

Objectives

Select chart types that best reveal trend and comparative insights for stakeholders.
Apply conditional-formatting rules and clean layouts to spotlight risk by indicating outliers and reducing cognitive load.
Use Gen AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT or Copilot) to propose chart options, generate audience-focused narratives, and determine follow-up questions for decision-makers.

Notice

This course is offered by a 3rd party vendor and will not be accessible in the My CPE Tracker section of the ISCPA website. Course access information will be emailed directly to you by AICPA.