Why storytelling is now a core finance capability

To tell a good story, one needs an engaging plot, interesting characters, and a clear beginning, middle, and end structure that, ideally, offers a satisfying resolution. If you’re writing it, you can play around with descriptions, character arcs, and storytelling devices that keep readers hooked. But what happens when the only elements you have to tell your story are numbers?

Even though they handle analyses, reports, and forecasts, finance teams still need to translate numbers into meaningful insights that inform business decisions. However, this often falls flat because presentations are overwhelming, and messages get lost in translation, among slides and tables.

At a time when faster decision cycles, AI-assisted analysis, and constant leadership pressure are at the forefront, turning numbers into compelling narratives has become a core capability that CFOs can no longer ignore. Storytelling is the skill that takes finance teams from simply reporting on business outcomes to actually influencing them.

Finance has the data, but not always the influence

As he opened his masterclass on storytelling at Forge Connect in Antwerp, Soufyan Hamid, Founder of The Finance Circle, asked his audience: “Would you go to a restaurant where they gave you the carrots, the meat, the potatoes? Who would pay for that?” Most people wouldn’t; they would expect to be served a meal, not ingredients.

In finance, data and numbers are the ingredients, and a clear presentation is the meal. The problem is that many finance presentations still focus on throwing as much information as possible into the mix without considering the outcomes.

As Hamid showed, there is a paradox between the abundance of data and the influence finance teams have. The more data finance provides, the harder it becomes for decision-makers to understand what actually matters. CFOs regularly see strong analyses fail to land because they lack focus, narrative, and audience awareness.

If finance teams want to have credibility and shape decisions, they need to help others understand the implications, trade-offs, and decisions behind the numbers. This is where storytelling comes in.

Why storytelling has become a finance leadership skill

Storytelling in finance is often misunderstood as merely simplifying or dumbing down complex information. But what it really is, as Hamid puts it, is “what makes the numbers make sense for people.”

Finance storytelling is about explaining the meaning behind the numbers by structuring information so decision-makers can follow the logic, understand the risk, and act with confidence.

This changes what we expect from finance leaders. CFOs are no longer just stewards of accuracy and control. They have to be the storytellers who turn data into insights that shape strategy and business priorities. But this doesn’t always come easy.

What most finance presentations still get wrong

As Soufyan Hamid explained, most finance professionals regularly give presentations, a good sign that shows “finance has a voice and a stage to share financials and what matters behind them.” The problem is that 84% of CFOs say their audience isn’t happy with those presentations.

According to Hamid, there are five main issues behind this:

• No clear messages leave people unable to say what mattered or what they should do next.
• Not adapting to the audience and using the same template for boards, executives, and non-finance teams.
• Focus on financial updates and lack of narrative that makes sense to the audience.
• Slides overloaded with data, text, and charts are overwhelming rather than clarifying.
• Weak delivery that fails to engage the audience.

These issues are rarely caused by a lack of effort. When he surveyed 500 people to understand why storytelling in finance is still such a challenge, Hamid found that finance professionals miss frameworks for storytelling and training in delivering presentations.

The bad news is that if they remain unsolved, these problems lead finance teams to fail to deliver their message and for decisions to default to intuition, politics, or urgency. The good news is that AI can help finance professionals become better storytellers.

How AI changes how finance prepares and communicates

AI does not fix storytelling on its own, but it changes how finance teams prepare and deliver presentations. As Soufyan Hamid demonstrated, AI can help finance professionals structure their thinking, summarise complexity, explore alternative narratives, and rehearse their delivery.

One of the most immediate shifts is moving faster from analysis to narrative. Hamid explains that, “most of the time, it’s not preparing the slides that makes a problem for us. The problem often comes from the fact that I don’t know which slide to put in front of what.” AI can first clarify the presentation's structure and sequence, then generate the slides. Here, it helps surface key messages and summarise complex information, giving finance teams more time to refine their story rather than piecing it together.

The second shift is preparation for interaction. By using AI to, for example, “ask for the 10 most difficult questions that might arise from the presentation,” finance teams can stress-test their insights before they are challenged in the room.

Finally, AI changes presentation rehearsal, which is often neglected. Tools that help practice delivery, pacing, and clarity raise the standard of presentations, helping CFOs and finance teams improve their performance.

Across the different presentation stages, AI supports clarity and confidence. But it’s a person’s judgment that still determines what’s part of the story or not.

Judgment matters more than ever

As was made clear during Soufyan Hamid’s masterclass, AI amplifies thinking, both good and bad. It is quick to produce convincing outputs, but it can’t determine what is relevant, ethical, or strategically important. Human judgment matters more than ever, because “if you want to automate an existing good process, it will be better. [But] if you want to automate a bad process, it will be even worse.”

Finance roles are expected to keep shifting in the near future, and using AI in finance communication raises the bar even higher for professionals. AI outputs are only as good as the prompts they receive, and they often do not challenge the information provided. That’s why skills such as prompting, interpretation, and scepticism are becoming increasingly essential in finance.

Storytelling is the filter through which AI outputs turn into leadership insights. In practice, this means finance teams must be clear on their point of view before involving AI. As Hamid puts it, “our job is not to create reports, it’s not to speak of things that happen, it’s to add value to our business.”

This means that decision-making skills, more than technical skills, are what define credibility in finance.

What this means for CFOs and finance leaders

The role of the CFO is more strategic than ever before, and it now includes investing in and guiding how teams think and communicate.

As Soufyan Hamid explains, presentations are the only visible finance product other teams see. This is why, when he gives training on storytelling, he highlights the importance of practising as much as possible. Narrative clarity, presentation quality, and audience awareness should be treated as part of the finance team’s performance, and leaders should create the space they need for preparation and rehearsal.

CFOs should also reinforce how AI can be used as a preparation partner. AI tools are already available and embedded into presentation tools such as PowerPoint, and can coach professionals on body language, eye contact, and speech.

These changes in finance teams represent a cultural shift that repositions them as more than number-crunchers. By mastering AI for data analysis, reporting, and storytelling, finance moves from simply reporting after the fact to shaping business decisions in real time.

Influence belongs to those who can tell the story

The conclusion to this storytelling tale is that it’s possible to tell a good story with numbers. The key is giving them meaning through structure, judgment, and a clear narrative that helps others understand what matters.

In the future, AI will continue to make analysis faster and preparation easier, but it won’t replace the human role of deciding what’s relevant and of strategic importance. As we move forward, the most influential finance teams will be those that move beyond reporting to telling the story behind the numbers.

For CFOs, the takeaway is simple: storytelling is now a core finance capability. Treating it as such while supporting it with AI and guiding it by human judgment is how finance stops chasing after business decisions and starts influencing them.