Your next promotion may depend on your writing skills

In a 2024 survey, Deloitte asked 200 CFOs what quality they valued most when choosing their successor. 39% said communication skills — the ability to explain results clearly and simply. It was the top answer. Not technical knowledge. Not financial acumen. Not strategic thinking. Communication. Every board paper you write is part of that assessment, whether you realise it or not. The clarity of your writing, the structure of your arguments and the way you frame recommendations all signal to the people above you whether you are ready for the next level. Most finance professionals think of a board paper as a compliance exercise. Something that has to be done. But the people reading it are drawing conclusions about the person who wrote it. Your numbers might be right. Your analysis might be thorough. But if the paper is hard to follow, that is what they remember.