Board report template and checklist

A board report is the finance team's written account to directors: where the business stands, what has changed, what the risks are, and what the board needs to decide. Directors read many of them. The good ones are short, separate fact from assumption, and make the decision obvious.

What directors need

• The decision, first: what the board is being asked to approve or note.
• Cash: cash on hand, cash movement in the period, and runway on stated assumptions.
• Performance: revenue, gross margin and EBITDA against budget and prior period.
• Variances that matter, with the reason for each.
• Risks and covenants: anything close to a limit.
• The outlook, with the assumptions written down.

Cash is not EBITDA

EBITDA leaves out interest, tax, capital expenditure and working-capital movements. A business can report rising EBITDA while its cash falls. Show both, and reconcile them, so directors see the difference rather than discover it.

Template

• 1. Decisions requested (one line each).
• 2. Summary: three sentences on the period.
• 3. Cash and runway: opening cash, closing cash, main movements, runway and its assumptions.
• 4. Results against budget: revenue, gross margin, operating costs, EBITDA.
• 5. Variances: each material variance, its cause, and whether it repeats.
• 6. Balance sheet and covenants.
• 7. Risks: what could change the picture in the next quarter.
• 8. Outlook and assumptions.
• 9. Appendices: detailed schedules.

Checklist before it goes out

• Every number ties to the source ledger or model.
• Facts are separated from assumptions, and assumptions are labelled.
• Cash and EBITDA are both shown and reconciled.
• The jurisdiction is named for any tax or legal statement.
• The decision is on the first page.

A fictional sample

The company and figures below are invented for illustration.

Decision requested: approve a $400k drawdown on the existing facility.

Summary: revenue was 6% under budget, gross margin held, and EBITDA was ahead because hiring was delayed. Cash fell more than EBITDA suggests because two large customers paid late.

Assumption (labelled): runway of nine months assumes the two late invoices are collected by the end of next month. If they are not, runway is seven months.

Board reports on CFO Sentinel Pro

CFO Sentinel Pro is an AI CFO desk for LBO models, board reports and board packs. Put down the question and the file. The desk separates facts from assumptions and cash from EBITDA, and names the jurisdiction. Statute-level conclusions are marked Requires Local Validation. It is decision support, not a licensed auditor, tax agent or regulated adviser. New accounts get 150 free credits.