I hope you had a good week.

Last night, my son and I took part in the ‘Squid Games’ at Sydney’s Luna Park. Fortunately, we both survived!

Unlike what happens when it goes wrong in business.

When UK construction giant Carillion collapsed in 2018, with debts of almost £7bn, it wasn’t just Britain’s largest corporate failure – it was one of its most predictable.

The warning signs were buried in plain sight – in their financial reports.

But here’s the thing – it wasn’t complex derivatives like those at Lehman Brothers at the start of the GFC or sophisticated accounting that brought them down.

It was that seemingly no-one asked one simple question:

“If we’re winning so many contracts, why do we need more and more debt?”

Their board members were smart people.

Many had financial backgrounds. But they got lost in complex metrics and missed the fundamental story their finances were telling.

Last week, a senior leader told me something that gave me chills:

“We track 43 financial KPIs, but I still can’t tell if we’re building or burning value.”

I see this often. Leaders and board members are drowning in data but starving for insight.

Your Challenge This Week:

In your next financial discussion, ask this:

“Could everyone in this room explain our financial position to a colleague in under 30 seconds?”

Because when financial conversations are clear, better decisions follow.

Matthew Needham is an accountant and former CFO who consults and speaks on improving organisational performance. He helps leaders without a finance background confidently engage in financial discussions, enabling better decisions that drive improved performance. For more information, visit matthewneedham.co.