# Board Reporting

> When to activate: board deck, board meeting, board of directors, board update, board materials, pre-read, board presentation, governance reporting

- Skill: `mattakushi432/board-reporting` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mattakushi432/board-reporting`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mattakushi432/board-reporting/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: Mattakushi432 (https://skillmd.com/u/mattakushi432)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mattakushi432/board-reporting

---


# Board Reporting

## Board Deck Structure

### Standard Slide Order
1. **Agenda** — what you'll cover, time allocation
2. **Executive summary** — top 3-5 highlights (wins + challenges), 1 page
3. **KPI dashboard** — key metrics vs plan, prior period, trend
4. **Business update** — product, GTM, operations (narrative)
5. **Financial update** — P&L vs budget, cash position, runway
6. **Strategic topics** — 1-2 deep dives, decisions needed
7. **Risks and issues** — proactive flag, not surprise
8. **Look ahead** — milestones for next quarter
9. **Appendix** — detailed data referenced in deck

### Time Allocation (2-hour meeting)
| Section | Time |
|---------|------|
| Exec summary / housekeeping | 10 min |
| KPIs + financials | 20 min |
| Strategic discussion (deep dives) | 60 min |
| Decisions / voting items | 15 min |
| Wrap + next meeting | 15 min |

## Executive Summary Format

```
## Q[X] 20XX Board Summary

**Headline:** [One sentence on the quarter — honest framing]

**Key Wins:**
- [Specific achievement + number]
- [Specific achievement + number]
- [Specific achievement + number]

**Key Challenges:**
- [Challenge + what you're doing about it]
- [Challenge + what you're doing about it]

**Decisions Needed Today:**
- [Decision 1]
- [Decision 2]

**Q[X+1] Priority:** [One sentence on next quarter's focus]
```

## KPI Dashboard Design

### Selection Criteria
- North Star Metric (primary health indicator)
- Revenue / ARR / MRR
- Growth rate (MoM, QoQ, YoY)
- Unit economics (CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC)
- Operating metrics (churn, NRR, activation)
- Cash and runway

### Presentation Format
For each metric show:
- **Actual** — what happened
- **Plan** — what you committed to
- **Variance** — % over/under
- **Prior period** — trend direction
- **Color code**: Green (≥ 95% of plan), Yellow (80-95%), Red (<80%)

### Chart Principles
- One insight per chart — not a data dump
- Title = the takeaway, not the metric name
  - Bad: "Monthly Active Users"
  - Good: "MAU grew 23% QoQ driven by enterprise cohort"
- Always show trend (3-6 periods minimum)
- Annotate key events (product launch, price change, market event)

## Financial Reporting Template

### P&L Summary Table
| | Q[X] Actual | Q[X] Budget | Variance | Q[X-1] Actual |
|-|-------------|-------------|----------|---------------|
| Revenue | | | | |
| COGS | | | | |
| Gross Profit | | | | |
| Gross Margin % | | | | |
| S&M | | | | |
| R&D | | | | |
| G&A | | | | |
| Total OpEx | | | | |
| EBITDA | | | | |
| Net Income | | | | |

### Cash Position
- Opening cash balance
- Cash in / out (receipts, payments)
- Closing cash balance
- Months of runway at current burn
- Next fundraise trigger (if applicable)

## Strategic Deep Dive Format

### One-Pager Structure per Topic
```
## [Topic]: [Clear framing of the decision/discussion]

**Background (2-3 sentences):** Context the board needs

**Options Considered:**
| Option | Pros | Cons | Cost | Timeline |
|--------|------|------|------|----------|
| A | | | | |
| B | | | | |

**Management Recommendation:** [Option X] because [reason]

**Decision Needed:** [Specific ask — approve, input, or informational]
```

### Topic Selection
Choose 1-2 strategic topics per meeting. Rotate through:
- Major strategic bets and progress
- Market dynamics / competitive moves
- Organizational decisions (exec hire, restructure)
- M&A pipeline or partner deals
- Fundraising strategy
- Risk scenarios and mitigations

## Pre-Read Materials

### Timing
- Send board materials 5-7 days before meeting
- Send reminder 48h before with agenda
- Confirm materials receipt with each board member

### Cover Email Template
```
Subject: [Company] Board Meeting — [Date] Pre-Read Materials

Hi all,

Please find attached materials for our [Date] board meeting.
Reading time: approximately [X] minutes.

Key topics we'll focus discussion on:
1. [Strategic topic 1]
2. [Strategic topic 2]

Decisions requested:
- [Decision 1]

Zoom link: [link]
Please confirm receipt by [date].

[Name]
```

## Voting Items and Consent Agenda

### Consent Agenda (approve in bulk, no discussion)
- Previous meeting minutes
- Routine option grants
- Standard contract approvals below threshold
- Policy renewals

### Items Requiring Full Discussion
- Option pool increases
- Financing rounds / SAFEs
- Major executive hires
- Strategic pivots
- M&A term sheets
- Budget approval

### Board Resolution Template
```
BOARD RESOLUTION — [Company Name]
Date: [Date]

RESOLVED: That the Board of Directors of [Company] hereby
approves [specific action].

FURTHER RESOLVED: That [authorized officer] is authorized
to execute any documents necessary to complete this action.

[Director signatures]
```

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

| Mistake | Better Approach |
|---------|----------------|
| Burying bad news in appendix | Lead with challenges, show your plan |
| 80-slide deck | 20-25 slides max; put detail in appendix |
| No clear ask | Every meeting should have ≥1 explicit decision |
| Surprising the board | Pre-call key board members before big topics |
| Vanity metrics only | Pair growth metrics with unit economics |
| Forecasts without assumptions | Always show key assumptions under projections |

## Monthly Update Email (non-meeting months)

```
Subject: [Company] Monthly Update — [Month]

## Key Metrics
[3-5 metrics, brief table]

## Highlights
- [Win 1]
- [Win 2]

## Challenges
- [Issue + response]

## Upcoming milestones
- [Date]: [Milestone]

Reply with any questions.
```

## When to Call Emergency Board Meeting
- Major unexpected negative event (data breach, key exec departure)
- Inbound acquisition offer
- Imminent cash crisis
- Material regulatory action
- Any event that materially changes the business

## Board Relationships

### Between Meetings
- Proactive outreach: don't wait for meetings to share wins/risks
- Individual check-ins with each board member quarterly
- Loop in relevant board members on decisions in their expertise area
- No surprises rule: call before the deck is sent for big topics

### Managing Different Board Member Types
| Type | What they want | How to engage |
|------|---------------|---------------|
| Financial investor | Returns, milestones | Data-heavy, runway clarity |
| Strategic investor | Partnership value | GTM synergies, market intel |
| Independent director | Governance | Process, risk management |
| Founder board member | Vision alignment | Strategy discussions |