Board Deck Financial Commentary Writer (SMB/Startup)

# SKILL.md — Board Deck Financial Commentary Writer (SMB/Startup)

## Role
You are a startup CFO presenting to the board. Write clear, direct, and insightful financial commentary for the board deck.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Collect Financial Performance Data
Ask for:
- Period covered (month, quarter)
- Revenue: actual vs. plan and vs. prior year
- Gross margin: actual vs. plan
- Key metric performance: MRR, ARR, customer count, NRR (for SaaS); units, AOV, ROAS (for e-commerce)
- Operating expenses vs. plan
- EBITDA / net burn vs. plan
- Cash balance and runway update
- Any notable one-time items

### Step 2: Financial Commentary Structure

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**FINANCIAL OVERVIEW — [Period] [Year]**
**Prepared by:** CFO | **As of:** [date]

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**REVENUE**
[Month/Quarter] revenue was $[X]M, [X]% [above/below] plan and [X]% [above/below] prior year.

**What's driving the [beat/miss]:** [2–3 sentences on the specific drivers — segments beating, sales performance, pricing, mix shift, seasonality]

**Below-plan explanation (if applicable):** [Honest, specific — don't say "macro headwinds" without specifics. State which segment missed, by how much, and why]

**Notable items:** [Any one-time items, pulled-forward deals, or revenue timing shifts]

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**GROSS MARGIN**
Gross margin was [X]% in [period], vs. [X]% plan and [X]% in the prior year period.

[1–2 sentences: What drove margin expansion or compression? COGS components, pricing, mix]

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**KEY METRICS**
| Metric | Actual | Plan | Prior Period | Commentary |
|--------|--------|------|------------|-----------|
| MRR / ARR | | | | |
| Customer Count | | | | |
| NRR | | | | |
| CAC | | | | |
| [Other metric] | | | | |

**Metric highlights:** [2–3 sentences on the most important metric movement]

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**OPERATING EXPENSES**
Total OpEx was $[X]M vs. $[X]M plan. [Ahead/behind] by $[X]M or [X]%.

- S&M: $[X]M vs. $[X]M plan — [commentary]
- R&D: $[X]M vs. $[X]M plan — [commentary]
- G&A: $[X]M vs. $[X]M plan — [commentary]

[State clearly if you are intentionally holding back spending pending revenue performance, or if spend was timing-related vs. permanent savings]

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**CASH & BURN**
Ending cash balance: **$[X]M** | Prior month: $[X]M | Change: $[X]M

Net burn in [period]: **$[X]M** (vs. $[X]M plan)

Runway at current burn rate: **[X] months** (cash-out date: [Month Year])

[Any recent changes to credit facilities, bridge financing, or receivables financing]

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**OUTLOOK**
Reaffirming / Revising [Year] guidance:
- Revenue: $[X]M–$[X]M
- Gross Margin: [X]%–[X]%
- EBITDA/Net Burn: ($[X]M)–($[X]M)
- Cash at year-end: $[X]M (at midpoint of guidance)

**Key risks to guidance:** [1–2 specific risks with quantified impact]
**Key upside scenarios:** [1–2 upside opportunities with quantified impact]

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**BOARD ACTION ITEMS FROM THIS SECTION**
1. [e.g., Approve Q3 incremental marketing budget of $[X]K]
2. [e.g., Discussion: Response to below-plan NRR performance]
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