01
Commentary Register sheet
One row per claim, with a stable number, the cause, the amount, the closeout quarter, the test, the verdict, the consecutive pack count and the cumulative amount. This is the file the rest of the pack exists to serve.
02
Commentary Standard
The materiality floor with its basis, the closed list of eight causes and what closeout tests each one against, the four verdicts, and the promotion rule. Set once a year so the floor cannot move to suit a variance.
03
Board Financial Memo
The finance section itself, opening with the closeout of last quarter's claims rather than with this quarter's results. Then the quarter in one paragraph, the new claims, cash, unit metrics and the decisions being asked for.
04
Variance Narrative
One section per claim: the arithmetic decomposed into units, rate and mix, one named cause, a dated test, an owner, and the prior claim history on that line so a second appearance is visible before it becomes a third.
05
Cash and Runway Note
Runway with the denominator stated first: six months of measured burn rather than plan burn, restricted cash excluded, and the levers ordered by lead time so the board reads past the one it can no longer use. Where a lever needs a date rather than an ordering, that is the runway and scenario pack. Pairs with a thirteen week cash forecast.
06
Budget vs Actual Summary sheet
Actual, plan, variance, prior year and the source query for every line, plus two columns nothing else carries: whether the line is claimable and whether it cleared the floor. The claim numbers are assigned here.
07
KPI Trend sheet
Eight quarters of revenue, margin, opex, operating income, burn and cash that roll forward against each other, with a column marking any quarter where a metric definition changed and prior periods were restated.
08
Unit Metrics sheet
Each metric with its definition, the query that produced it, three comparison periods and the claim it supports. A metric whose definition changed carries the date and the restatement, or it does not go on a trend.
09
Board Finance Deck
Seven slides plus appendices, each naming the sheet it reads from, with the closeout as slide one. No figure is retyped, so the deck cannot disagree with the memo. Complements the board question prep brief.
10
Space rule
Every claim carries a closeout quarter and a test, closeout runs before drafting, and three consecutive packs is a promotion rather than a fourth explanation. It governs every prompt in the space.
Board Financial Package Template