What should I expect from a quarterly finance review?

Start with the financial and operational results since the last review: revenue, margin, costs, cash and the KPIs that matter to the business. Focus on material movement rather than reading every line of a report.

What we really want to understand is about causes. Was a margin change driven by pricing, supplier costs or mix? Is cash lower because trading weakened or because customers are paying more slowly?

Update the forecast and discuss decisions coming up in the next quarter � recruitment, investment, tax, funding or capacity. A review should not be entirely historical.

Agree a small number of clear actions, owners and dates. If the same issues appear at every quarterly review without anything changing, the meeting has become reporting rather than management.