The audit committee has fifteen minutes and hasn’t read your deck

Presenting to a board is not a bigger version of presenting to executives. It is a different job, with a different audience, and the instincts that serve you internally will work against you here.

What is actually different

Directors are not evaluating your technical work. They are discharging an oversight duty. They want to know whether anything here could embarrass the company, whether you have it under control, and whether you would tell them if you did not. A director who has spent a career in retail operations is not going to follow your uncertain tax position analysis, and does not need to. But they will absolutely notice if you seem to be managing what they hear.

The mistake we see most: treating fifteen minutes with the audit committee as a chance to demonstrate command of the detail. The people who do this well spend those minutes on materiality, risk and change, and hold the detail in reserve for the questions.

What we do

  • Rebuild for governance, not for tax. Same facts, entirely different frame. This is most of the work.
  • The questions directors actually ask. Reputational exposure, whether the auditors agree with you, what changed since last quarter, and what keeps you up at night. Rarely the technical mechanics.
  • Delivering bad news to a board. A material weakness, an unfavorable settlement, a rate that moved. There is a way to do this that builds trust rather than spending it.
  • Knowing when to stop talking. The most common unforced error in a boardroom.
  • Deck review, line by line. Included, and done before we meet.

What to bring

Send the materials at least two days out, along with the committee composition and whether the auditors will be present. Board materials go out in advance. If yours has already circulated, tell us, because that changes the approach.

$550 · 90 minutes + written deck review

By phone or Microsoft Teams. Company invoicing available. Send materials at least two days ahead.

Common questions

This is my first time presenting to the board. How much prep is realistic?

One session is usually enough if your material is solid and the issue is delivery. If this is a first appearance and you are carrying difficult news, take two.

Why is this more than the executive presentation session?

It includes a full written review of the board materials before we talk, and the stakes and audience are meaningfully harder. If you are unsure which you need, book the executive session and we will tell you if you should have booked this one.

Can you help with Pillar Two, or a specific technical topic?

We are not technical advisors and we will not pretend to be. Your advisors own the substance. What we do is help you present it to a board that will not follow the substance.

Is this confidential?

Entirely. We have handled confidential search work for a combined 30+ years. Nothing you send us goes anywhere.

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Coaching fees are for preparation, confidence and intentional execution. They do not put you in front of our clients or move you up any shortlist. If we are actively representing you for a role with one of our clients, we will not charge you coaching fees related to that search, and we will not advise an employer on a shortlist that includes a coaching client. Full policy here.

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