Board Pack — the governance reporting deck

A board pack is a decision/oversight document, not a status report. It uses the same Pyramid+SCQA spine as any deck (references/storyline.md) but with a governance opening and a fixed set of standard pages. Build the narrative first, then each page to its one-sentence action title. Two cross-cutting disciplines run through every page: actual vs plan vs prior with variances explained, and everything reconciles (the scorecard, financials, initiatives, and capital pages must agree exactly). Describe grids as "glued" comparison grids, never dense raw tables. Never invent or smooth a number.

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Board narrative (board-narrative-scqa)

The spine for the whole pack. Fix the audience (full board / committee / chair) and the one or two decisions sought — if none, it's a read-ahead, say so. Build the SCQA opening (Situation = agreed context; Complication = what's now at stake; Question = as the board would ask it; Answer = the governing thought). Write the governing thought as a full sentence with a so-what ("on track on revenue but margin recovery is one quarter behind, so we ask the board to approve reallocating 8 of 24 initiatives"). Decompose into 3–5 MECE key-line messages (the section dividers; most board packs use grouping order: performance, strategy, risk, ask). Map every body page to exactly one key line and write its action title now; a page that ladders to nothing goes to the appendix or is cut. Close by restating the governing thought and the specific ask — never trail into "next steps."

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Executive summary page (executive-summary-page)

The one page a director reads if they read nothing else. Action title = the governing thought. One framing line (period + lens). 3–5 proof points = the key-line messages, each a fact + a number + an explicit so-what ("Revenue grew 12%, on plan, so the top line is not the issue"). The ask in its own labelled block (the decision and what approval commits to; "For information" if none). One page, no spill. Every proof point must be supported by a later page, and traceable to its source.

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KPI scorecard (kpi-scorecard-page)

Answers "are we on track" at a glance. 6–10 board-level metrics (not the 40-metric management dashboard); each must tie to a commitment and be able to change a board decision. Per metric: actual, plan, prior, variance to plan. RAG status against thresholds set before looking at the numbers (green on/ahead; amber within a stated tolerance; red outside). One-line reason for every amber/red, pointing to the body page that explains it. Show the trend, not just the snapshot — flag any metric green-but-worsening. Order to match the narrative (don't bury the one red in nine greens). Reconcile to source systems and the financial summary.

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Financial summary (financial-summary-page)

The numbers behind the scorecard, not full management accounts. Headline lines only (revenue, gross margin, opex, operating profit/margin, EBITDA, cash, net debt) — each as actual / plan / prior / variance. Build a variance bridge for the one or two lines that matter most (usually margin or profit), decomposing the gap to plan into named drivers (volume, price, mix, cost). Separate timing from permanent variances (a timing cash miss ≠ a structural shortfall). State the cash story explicitly (opening → operating → investing → financing → closing, plus runway/headroom vs covenant). Show the forecast (full-year landing vs plan, hold-or-revise on guidance). Connect to strategy — a margin variance ties to the initiatives tracker, a cash variance to capital allocation.

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Capital allocation (capital-allocation-summary)

Frames capital as a portfolio choice the board governs, not a residual of operations. State the sources (operating cash flow, facility headroom, proceeds = the envelope). Lay out uses across standard categories (reinvestment/capex, M&A, returns to shareholders, debt paydown/reserves) with amount and share of envelope. Attach a return or rationale to each use (reinvestment → expected return vs hurdle; debt paydown → rate avoided/covenant benefit; buyback → implied value case) — capital with no return logic is capital the board should question. Rank uses by risk-adjusted return where comparable. Show the proposed change from prior allocation and justify it in portfolio terms. Check the balance-sheet constraints (leverage ceiling, min cash, covenant headroom). Reinvestment must reconcile to the initiatives tracker's value at stake. Use the company's own return/hurdle figures; never invent returns.

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Strategic initiatives tracker (strategic-initiatives-tracker)

Lets the board govern execution at portfolio level. Track the 8–15 initiatives that move the strategy (not every project), grouped by strategic theme. Per initiative: RAG status, trend since last meeting, next milestone, completion, value at stake, owner. RAG against milestone + value criteria, not gut feel (green = on both; amber = slipping on one; red = slipping on both or missed a hard milestone). Concentrate the page on the exceptions — greens get a line, ambers/reds get a one-line reason + recovery action. Value at stake reconciles to the margin/growth commitments on the financial summary — if it doesn't add up, the strategy isn't funded to its targets. Flag dependencies/resource conflicts. Mark which initiatives the decision page affects.

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Risk & mitigation (risk-and-mitigation-page)

Oversight on the 8–12 principal risks (not the full register) that could materially threaten the strategy, balance sheet, or licence to operate. Score each on likelihood × impact, inherent (before mitigation) then residual (after) — the gap shows whether mitigations work. Place on a heatmap (described as a glued grid); the top-right (high/high) quadrant is where board attention goes. Name an owner for every risk (no owner = not managed). State the current mitigation and residual; be honest where residual stays high. Show movement since last review (a risk rising into top-right is the headline). Separate risks needing a board decision (accept/transfer/invest) from those management is handling. Connect to the ask — a risk the recommendation reduces (or creates) must be visible here.

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Market & competitive update (market-and-competitive-update)

The outside-in view internal pages can't give. 3–5 market signals that matter to a board decision (demand, regulation, pricing, channel, buyer behaviour), each stated as a movement with a direction and a source, not a static fact ("Enterprise buyers are consolidating vendors, which favours scaled incumbents"). Map the material competitor moves (one per relevant rival — launch, price change, acquisition, exit) as threat / opportunity / neutral. Read the company's position honestly (gaining / holding / losing). Translate each into a so-what for the plan or the ask. Keep the time horizon explicit (now vs on the horizon — board response differs). Attribute any market data; label qualitative reads as judgment.

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Quarterly performance review (quarterly-performance-review)

The commit–deliver–recommit loop that keeps management accountable. Restate last quarter's commitments verbatim (don't paraphrase into something easier to meet); mark each delivered / partial / missed with one line of evidence. Show results against the guidance given last quarter, not a target invented this quarter. Separate controllable from non-controllable misses without using either as an excuse. Capture the learning (one line per material miss). Set next-quarter commitments as specific, dated, owned actions ("Deliver 0.5pts of margin from the two working initiatives by end Q3, owner CFO" — not "improve margin"). Carry forward open board actions (accountability runs both ways). Reconcile to the scorecard and financials.

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ESG & sustainability (esg-sustainability-summary)

Materiality-led oversight, not the full sustainability report. Report only material topics (financial, regulatory, or reputational weight). Organize by the three pillars (environmental / social / governance), 2–4 metrics each against target and prior (same actual-vs-target discipline as the financial pages). Track progress against the trajectory of public commitments, not just the latest point. State disclosure/compliance status (which frameworks apply, on-track or not — missed disclosure is a governance risk). Flag material ESG risks and tie them to the risk page consistently. Translate each topic to a business so-what (cost, revenue opportunity, compliance obligation, reputational exposure). No greenwashing or invented metrics — report only what the company can substantiate; the page must withstand assurance.

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Decision & ask (decision-and-ask-page)

Converts the recommendation into a votable motion. State the decision question in one votable line ("Approve the reallocation of capital across the initiative portfolio"). Establish 2–4 decision criteria up front (margin impact, execution risk, time to effect, reversibility) — criteria stated after the recommendation look like rationalization. Lay out the real options including the do-nothing baseline (one option isn't a decision); score each against the criteria as prose or a glued grid (strong/adequate/weak), no invented precise scores. Name the recommendation and the explicit trade-off accepted (no acknowledged downside reads as naive). Spell out what approval commits (money, mandate, timeline, day-after change) and what it does not commit. State the cost of delay. Pre-empt 2–3 hostile objections with one-line answers.

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Appendix discipline (appendix-discipline)

Keeps the body decision-focused and the detail reachable. Body test: a page belongs in the body only if it advances the governing thought or is needed for the decision — everything else is backup. Triage each non-body page (predictable-question backup / reference detail / cut). Build the appendix backwards from the questions a sharp director will ask — one clean backup page per likely question. Structure it into sections mirroring the body. Index every appendix page (number + one-line description at the front) so the chair can say "go to A7" and land there. Each backup page is self-contained (own title and source). Maintain provenance (source + date — this is where assurance questions get answered). Prune each cycle — cut the backup last meeting never needed.