3 minnovice
GenAI narrative reporting
Drafts the explanatory narrative for management reports, MD&A, variance commentary — finance editors review and own the final word.
Narrative Reporting GenAIWhat it does
Inside EPM management reports, the GenAI feature reads the report's data and drafts the narrative:
- Variance commentary ("Revenue was up 4% driven by the EMEA region's…").
- Reconciliation notes.
- Highlights and takeaways.
- Roll-forward explanations.
A finance editor reviews, edits, and ships.
Why it matters
Narrative writing eats the close. Most variance comments come from the same five questions ("what drove it? what's the trend? what's the implication?"), asked of every line item. GenAI starts the answer, the editor sharpens it.
Where it shines
- Repetitive reports with consistent structure (monthly close packages, quarterly business reviews).
- Multilingual narratives — same data, narratives in 10 locales without 10 writers.
- First-draft acceleration — the writer's job becomes editing, which is faster than starting from blank.
Where to be careful
- Sensitive disclosures (10-Q/10-K MD&A) need extra review and legal sign-off — most teams keep GenAI out of SEC-filed text in MVP.
- Numbers in the narrative must come from the data, not the model's invention. Confirm your template enforces this.
- Tone drift — if the editor doesn't push back, narratives can become bland. The style guide is your friend.
Action checklist
Tap each step as you complete it.