FIN.16:4.7 - Write for the receiver’s next action

Lead with the recommended move or the unresolved decision. Follow with the reason, the material alternative and the condition that changes the answer. Give amounts and dates at the precision needed for action. Explain unfamiliar financial terms through their consequence: “repayment falls before collection” is often more useful to an operating manager than an unexplained liquidity ratio. Preserve technical definitions where a specialist needs them to inspect the account.

Keep observations, forecasts and choices distinguishable. “The customer confirmed a payment instruction” and “the money is usable in our account” can support different actions. Attribute a judgement where its source or competence changes reliance. When two specialists disagree, identify whether the disagreement concerns facts, operating assumptions, valuation models or objectives. Resolve compatible account differences through the direct Methods; keep a real unresolved disagreement in the advice instead of averaging the outputs.

Use supporting material so the receiver can inspect the decisive bridge without reading every working paper. A short verbal recommendation can suffice for a familiar bounded use. A major irreversible commitment may need the underlying calculation, alternatives and conditions accessible to several participants. The medium follows that use. A dashboard indicator earns its place when the receiver can recover what action it changes.

Before returning the advice, read it as the receiver: what would I do, with what money or authority, by when, and what would make me choose differently? This is a test of the recommendation’s usefulness, not a claim that the recipient has understood or accepted it. If actual recovery is consequentially uncertain, obtain the needed clarification or reading response under the applicable communication arrangement.