The Worm and The Waterfall
Roger Knocker • October 7, 2025
The Worm and the Waterfall: How Johan Turned Finance into a Story Everyone Understood
Finance updates are supposed to guide decisions.
So why do most of them feel like punishment?
Black-and-white statements.
Tables of variances.
Forty pages of data that leave everyone bored and none the wiser.
Then there’s Johan.
A Volunteer Who Changed the Game
Johan wasn’t a corporate CFO.
He was a volunteer deacon, leading the finance committee at his church.
No big team. No flashy tools. Just a conviction that numbers should make sense—and inspire action.
When the church needed to raise funds to hit its objectives, Johan knew the standard “actual vs target” report wouldn’t cut it.
So, he built two charts that changed everything:
1. The Worm Chart
The worm chart tracked donations against budget—
the budget the church had calculated to achieve its goals.
Whenever donations dipped, Johan simply put the worm chart on the screen.
No guilt trips. No lengthy explanations.
And bam—donations came in.
People didn’t need persuasion.
They just needed to see the gap and understand the story behind it.
2. The Waterfall Chart
AGMs used to be tedious marathons of financial statements—
page after page of black-and-white tables no one wanted to read.
Johan cut through that noise.
His waterfall chart, explained in just a few minutes, was 90% of what people needed to
understand the finances.
It showed how actual finances tracked to budget—
positive variances, negative variances, the size of every gap—
all on one clean, visual chart.
Suddenly, finance wasn’t boring. It was clear. It mattered.
The Real Lesson
Here’s the kicker: Johan used the same Excel everyone else had.
It wasn’t about the tool.
It was clarity and creative thinking
that won the day.
Finance doesn’t need more complex reporting.
It needs leaders who can tell the story behind the numbers.
The Challenge to Finance Teams
Would your reports spark action?
Would they make the story obvious—so obvious that people couldn’t help but respond?
If not, maybe it’s time to simplify.
Find your worm chart.
Build your waterfall.
Make the numbers impossible to ignore.
This article is inspired by my conversation with Andrew Brown on the FP&AI Podcast –
Episode 1: Finance as a True Business Partner – Beyond the Numbers.
Discover how finance teams can move beyond reporting to lead strategy—turning data into direction and driving better, faster business decisions.
When did finance become the department of “no”? “No, we can’t spend that.” “No, that’s not in the budget.” “No, that’s not how we do it.” Here’s the truth: If finance is just a gatekeeper, it’s failing the business. Finance Isn’t Just About Numbers Andrew Brown put it bluntly on the FP&AI Podcast: “Finance should be leading conversations about the future, not just reporting the past.” Think about it— What’s the point of a month-end pack that no one reads? What’s the point of perfectly reconciled accounts if they don’t change the way decisions are made? Finance isn’t just about accuracy. It’s about impact . The Business Partner Mindset T he best finance professionals think like entrepreneurs. They ask: Where are we really making money? What assumptions are broken? How do we change the levers to hit our goals? They don’t just report results. They interpret them. They walk into the room with a story, a strategy, and a plan. What Johan Taught Us Remember Johan, the volunteer deacon who turned financial updates into action? He wasn’t trying to impress anyone with accounting jargon. He used a worm chart and a waterfall chart to tell a simple story: Are we on track with donations? If not, where are we falling behind—and why? It worked because it made the future clear. That’s what business partnering looks like. The Shift Every Finance Team Must Make B ookkeepers report. Business partners lead. The shift is subtle but powerful: From data-dumping to decision-driving. From hiding behind compliance to leading with insight. From “here are the numbers” to “here’s what they mean—and what to do next.” Your Move So, is your finance team stuck in bookkeeping mode? Or are you stepping up as a commercial conscience— the team that sees ahead and helps the business win? The mindset shift starts here: Stop asking “What happened?” Start asking “What’s next?” ________________________________________ This article is inspired by my conversation with Andrew Brown on the FP&AI Podcast – Episode 1: Finance as a True Business Partner – Beyond the Numbers.
