Every accountant knows the feeling. You produce an accurate, well-structured report, the board reviews it, nobody asks questions, and the same decisions sit on the table again next month.
Financial storytelling for accountants is about understanding why that happens, and what to do about it. Some of the most useful thinking on this comes from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems that have been transferring complex information across generations for over 65,000 years.
Why The Brain Responds to Story
The human brain is not wired for data in isolation. Research by Dr Paul Zak at Claremont Graduate University found that when people hear a well-constructed story, the brain releases oxytocin, the neurochemical linked to trust and empathy, making them significantly more likely to act on what they have heard. (Zak, P.J., 2014, Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling, Harvard Business Review.)
When we present a revenue variance analysis as a standalone table, we are asking clients to work against their own neurology. When we present the same numbers as a narrative, with context, consequence, and meaning, we invite them to connect. And connection is what produces decisions.
Six principles of Indigenous storytelling and what they mean for accounting practice
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have preserved complex ecological knowledge, law, governance, and cultural responsibility across generations through story, song, ceremony, and art. The craft behind that is remarkably transferable to how we communicate financial information, as methodology rather than metaphor.
1. Connection: nothing exists in isolation
In Aboriginal knowledge systems, people, land, and knowledge are all related. Every decision carries impact beyond itself. In accounting, we know this too, but we often present data as if it doesn’t. For example, a drop in revenue flows into cashflow, staffing decisions, supplier relationships, and board confidence. A good financial story shows those ripples and helps clients see how their decisions affect the whole business.
2. Continuity: knowledge held in trust for the future
Indigenous stories are designed to endure across generations. In Aboriginal cultures, knowledge belongs to the community and is carried forward in trust. In accounting practice, that same thinking applies to documentation, shared systems, and succession planning. When financial knowledge lives only in one person’s head, whether that is one bookkeeper or one long-serving director, the organisation is fragile. When it is embedded in systems and processes, it becomes resilient.
3. Observation before advice: listen first
Aboriginal pedagogical tradition teaches through observation. Young people learned by watching, contextualising, and listening, long before they were invited to participate or advise. Before we advise, we listen. What is keeping this founder up at night? What does this board actually understand about their position? The advice that follows is almost always more useful, and more trusted.
4. Non-linear storytelling: past, present, and future together
Indigenous stories weave time. The past informs the present; the present shapes the future; and the future is always considered in terms of its impact on generations to come. Financial storytelling works the same way when it is done well. We connect historical performance to current position to future projection, presented as a coherent arc rather than three separate sections of a report. We connect historical performance to current position to future projection, presented as a coherent arc rather than three separate sections of a report, because the whole journey is what informs the decisions ahead.
5. Collective value: who does this serve?
In Aboriginal cultures, value is collective. Success is measured by its impact on people, community, and Country, not just individual gain. Most clients think of their financials as a measure of their own performance. A good financial story widens that view. A financial story that helps a board understand who is affected by their decisions is a more useful document than one that only measures profit.
6. Moral dimension: numbers reflect choices
Indigenous stories carry lessons. They guide behaviour and show the consequences of choices. Numbers do the same, when we let them. When financials show a pattern of late supplier payments or a salary line growing against a declining program budget, that is a story. The accountant’s role is to tell it.
Five techniques we can use this week
Financial storytelling for accountants does not require us to overhaul our practice. These five approaches are practical starting points.
1. Lead with “why does this matter?”
Answer that question first, before anything else. For example, “Revenue is up 18% this quarter, but the cash position tells a different story. Here is what we need to look at before you decide how to use it.”
2. Translate data into plain language
Plain language removes the barrier between information and understanding. “Expenses rose 18%” tells a client very little. “At this rate, you run out of operating cash by October” tells them what to do about it.
3. Show the flow, not just the snapshot
Money moves through an organisation the way water moves through Country: it finds paths, it pools in some places, it dries up in others, and every part of the system affects every other part. Show clients the flow, cashflow timing, debtor behaviour, payment cycles, not just the balance at a single point in time.
4. Use visuals as storytelling tools
A well-designed one-page dashboard or a simple cashflow graph with a trendline are the modern equivalent of the metaphor and imagery in an Indigenous story. They make the abstract visible. Tools like Xero Analytics, Syft Analytics, and a well-built Excel template can transform a complex position into something a board member who is not an accountant can immediately grasp and act on.
5. Bring it back to purpose
Numbers serve the organisation’s purpose. Finish every financial conversation by connecting them back to it. “The numbers are telling us that to continue delivering your programs at current capacity next year, you need to make this decision now.” That is a story that creates action.
A Note On Cultural Safety and Respect
Using Indigenous storytelling as a framework for professional practice is a privilege, and it carries responsibility. This approach draws on principles that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars and educators have shared publicly and generously, principles about how knowledge is communicated, held, and used in service of others.
If this way of thinking has sparked genuine curiosity, there are meaningful next steps: reading First Nations authors, engaging with Indigenous-led professional development, and examining how your own practice can be made more culturally safe for First Nations clients and colleagues. Supply Nation certification, Reconciliation Action Plans, and partnerships with Indigenous-led organisations are practical starting points.
Where to Start
The most useful question you can ask at the start of any client meeting is this: “What is the one thing you most need to understand about your financial position right now?”
The answer tells you what story needs telling. Then you tell it.
Financial storytelling for accountants is not a separate skill set from the technical work, it is what turns that work into something a client can actually use.
Jolene Kawak FCA GAICD is the Director of Karlaya Accounting & Business Advisory and the 2025 Indigenous Accountant of the Year. Karlaya works with SMEs, not-for-profits, and First Nations organisations across Australia.
Learn more at karlaya.com.au or connect with Jolene on LinkedIn.
Key Resources
- Zak, P.J. (2014). Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling. Harvard Business Review.
- AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research: aiatsis.gov.au
- Supply Nation (Indigenous business directory and certification): supplynation.org.au
- Reconciliation Australia (RAP framework): reconciliation.org.au
- CA ANZ Reconciliation Action Plan resources: charteredaccountantsanz.com
