7 Tips for Better Graphics & Tables

Graphics and tables make your audit reports pop! Follow these 7 tips to make the biggest impact on your audience and download a PDF version to keep with your other reference material.

1. Add a Message Nearby

Interpret the graphic and table for the reader lest they make up an alternative message on their own! Use one or two full sentences to describe what you want the reader to see.

2. Add a Title

Share a title that goes beyond ‘Exhibit A1.’ Add an action word and mirror the message. For example: Enrollments are Declining.

3. Less is More

Can you interpret the graphic at a glance? If not, simplify it until your message is obvious. Cut half of the content and then cut it in half again to find the essence of your message.

4. Highlight What You Want Them to See

To make sure the reader sees something important, bold it, highlight it, underline it or italicize it. Otherwise, they will look at something else and miss it entirely.

5. Plan the Viewers’ Eye Movements

Text and graphics compete for the readers’ attention and graphics always win! Make sure your graphic is worth the attention and your main message is not lost or embedded deep in the text.

6. Conquer Your Pride

Yes, you did gather all of the info in that table on your audit, but please don’t share it all! More than 4 columns and 5 rows of data overwhelms readers.

7. Check Out This Book

Say It With Charts by Gene Zelanzy will help you refine your message and choose the right graphic style.

Learn more about graphics & tables for better audit reports

Want to know more about developing auditable and feasible recommendations? Join us for an upcoming Audit Reporting Clinic: Live & Customized course. The class is centered on the five elements of a finding, as required by the GAO’s Yellow Book and suggested by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

The self-study Audit Reporting Bundle may be just what you need to get you up to speed! Are your audit reports sexy? Do they comply with standards? Can you confidently identify the root cause of any reportable condition? Complete these two courses – one video and one self-study – to make sure that the only product your audit client is likely to see is readable and interesting. Purchasing as a bundle saves $75 and provides 11 hours of Yellow Book qualifying CPE credit.