financial-charts_skill

Overview

This skill creates publication-quality financial charts and visualizations using Python and Plotly. It produces Sankey diagrams, waterfall charts, bar charts, and line charts tuned for financial storytelling. Use it to convert financial tables into crisp, presentation-ready graphics with selectable themes and export formats.

How this skill works

Select the chart type that matches your analysis (Sankey for flows, waterfall for bridges, bar for segment comparisons, line for trends). Prepare your numeric inputs and labeled series, call the corresponding function, choose a theme, and export to PNG, HTML, or PDF. The functions handle layout, color palettes, and annotations to present values, subtotals, and directional flows clearly.

When to use it

• Visualizing income statement flows and how revenue becomes net income
• Building profit walkdowns or revenue bridges to explain period changes
• Comparing margins or revenue segments across products or business units
• Presenting time-series trends or multi-company performance comparisons
• Preparing investor decks, board reports, or public-facing visuals

Best practices

• Aggregate and label inputs before charting to avoid cluttered nodes or bars
• Use the appropriate chart: Sankey for flow relationships, waterfall for sequential contributions, bar for categorical comparisons, line for time trends
• Choose a theme that matches your audience (corporate for boards, dark for dashboards, minimal for print)
• Annotate key values and breakpoints—show subtotals and cumulative totals on waterfalls
• Export high-resolution PNG or vector PDF for slides; use interactive HTML for exploratory analysis

Example use cases

• Create an income statement Sankey to show how product revenues and costs map to net income for a fiscal year
• Generate a profit walkdown waterfall that explains quarter-over-quarter EBITDA movement
• Produce a margin comparison bar chart to benchmark product lines or geographical segments
• Build a multi-line trend chart to compare revenue growth across competitors over time
• Export an Apple-style themed Sankey for a public-facing annual report figure