Please have a look at this:

 You will need to present facts and details of the company’s financial health under different scenarios of future demand and market conditions in a format people can comprehend. You will have to be honest and forthcoming about those scenarios. Don’t be tempted to sandbag. CFOs have a tendency not to trust line managers to do the right thing in all cases and therefore put some resources in reserve without telling anyone in case the company looks like it might come up short at the end of the quarter.

1. Does the bold part mean 'don't be tempted to eluding the reality'?

2. What does 'line managers' mean?

3. Does 'in case... of the quarter' mean 'until... of the quarter' or CFOs are not transparent because they think if they are, the company will look like it might come up short at the end of the quarter?

Many thanks,

Nessie.

Line manager:

What about 'line people'? - ''Such exercises provide an opportunity to educate line people on the financial consequences of their actions by using real numbers and cut through the confusion they have from what they read in the media

In case:

Sorry but I still don't think it means 'if' here +_+

Thank you very much for your answer. So you mean line manager is the manager who manages a product line? and line people are the people who work in a product line?

As for in case, I myself also understand it as what you quoted, but then the sentence seems so... odd.

P.S. Your avatar is very impressive

Here is my input. The definitions I give are based on how the words are used in the context:

1. to sandbag:  to conceal or misrepresent something

2. The context in which I have most often heard the term "line manager" is in production. Thus, for me this would frequently be a person who oversees the people who are actually building or assembling a company's product(s). However, I also think that different companies use this term somewhat differently. So, it may also be used more generally as a term for the person who oversees a particular line of products, for example. The term I have most often heard used for the person who oversees one particular product is "product manager".

3. in case = in the event that

4. In the context you provided, it's a bit difficult to know exactly what the writer means, but generally speaking, when the author mentions "come up short" what he means is that there is less of something than was expected at the end of the quarter. Maybe additional context would make that clearer. Whatever the case, the suggestion seems to be that CFOs are often tempted to "hide" some resources and if things look bad at the end of the quarter, they can then use the hidden resources to make things look better.

Thanks a lot, everybody

Here is the further context (it's a part of the book):

SET THE TONE

First, you will need to exude the honest conviction that the company will come the storm successfully. You must earn the trust, confidence, and collaboration of not only your peers among the senior managers of the company but also their subordinates, who are on the firing line.

Second, you will need to present facts and details of the company’s financial health under different scenarios of future demand and market conditions in a format people can comprehend. You will have to be honest and forthcoming about those scenarios. Don’t be tempted to sandbag. CFOs have a tendency not to trust line managers to do the right thing in all cases and therefore put some resources in reserve without telling anyone in case the company looks like it might come up short at the end of the quarter. Lay it on the line with both a top-down and a bottom-up analysis and communicate so each manager understands what it means for him or her in regard to his or her job. Crisp, repetitous communication is imperative to drive home the point that cash is king….

Third,….

Fourth,…

=> What does “set the tone” mean?