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Oct 16 2014
Finance in plain English: demystifying financial accounts

From Howard Exton-Smith. 

Successfully managing a line function or business unit such as a department or division involves a range of skills embracing tasks, resources and outcomes. Whilst your staff may be your most valuable resource, fortunately they are not counted as an accounting asset so the most common component will usually be your financial resources and results.

Accounting has been called the language of business and the Centre’s Finance for non financial managers course has been designed to demystify that language using plain English so you can understand what things mean and what that means to you. Financial literacy is a vital management competency and although your finance and accounts team can help by providing the information, you’ll need to master its interpretation and implications. Managers who understand the language of finance make better decisions, create stronger entities and deliver healthier performance.

This course will help you appreciate what the numbers in various financial statements mean and how they can be used, and give you increased confidence in your judgements. The course covers the context of financial management, financial reporting, statements and analysis, budgeting, management accounting, management control systems and performance measurement.

The full course lasts two days with plenty of opportunities for practical exercises that illustrate the concepts and allow you to relate the theory to your experience. That’s one of the reasons why we like to use your financial statements and management accounts in the course, so you will recognise the numbers and build confidence in analysing the reports that will cross your desk. Depending on your needs, it is also possible to tailor the course to last one-day, although this inevitably means less time for the practical exercises. 

The content of this two-day course includes:

Laying the groundwork

  • introduction to financial management
  • respective roles and responsibilities

Financial statements

  • common terms and concepts
  • income and expenditure accounts
  • balance Sheet
  • ratios

Budgeting

  • what are you trying to achieve?
  • budgeting approaches
  • constructing a budget
  • different types of cost and income
  • pricing and break even

Management controls

  • systems and processes
  • performance measures

Monitoring

  • the role of management accounts
  • why things go wrong
  • forecasting

Find out more about this course or book a place at our Central London venue. This course can also be run at your offices. 

Howard Exton-Smith is a specialist in business, programme and project management. He has held senior positions in the private sector, and has worked with the public and third sectors, in the UK and internationally.

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