Accounting and Finance for Non-Finance Managers: Executive and Senior Management Level

Directors and senior managers with budget responsibility

Business unit and departmental heads

PMO/portfolio leaders accountable for investment decisions

Commercial and operations leaders who steer performance KPIs

Senior HR or transformation leaders managing cost and benefits

Read financial statements and connect them to strategic performance drivers

Interpret margin, working capital, and cash conversion and their impact on value

Use budgeting and forecasting to steer performance with leading indicators

Evaluate investment proposals using NPV/IRR, sensitivity, and downside scenarios

Challenge management reports with smart questions and control awareness

Finance as a Leadership Language

• How finance supports strategy, governance, and decision rights
• What “good performance” looks like: value drivers and KPI trees
• The story behind numbers: assumptions, estimates, and management judgment
• What executives should ask finance and what finance should ask executives
• Board-ready financial narratives and decision briefs

Performance Statements for Executives

• Income statement drivers: price/volume/mix, margin bridge, cost behavior
• Balance sheet essentials: working capital, capital employed, liquidity signals
• Cash flow reality: operating cash vs. profit; conversion and seasonality
• Red flags: quality of earnings, aggressive assumptions, and one-offs
• Executive dashboards: selecting KPIs and setting thresholds

Planning, Budgeting & Forecast Governance

• Budget as a management tool: targets, constraints, and ownership
• Rolling forecasts and scenario planning under uncertainty
• Variance analysis that leads to actions, not explanations
• Forecast accuracy, bias, and governance checkpoints
• Linking plans to incentives and accountability

Investment, Projects & Capital Decisions

• Capex vs. opex decisions and their financial implications
• Business case discipline: benefits, risks, dependencies, and timing
• NPV/IRR/payback and when each misleads
• Sensitivity and stress tests: downside resilience and triggers
• Post-investment reviews and benefits realization

Risk, Controls & Stakeholder Communication

• Financial risk basics: liquidity, credit, FX, cost inflation, concentration
• Control essentials: approvals, segregation, audit trails, fraud awareness
• Contract terms that impact finance: payment, penalties, liabilities, claims
• Communicating financial decisions to stakeholders with clarity
• 90-day executive finance action plan for your unit

Executive financial interpretation and performance steering

Cash and working capital leadership

Budget/forecast governance and variance-to-action management

Investment appraisal and scenario decision-making

Risk, controls, and stakeholder financial communication