Of course, there is a learning curve with any subject. That said, this course calls for no financial background or prior financial experience.

No question, these days there are plenty of options to get a rudimentary understanding for free.

We pride ourselves on providing that ‘next level’ understanding you don’t find elsewhere. Understanding that, in what many would describe as a viciously competitive environment and a savage business climate, your people need to know.

It’s no longer the ‘what?’ or even the ‘why?’… It’s the ‘how to’ when mistakes could prove not just costly but fatal.

Like…

• How to respond to a situation or requests.
• How to approach a customer, supplier or vendor.
• How to frame suggestions and proposals.

Because the financial bar is altogether higher and, more often than not, the Finance team is no longer there to pick up the pieces.

That’s what we mean by making You financially fit for today’s business.

I’ll give you three things…

The first is a firm focus on the future. In this context, a pre-occupation with analyzing past financial statements can serve to distract from the real question… ‘How can we apply this to help us going forward?’

The second is that this course is first and foremost about you and your organization – getting you to where you need to be. We analyze other businesses only to help you build a stronger one. We critique others decisions only to show you how to make better ones.

The third is boardroom, not classroom. Simplistic ‘finance textbook’ scenarios won’t serve you when you’re put on the spot. Or when you’ve got previous little data but still need to decide. Our teaching and tools are ‘real world’ ready.

We dedicate an entire module of videos to each of these statements, giving you the inside track on why together, these matter so much. As well as pulling out key insights, we take you through lots of worked examples and quickfire calculations with targets to work to, where we can.

As I say, it’s not just about understanding these statements in isolation, it’s about mastering the inter-relationships between them.

And while it’s your organization we should be focusing on first, we also want to be able to assess the financial standing of other businesses you depend on too.

And in our ‘Crack the Code of Published Accounts’ bonus module (available free with our 7-module course) we take a 2½ hour deep-dive into how best to interpret these 3 key statements in their accounts in order to keep your business safe.

Absolutely. This is a vital distinction and one we explain both in words – highlighting the principal timing differences which give rise to the disparity between them - as well as in numbers, with a whole series of easy-to-follow, cash flow scenarios in Module 3 which we work through with you. This shows you why so many seemingly viable businesses don’t see their profit come through as cash in the bank.

Of course. This is fundamental. And while both matter, they serve entirely different purposes.

All too often, finance courses focus on interpreting statutory (commonly termed ‘annual’) accounts, at the expense of management accounts, which are typically produced monthly by the business itself..

We cover both, with our 2½ hour, ‘Crack the Code of Published Accounts’ bonus module is concerned exclusively with companies’ statutory accounts and how to interpret them.

But as the day-today actions and decisions are based on management accounts, these are the primary focus of our ‘Fast Track’ finance courses.

Classifying costs and understanding cost behaviour is a key building block of Module 1, our ‘Profit & Loss Primer’.

And in contrast to other finance courses, which portray break-even in the most simplistic terms… assuming a business sells only a single product… looked at the right way, it offers you a whole new perspective on Profit & Loss.

For sure. If you’re new to Finance this translates, in simple terms, as Receivables, Stock (aka Inventory) and Payables.

We highlight the real-world impact of these items, and any changes in them, on financial outcomes

• And they impinge on so many different aspects…
• On Balance Sheets (Module 2)
• On Cash Flow (Module 3)
• With Investment Appraisal (Module 5)
• And in Module 7, they feature as a key lever in using your organization’s financial information to benefit the business.

Definitely. Module 5 sets out how to create a compelling case to spend money. While Module 6 teaches you how to make a case for cutting costs or indeed how to fight such moves.

Because, let’s face it, these days, no-one wants to be seen to make a mistake. Hence it’s easier to dismiss ideas than back them. That’s why it’s imperative to work them up into financially-credible proposals.

If we view ‘risk’ as being the likelihood of running out of cash, then the answer is ‘Absolutely’. And we tackle this from two angles:

The first concern is safeguarding your organization… something you glean from the combination of the first three modules (our financial ‘Triangle of Truth’) by dint of showing you how everything fits together.

The second is the potential failure of other businesses you deal with and depend on.

The ‘Crack the Code of Published Accounts’ in-depth bonus module which you get free with the 7-module course, gives you the x-ray vision to spot the warning signs in others’ accounts… often 2-3 years ahead of time.

But that’s not your only safeguard, because in addition, you also benefit from 14 days free access to our financial Power Tools which, when connected to your accounting software, can show you the trend in customers payment histories over the last 12 months – a key and current indicator of financial duress.

This is addressed in Module 5. Not only do we explain the classic ‘finance textbook’ approaches, we also challenge their real-world relevance and applicability, with a wealth of worked examples to highlight the key issues and the approach we adopt instead.

You’ll find this in Module 6. In short, the budget is what, ahead of time, you expect to do over the course of the next financial year. While a forecast is your best guess as to what will unfold in the coming months from now.

There are many factors that give rise to a disparity between a budget and actuals, creating the need to reforecast and in this extensive module we cover all the angles.

They are. You’ll find comprehensive coverage of the principal financial ratios in our bonus module ‘Fatal Finance Textbook Flaws’.

Albeit the somewhat less than flattering title is a clue to the fact that while routinely taught in ‘Non-Financial’ courses, in real businesses nowadays, precious few Finance functions routinely report these in monthly management packs (unless requested by lenders).

That said, the veracity of these ratios varies. And whatever their respective merits, you’ll find them all regularly referred to in credit reference agency reports and casual financial conversation, so it’s important to be familiar with the thinking behind them.

You’ll find the ‘how to’ of budgeting in Module 6 of our 7-module course. But this should be viewed in conjunction with …

• Module 4 that sets out the right way to go about growing revenues…
• Module 5 which shows you the best way to put forward a proposal to spend money.
• And Module 6, as I say, where, as well as budgeting, we assess where best to save money and cut costs.

The key to making real inroads with Finance is to understand the ‘big picture’ first and working back from there as to what this means for any one department or any one person so they have the insight to understand what they can impact and how.

By virtue of delivering our courses to one business or one person at a time, we focus on the financials of your organization as they apply to you.

This entails giving you relevant insights, highlighting the implications and how you can impact the outcome.

Moreover, you’ll be learning some simple sums and illustrative examples to assist you in making a wide range of day-to-day decisions.

Absolutely. Ideally, the relationship should be hand-in-glove. It’s not just about being conversant with the terminology but understanding what’s important to the Finance team and why… like financial control and cash flow.

Because remember, most day-to-day commercial decisions are made largely by non-financial people, so by having a deeper understanding of the implications, you’re making their job easier.

Every subject, and particularly ‘Finance’, has its own acronyms and terminology. And we decipher those you’re likely to come across, in the modules they pertain to. All in down-to-earth terms and in the context you’re likely to encounter them in your everyday work.

That said, this course is not about having you spout glib ‘Finance-speak’ that impresses no-one, least of all accountants.

Instead, we explain Finance in common-sense terms… a language everyone (including accountants) can understand and relate to, however financially literate or otherwise they happen to be.

Anyone choosing the online version of our courses gets lifetime access to the content. Live and virtual course participants also benefit from extended post-course access to the content to assist with its implementation.

Post-course support is also provided in the form of our ‘Ask-a-Question’ feature available while participants watch the online version of the course. And as a fallback, we can schedule a support call.

The above support is available for a limited time and this varies depending on the course in question and the delivery format chosen.

All users also benefit from a 14-day free trial of our financial Power Tools, a suite of interactive calculation templates that integrate with common accounting software.

Online course: On completion of all the modules you can download a Certificate of Completion.

Live | Virtual course: At the end of the time we have together, participants are emailed a Certificate of Completion.