Finance for Directors Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Board Directors, Non-Financial Executives and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-143

Before you join: Participants should have experience managing a budget, reviewing management reports, approving expenditure or contributing to business decisions.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Directors and senior managers make decisions on prices, investment, contracts, budgets, funding and performance accountability, yet many receive financial reports without a clear basis for testing the assumptions behind them. A profitable business can still face liquidity pressure, a growth proposal can destroy value, and a budget can conceal weak operational choices. Directors need to read financial information critically, ask precise questions and connect financial consequences to strategic decisions.

This course develops the financial management skills required for board, executive and senior operational roles. Participants interpret income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements; assess profitability, liquidity, working capital and capital structure; build and challenge budgets and forecasts; evaluate investment proposals using discounted cash flow methods; and use financial indicators to monitor performance. The course also addresses governance duties, internal control, financial risk and the financial questions directors should ask before approving major decisions.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with financial statement analysis, board-style decision cases, spreadsheet-based calculations, group discussions and business simulations. Cases may include capital investment, pricing, contract approval, cash pressure, acquisition screening and performance recovery. Participants leave with a director's financial review pack containing ratio-analysis templates, budget challenge questions, investment appraisal models, cash forecasting structures and a personal finance action plan. The course is delivered over five days in classroom locations in more than 50 cities or live online, with a certificate of completion.

The course suits non-financial directors, senior managers and functional leaders who influence financial decisions or hold accountability for business performance. It is particularly relevant where participants must challenge finance teams, present proposals for approval or take responsibility for budgets, cash and investment outcomes.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret financial statements to identify profitability, liquidity, funding and cash flow issues
  • Calculate and explain financial ratios for board-level performance review
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operating cash movements
  • Challenge budgets and forecasts using variance analysis and driver-based assumptions
  • Evaluate capital investment proposals using NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity analysis
  • Assess pricing, volume and cost decisions using contribution margin and break-even analysis
  • Apply working capital management methods to improve cash conversion performance
  • Formulate board questions on financial controls, risks and major investment decisions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Speak confidently with finance teams, auditors, lenders and board colleagues
  • Challenge financial assumptions before approving budgets, contracts or investments
  • Present financially credible business cases with clear value and cash implications
  • Identify early warning signs of margin erosion, liquidity pressure and weak controls
  • Improve readiness for director, executive and business unit leadership roles

For your organisation

  • Stronger scrutiny of capital expenditure, acquisitions and major commercial commitments
  • Earlier identification of cash flow risks and working capital deterioration
  • More disciplined budgets supported by operational drivers and accountable owners
  • Better pricing, cost and investment decisions based on financial evidence
  • Improved board oversight of financial controls, reporting and risk exposures

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can interpret the principal financial statements and identify issues requiring management challenge.

  • Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement interdependencies
  • Accrual accounting, matching and revenue recognition under IFRS principles
  • Working capital movements reconciled between profit and operating cash flow
  • Depreciation, amortisation and impairment effects on reported performance
  • Management accounts distinguished from statutory financial reporting requirements
  • Materiality, accounting estimates and judgement areas requiring director challenge

Participants can use ratio analysis to assess financial performance, liquidity and financial stability.

  • Profitability ratios: gross margin, operating margin, ROCE and return on equity
  • Liquidity measures: current ratio, quick ratio and operating cash adequacy
  • Solvency indicators: debt-to-equity, interest cover and debt service capacity
  • Trend analysis comparing monthly, annual and budgeted financial results
  • Common-size statements revealing cost structures and margin movements
  • Benchmarking ratios against competitors, targets and prior-period performance

Participants can assess how cost, price and volume decisions affect profit and cash.

  • Fixed, variable and semi-variable costs classified for decision-making
  • Contribution margin calculated by product, customer, channel and contract
  • Break-even analysis using sales volume, price and cost assumptions
  • Margin of safety assessed against forecast demand and capacity
  • Relevant costing applied to outsourcing, discontinuation and special-order decisions
  • Activity-based costing used to examine overhead allocation distortions

Participants can challenge budgets and use variances to direct management action.

  • Driver-based budgets linked to volume, headcount, capacity and service levels
  • Rolling forecasts updated from actual results and revised assumptions
  • Flexible budgets adjusted for actual activity and output levels
  • Price, volume, mix and efficiency variances separated for investigation
  • Budget holders assigned controllable costs, targets and corrective actions
  • Forecast bias identified through assumption testing and historical accuracy reviews

Participants can identify cash risks and improve working capital discipline.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Cash conversion cycle calculated through receivables, inventory and payables days
  • Credit control metrics used to prioritise overdue customer balances
  • Inventory policies assessed for service levels, obsolescence and cash impact
  • Supplier payment terms evaluated against liquidity, relationships and contractual obligations
  • Operating cash flow distinguished from profit, financing and investing flows

Participants can evaluate investment proposals using established financial appraisal methods.

  • Net present value calculated from incremental cash flows and discount rates
  • Internal rate of return interpreted alongside NPV and funding constraints
  • Payback period assessed for liquidity exposure and capital recovery
  • Discounted cash flow assumptions tested for inflation, tax and terminal value
  • Sensitivity analysis modelled for volume, price, cost and timing changes
  • Scenario analysis compares base case, downside case and upside case outcomes

Participants can assess funding choices and their implications for risk, return and control.

  • Equity, term debt, revolving credit and leasing funding characteristics
  • Weighted average cost of capital applied to investment hurdle rates
  • Interest rate, foreign exchange and refinancing risks identified
  • Debt covenants reviewed for compliance thresholds and reporting obligations
  • Capital structure assessed through gearing, coverage and liquidity indicators
  • Dividend decisions considered against investment needs and shareholder expectations

Participants can assess financial control arrangements and fulfil director-level oversight responsibilities.

  • COSO internal control components applied to financial reporting risks
  • Segregation of duties designed for purchasing, payments and payroll processes
  • Delegated authorities tested against approval limits and documented evidence
  • Financial close controls reviewed for reconciliations, journals and cut-off
  • Audit findings converted into management actions and accountable ownership
  • Fraud risk indicators examined across revenue, procurement and expense claims

Participants can connect operational performance measures to financial outcomes and strategic priorities.

  • Balanced Scorecard measures linked to financial, customer, process and capability objectives
  • Key performance indicators selected for leading and lagging performance evidence
  • Economic profit considered after operating costs, tax and capital charges
  • Customer profitability analysed through revenue, service costs and retention patterns
  • Capital allocation compared across growth, maintenance and risk-reduction priorities
  • Performance dashboards designed for concise executive and board reporting

Participants can frame financial questions, evaluate proposals and apply course methods to current decisions.

  • Board papers assessed for financial logic, evidence and decision clarity
  • Investment proposals challenged through assumptions, alternatives and risk exposure
  • Management narratives tested against cash flow, margins and balance sheet evidence
  • Decision rights clarified for budgets, contracts, investments and funding approvals
  • Financial red flags prioritised for escalation to boards and audit committees
  • Personal application plan built around current financial responsibilities and decisions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Director financial statement review checklist
  2. Ratio analysis and trend review template
  3. 13-week rolling cash forecast model
  4. Budget and forecast challenge framework
  5. Capital investment appraisal model
  6. Board financial questions checklist

Who should attend

  • Board Directors — need to challenge financial proposals and monitor organisational performance
  • Non-Financial Executives — hold accountability for budgets, investment and commercial decisions
  • Business Unit Heads — manage profit, cash, costs and operational performance
  • Operations Directors — need financial evidence for capacity, sourcing and productivity decisions
  • Commercial Directors — assess pricing, margins, contracts and customer profitability
  • Senior Public Sector Managers — manage budgets, business cases and financial accountability

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement analysisCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalBudget challengeWorking capital managementFinancial governance

Tools and standards

IFRS, IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, COSO Internal Control Framework, Balanced Scorecard

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to establish financial concepts, followed by guided analysis of financial statements, budgets, forecasts and investment proposals. Participants work through board-style cases involving cash pressure, pricing decisions, capital expenditure and underperforming business units. Group exercises focus on interpreting evidence, testing assumptions and framing director-level questions. Spreadsheet calculations are used for ratios, cash forecasts, break-even analysis and discounted cash flow. Each participant prepares an application plan linked to current responsibilities and decisions.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience managing a budget, reviewing management reports, approving expenditure or contributing to business decisions. They should be comfortable working with percentages, basic arithmetic and spreadsheet outputs. Familiarity with their own organisation's income statement, budget or monthly management pack is useful but not essential. The course does not require an accounting qualification, prior study of IFRS, advanced mathematics or spreadsheet modelling expertise. It is designed for directors and senior managers who need practical financial judgement rather than preparation for professional accountancy examinations.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

No accounting qualification is required. Participants should have experience reading budgets, management reports or business cases and should be comfortable with percentages and basic arithmetic.

Bring a laptop if possible for spreadsheet-based calculations and any non-confidential budget, management pack or business case you wish to consider. Course materials and calculation templates are provided.

It is designed for directors, senior managers and functional leaders without a specialist finance background. Finance professionals seeking technical accounting or audit training should consider a more advanced specialist course.

The course focuses on decisions directors make using financial information rather than bookkeeping, transaction processing or preparation for accountancy examinations. It emphasises questioning assumptions, assessing risk and approving budgets or investment proposals.

Participants can use the templates to review monthly results, challenge forecasts, assess cash risks and evaluate investment proposals. The application plan links the methods to current responsibilities, meetings and forthcoming decisions.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from financial statements and performance analysis through budgeting, cash, investment, governance and director-level decisions.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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