Finance Skills for Office Administrators Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Office Administrators, Executive Assistants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-094

Before you join: Participants should have experience in an office administration, secretarial, coordination or support role where they encounter invoices, expense claims, purchase orders, budgets or financial records.

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

Office administrators, executive assistants and secretaries often prepare purchase requests, code invoices, process expense claims, maintain records and support budget holders. These responsibilities affect cash control, payment accuracy and the quality of management information. Without a working grasp of accounting language, controls and reporting cycles, routine administrative decisions can create delayed payments, incorrect coding, incomplete audit trails or avoidable budget variances.

This course develops the finance knowledge required to support accounting and operational finance teams confidently. Participants learn how transactions move through the accounting cycle, how to read core financial statements, apply accruals and prepayments, process accounts payable and receivable records, reconcile cash and support month-end close. They also work with budgets, variance reports, expense controls, procurement documentation and spreadsheet-based financial analysis. The emphasis is on knowing what information finance teams need, checking documents before submission and escalating exceptions appropriately.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with realistic cases from corporate services, public bodies, NGOs and project-based organisations. Participants analyse invoices, cash records, budget reports and financial statements; complete reconciliations; identify control weaknesses; and prepare concise finance communications. They leave with a practical finance administration toolkit containing reusable templates, checklists and reporting models for immediate use at work.

The course suits experienced administrative professionals who already handle financial paperwork or support managers with purchasing, expenses, records or reporting. It is also suitable for office managers and coordinators moving into roles with greater responsibility for budgets, suppliers, departmental expenditure and financial controls.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret the accounting equation and double-entry records behind routine office transactions
  • Read income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for operational decisions
  • Process invoices using purchase orders, goods receipts and three-way matching
  • Prepare bank, petty cash and supplier statement reconciliations using documented evidence
  • Apply accruals, prepayments and cut-off procedures during month-end close
  • Monitor departmental budgets using variance analysis and corrective action logs
  • Assess payment, expense and procurement risks using segregation-of-duties controls
  • Build concise Excel-based finance reports and exception summaries for managers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Confidence questioning incomplete invoices, unsupported expenses and incorrect coding
  • Ability to explain budget variances clearly to managers and budget holders
  • Stronger eligibility for office management, executive support and finance coordination roles
  • Practical methods for reducing rework in payment and reimbursement processing
  • Greater credibility when communicating with accountants, auditors and procurement staff

For your organisation

  • Fewer payment delays caused by incomplete supplier documentation and approval errors
  • Improved coding accuracy for departmental costs, projects and budget reports
  • Stronger audit trails for purchases, expenses, petty cash and reconciliations
  • Earlier identification of budget overruns, duplicate payments and control exceptions
  • More effective cooperation between administrative, finance, procurement and operational teams

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can classify routine transactions and explain how they affect accounting records.

  • Accounting equation links assets, liabilities and equity in routine transactions
  • Double-entry bookkeeping records debits and credits using T-account conventions
  • Accrual basis distinguishes earned revenue and incurred expense from cash movement
  • Chart of accounts coding supports consistent transaction classification and reporting
  • Source documents establish audit trails for payments, receipts and journal entries
  • Accounting periods, cut-off and materiality shape month-end administrative tasks

Participants can extract relevant operational information from core financial statements.

  • Income statements show revenue, expenditure, gross margin and operating results
  • Balance sheets present assets, liabilities and accumulated organisational reserves
  • Cash flow statements separate operating, investing and financing cash movements
  • Working capital measures explain short-term liquidity and payment capacity
  • Trend analysis compares current results with prior periods and budgets
  • Financial statement notes explain accounting policies, commitments and significant balances

Participants can process supplier transactions using correct documentation and control checks.

  • Procure-to-pay sequence connects requisitions, purchase orders, receipts and invoices
  • Three-way matching verifies supplier invoices against orders and goods received
  • Invoice coding assigns cost centres, nominal accounts, projects and tax treatment
  • Payment terms, early-settlement discounts and credit limits affect cash planning
  • Duplicate invoice checks prevent repeated payment of identical supplier claims
  • Supplier statement reconciliations identify missing invoices, credits and disputed balances

Participants can maintain receivables records and support timely customer collections.

  • Order-to-cash records connect customer orders, invoices, receipts and credit notes
  • Accounts receivable ageing identifies overdue balances and collection priorities
  • Credit notes correct billing errors, returns, allowances and agreed price reductions
  • Remittance advice links customer payments to outstanding invoice balances
  • Collection logs record follow-up actions, promises to pay and escalations
  • Bad debt indicators inform timely referral under organisational credit procedures

Participants can reconcile cash records and investigate common differences.

  • Bank reconciliation compares cashbook entries with bank statement transactions
  • Outstanding cheques, deposits and bank charges explain reconciliation differences
  • Petty cash imprest systems maintain a fixed authorised cash float
  • Cash counts compare physical currency with vouchers and recorded balances
  • Investigate timing differences before posting adjustments or escalating exceptions
  • Reconciliation sign-off documents preparer, reviewer, evidence and resolution date

Participants can support month-end close through accurate period-end adjustments and evidence.

  • Month-end close calendars sequence deadlines, responsibilities and required supporting evidence
  • Accruals recognise expenses incurred before supplier invoices arrive
  • Prepayments defer expenditure relating to future accounting periods
  • Depreciation allocates asset cost over its estimated useful life
  • Cut-off checks place income and expenditure in correct reporting periods
  • Journal entry support includes calculations, approval evidence and clear narrations

Participants can monitor departmental budgets and communicate material variances clearly.

  • Budget cycles translate operational plans into approved income and expenditure limits
  • Cost centres assign accountability for departmental expenditure and budget monitoring
  • Committed costs reveal purchase obligations not yet recorded as expenses
  • Variance analysis compares actual, budget and forecast amounts by category
  • Favourable and adverse variances require evidence-based explanations and action
  • Forecast updates incorporate known commitments, timing changes and revised assumptions

Participants can review employee expense claims against policy, evidence and approval requirements.

  • Expense claim reviews test receipts, business purpose, coding and approvals
  • Travel expense policies distinguish reimbursable costs from personal expenditure
  • Mileage claims apply approved rates, journey details and supporting records
  • VAT evidence requirements determine whether input tax may be reclaimed
  • Corporate card reconciliations match card transactions with receipts and approvals
  • Exception registers document policy breaches, missing evidence and corrective actions

Participants can apply practical controls that reduce error, fraud and unauthorised expenditure.

  • Segregation of duties separates requesting, approving, receiving and paying activities
  • COSO control activities guide authorisations, reconciliations and supervisory reviews
  • Approval matrices define delegated authority limits by expenditure type
  • Access controls restrict financial system functions according to job responsibilities
  • Fraud red flags include altered invoices, duplicate vendors and urgent payment requests
  • Exception escalation routes control failures to designated finance or management staff

Participants can prepare clear finance summaries, analyse exceptions and plan workplace improvements.

  • Excel tables structure transaction data for sorting, filtering and review
  • SUMIFS and XLOOKUP functions support coding checks and budget summaries
  • PivotTables summarise expenditure by supplier, category, project and cost centre
  • Conditional formatting highlights overdue invoices, overspends and missing approvals
  • Management summaries state financial position, exceptions, actions and required decisions
  • Personal application plans prioritise finance administration improvements and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Finance transaction coding checklist
  2. Three-way matching template
  3. Bank reconciliation working paper
  4. Month-end close checklist
  5. Budget variance reporting model
  6. Expense claim review checklist

Who should attend

  • Office Administrators — need confidence handling invoices, expenses, records and budget data
  • Executive Assistants — support senior managers with expenditure approvals and financial reporting
  • Secretaries — process financial documentation and maintain accurate administrative audit trails
  • Office Managers — oversee departmental spending, suppliers, petty cash and office budgets
  • Project Coordinators — track project costs, commitments and supporting financial evidence
  • Administrative Supervisors — review team transactions and apply consistent control procedures

Skills and tools covered

Transaction codingFinancial statement readingAccounts payable controlBudget variance analysisCash reconciliationFinance reporting

Tools and standards

IFRS, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, Microsoft Excel, Three-way matching

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by guided work on realistic finance documents. Participants interpret financial statements, code transactions, check invoices against purchasing records, complete reconciliations and review budget variances. Small-group case work examines common issues such as disputed supplier invoices, missing receipts, late accruals and overspent cost centres. Simulations build confidence in approval routing and exception escalation. Each participant develops an application plan for improving finance administration procedures in their own role.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience in an office administration, secretarial, coordination or support role where they encounter invoices, expense claims, purchase orders, budgets or financial records. They should be comfortable with basic arithmetic, percentages and everyday spreadsheet use, including entering data and sorting lists. Familiarity with their organisation's approval process is useful but not essential. Prior accounting qualifications, bookkeeping experience, advanced Excel skills and responsibility for preparing statutory accounts are not required. The course explains accounting terms before applying them to administrative finance tasks.

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

You need experience with office documents such as invoices, expenses, purchase orders or budgets, plus basic spreadsheet confidence. You do not need an accounting qualification or previous bookkeeping role.

Bring a laptop if attending online and any non-confidential examples of forms or reports you use at work. Participants should not bring personal data, supplier bank details or confidential financial records.

It is designed for office administrators, executive assistants, secretaries, office managers and coordinators with finance-related administration responsibilities. It also suits staff preparing to support budget holders or finance teams.

This course focuses on the finance tasks performed by administrative professionals: documentation, coding, controls, reconciliations, budgets and reporting. It does not train participants to prepare statutory accounts or complete professional bookkeeping examinations.

You can use the checklists and templates to review invoices, process claims, reconcile records and prepare budget updates. The application plan helps you identify one or more procedures to improve after the course.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from accounting foundations through transaction processing, cash control, month-end activities, budgeting, controls and finance reporting.

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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