Financial Communication and Decision Making Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Analysts, Management Accountants 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-116

Before you join: Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, profit, cash flow and budgets.

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

Managers often receive financial reports that are accurate yet difficult to use. A profit increase can mask deteriorating cash collection; a favourable variance can reflect timing rather than performance; and an investment proposal can appear attractive before assumptions, funding and risk are tested. Finance professionals must convert accounting data into decisions that boards, budget holders, lenders and operational leaders can understand, challenge and act on. They also need to identify when reported figures need qualification because estimates, accounting policies or one-off items distort the picture.

This course develops the accounting, analysis and communication skills needed to support sound financial decisions. Participants interpret income statements, statements of financial position and cash flow statements; assess accounting quality; calculate key ratios; build cash forecasts and driver-based budgets; and evaluate capital investment and financing options. They learn to connect financial results with operational causes, use scenario and sensitivity analysis, and present recommendations with clear assumptions, risks and required actions. Attention is given to IFRS-based reporting, working capital, cost of capital, performance measures and ethical communication.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with financial statement cases, spreadsheet-based calculations, group analysis, reporting simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect decisions faced by corporate finance teams, banks, public bodies, NGOs and project-driven organisations, including cash pressure, budget variance, capital expenditure and board reporting. Participants leave with a practical set of reusable templates and analyses for financial reporting, forecasting, investment appraisal and decision papers.

The course suits finance and accounting professionals who already work with financial information and need greater confidence turning it into recommendations. It is also valuable for operational managers, project leaders and business partners who contribute to budgets, investment cases or performance reviews.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret financial statements and accounting notes to identify decision-relevant performance drivers
  • Prepare ratio, trend and common-size analyses from published financial statements
  • Analyse earnings quality, working capital movements and cash conversion risks
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast using operational cash assumptions
  • Evaluate budget variances using flexible budgeting and driver-based forecasting
  • Calculate net present value, internal rate of return and project sensitivity results
  • Design management dashboards and board papers for defined decision audiences
  • Communicate financial recommendations with assumptions, risks and accountable actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging reported profit, cash flow and variance explanations
  • Practical methods for preparing investment cases and funding recommendations
  • Clearer communication of financial risks to non-finance decision makers
  • Reusable models for cash forecasting, ratio analysis and budget review
  • Stronger credibility in board, management and project review meetings

For your organisation

  • Better quality financial recommendations supported by explicit assumptions and sensitivities
  • Earlier identification of liquidity pressure, working capital deterioration and covenant risk
  • More disciplined capital expenditure decisions using consistent appraisal criteria
  • Management reports that focus attention on material variances and required actions
  • Improved alignment between operational plans, budgets, forecasts and funding decisions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish financial information types and identify the information needed for a defined decision.

  • Decision-useful information distinguished from statutory reporting and operational performance data
  • Management accounting, financial accounting and finance roles in decision processes
  • Stakeholder information needs mapped for boards, lenders, investors and managers
  • Materiality assessed using quantitative thresholds and qualitative decision consequences
  • The accounting cycle linked to reports, forecasts and operating actions
  • Information asymmetry and agency conflicts considered in financial communication

Participants can interpret core financial statements and explain how accounting entries affect reported performance.

  • Income statement margins traced from revenue recognition through operating profit
  • Statement of financial position interpreted through liquidity, solvency and capital structure
  • Cash flow statement reconciled across operating, investing and financing activities
  • Accruals, depreciation and provisions separated from cash movements
  • IFRS presentation requirements considered when explaining reported performance
  • Notes, accounting policies and estimates examined for decision-relevant signals

Participants can assess the credibility and sustainability of reported earnings and cash performance.

  • Revenue recognition under IFRS 15 tested against contract performance obligations
  • Inventory valuation, impairment and provisions assessed for earnings effects
  • Working capital policies linked to reported profit and operating cash flow
  • Non-recurring items normalized before comparing underlying business performance
  • Earnings management warning signs identified through trend and ratio analysis
  • Audit opinions and key audit matters incorporated into credibility assessments

Participants can calculate and interpret financial ratios to diagnose profitability, liquidity and financial risk.

  • Horizontal, vertical and common-size analysis prepared from published statements
  • Profitability ratios calculated using margin, return and asset turnover drivers
  • Liquidity ratios interpreted alongside cash conversion cycle movements
  • Solvency assessed through debt ratios, interest cover and covenant headroom
  • DuPont analysis decomposes return on equity into operating drivers
  • Benchmark comparisons adjusted for accounting policy, seasonality and business model

Participants can build a short-term cash forecast and identify practical liquidity actions.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Direct and indirect cash flow forecasts compared for planning purposes
  • Receivables ageing translated into collection assumptions and cash timing
  • Payables, inventory and payroll schedules incorporated into weekly liquidity forecasts
  • Scenario ranges built for volume, price, currency and payment delays
  • Minimum cash buffers and funding triggers defined under downside cases

Participants can analyse budget performance and update forecasts using operational drivers.

  • Driver-based budgets constructed from volume, price, headcount and capacity assumptions
  • Flexible budgets separate volume variance from price and efficiency variance
  • Responsibility centres assigned controllable costs, revenues, assets and performance measures
  • Variance bridges explain actual results against budget and latest forecast
  • Rolling forecasts update decisions using current operational and financial drivers
  • Budget challenge questions test assumptions, dependencies and resource trade-offs

Participants can evaluate investment proposals using discounted cash flow and sensitivity techniques.

  • Relevant cash flows distinguished from sunk costs and allocated overheads
  • Net present value calculated using after-tax cash flows and discount rates
  • Internal rate of return compared with NPV under mutually exclusive projects
  • Payback and discounted payback used with stated decision limitations
  • Sensitivity analysis tests project value against critical assumption changes
  • Capital rationing ranked using NPV, strategic fit and funding constraints

Participants can compare financing options and explain their financial and strategic consequences.

  • Cost of debt estimated from yields, fees, tax effects and covenants
  • Weighted average cost of capital assembled from market-value financing proportions
  • Debt capacity assessed through cash flow coverage and covenant calculations
  • Lease versus buy decisions compared using incremental after-tax cash flows
  • Working capital facilities matched to seasonal funding requirements and risks
  • Financing recommendations explain dilution, refinancing, liquidity and control consequences

Participants can design performance reports that direct attention to decisions and corrective action.

  • KPIs selected using strategy maps, value drivers and decision ownership
  • Balanced Scorecard measures connect financial outcomes with operational leading indicators
  • Dashboard design applies thresholds, trends, variances and exception reporting
  • Waterfall charts communicate revenue, cost and profit movement clearly
  • Variance narratives distinguish causes, financial effects, risks and required actions
  • Management packs tailored for board, lender and operational audiences

Participants can present financially sound recommendations with transparent evidence, risks and next steps.

  • Executive financial messages structured around decision, evidence, recommendation and risk
  • Data visualisation choices matched to comparison, trend, composition and distribution
  • Board papers present options, assumptions, sensitivities and accountable next steps
  • Bad news communicated with material facts, uncertainty ranges and corrective actions
  • Ethical dilemmas tested against professional judgement, transparency and stakeholder consequences
  • Personal application plans identify one reporting, forecasting or investment decision improvement

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

What you take back to work

  1. Financial statement analysis worksheet
  2. 13-week rolling cash forecast template
  3. Driver-based budget and variance bridge model
  4. Capital investment appraisal model
  5. Management dashboard design checklist
  6. Board decision paper template

Who should attend

  • Financial Analysts — need to convert reported results into clear management recommendations
  • Management Accountants — need stronger reporting, forecasting and decision-support techniques
  • Finance Business Partners — need to explain financial drivers to operational leaders
  • Treasury and Cash Managers — need to assess liquidity, funding and cash conversion risks
  • Budget Holders — need to interpret variances and make financially sound resource decisions
  • Project and Programme Managers — need to prepare credible business cases and investment proposals

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement analysisCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalBudget variance analysisManagement reportingFinancial communication

Tools and standards

IFRS Accounting Standards, IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, DuPont analysis, Balanced Scorecard

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by worked financial cases, spreadsheet calculations, group discussions and reporting simulations. Participants analyse financial statements, diagnose cash and performance issues, test investment assumptions and prepare decision messages for different audiences. Facilitated review focuses on calculation logic, judgement, accounting implications and communication quality. Each participant develops an application plan linking course methods to a current reporting, forecasting, budgeting or investment decision.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, profit, cash flow and budgets. Experience reading internal management reports, preparing budgets or contributing to financial decisions is useful. Participants should be comfortable working with percentages, ratios and simple spreadsheet calculations. Prior study of corporate finance, valuation or IFRS is not required, as the course introduces the required techniques before applying them. Advanced Excel skills, professional accounting qualifications and responsibility for statutory reporting are not required.

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

Participants should understand basic accounting language and be able to work with percentages and simple spreadsheet calculations. The course does not require an accounting qualification, advanced Excel skills or prior valuation experience.

Bring a laptop with spreadsheet software if attending in the classroom, as calculations and templates are used during the programme. You may also bring a non-confidential example of a report, budget, forecast or business case you want to improve.

The course is designed for finance professionals who support management decisions and for managers who regularly use budgets, forecasts or financial reports. It is particularly relevant to analysts, management accountants, finance business partners, treasury staff and project managers.

Financial accounting courses focus mainly on recording transactions and preparing compliant accounts, while corporate finance courses often concentrate on valuation and markets. This course connects accounting analysis, cash planning, budgeting, investment appraisal and decision communication.

Participants can use the cash forecast, variance bridge, investment appraisal model and board paper template on current decisions. The final application plan identifies a specific reporting, forecasting or investment decision to improve after the course.

The programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided across ten modules covering financial analysis, cash flow, budgeting, investment decisions, financing and management communication.

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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