Many highly experienced directors feel quietly uncomfortable when the conversation turns to financial statements, liquidity ratios, or audit committee reports. You may have outstanding business judgement, but if the financial language isn't second nature, it's harder to challenge, harder to scrutinise, and harder to add your full value in the boardroom.
Finance Essentials for Non-Finance Directors is designed to address exactly that. In one intensive, practical day, you'll build a confident, working understanding of the financial concepts, corporate reporting requirements, and governance expectations that matter most at board level — without needing any prior finance training.
The sessions are highly interactive, drawing on the lived experiences of all delegates and using real-world case studies throughout. The drive for greater diversity of thought in the boardroom is right and necessary, and this course ensures that a varied background is never a barrier to full participation at the top table.
Unlike longer programmes, this course is deliberately designed to give busy directors exactly what they need at board level — and to do so in a single, time-efficient day.
Who should attend:
This course is for board members, senior leaders, and professionals who want a strong, practical grasp of board-level financial information — with no formal finance background required. It's particularly well suited to:
- Non-executive directors, new to or established in role
- Executive directors without a finance background
- Trustees and governors of charities, schools, or public bodies
- Senior managers moving into board-level roles
- Professionals who've completed other courses but wanted more depth
- Anyone wanting to ask sharper questions of their CFO or finance team
What you'll walk away with:
By the end of the day, you will be able to:
- Read and interpret financial statements — income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow — with confidence
- Understand solvency, liquidity, and going concern, and know when to probe further
- Question budgets, forecasts, and financial proposals using the right vocabulary and techniques
- Understand the board's financial responsibilities and what the audit committee expects of you
- Engage with — and constructively challenge — your finance director and external auditors
- Contribute up to 6 hours towards your annual CPD record
Course content:
The programme includes three core areas, with interactive exercises and real-world case studies woven throughout.
Financial Reporting and Management Accounting
- Fundamental financial concepts and terminology
- External financial reporting — the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, Strategic Report and Directors' Report
- Budgets, forecasts, what-if scenarios, and sensitivity analysis
Financial Management
- Sources of finance
- Solvency, liquidity, and going concern
- Analysing and interpreting financial statements and reports
- Valuation techniques
- Strategic financial management
Governance and Finance
- The board's financial responsibilities
- Stakeholder expectations and shareholder value
- Internal Audit, External Audit, and the Audit Committee
- Current issues
What past delegates say:
"Excellent course. I have completed two other similar courses that didn't go into enough depth."
"This was exactly the level of detail I required to feel confident as a board member questioning accounts."
"The course content exceeded my expectations."
"As a result of the course I feel much more confident about this area than before." "Good exercises and real interaction throughout."
Ready to feel fully confident in the boardroom? Join fellow board members for a practical, rewarding day that will change how you engage with financial information.