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Description

Accounting for Non-Financial Managers: Reading and Using Financial Statements

Understand a balance sheet and an income statement and engage confidently with finance teams

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Managing a budget, negotiating with a client or defending a project requires the ability to read your organisation's financial statements — without becoming an accountant.

Two days to acquire the vocabulary, understand the logic behind financial statements and know which questions to ask when facing a set of figures.

Learning objectives

  • Understand the logic of general accounting and its vocabulary
  • Read and interpret a balance sheet and an income statement
  • Identify the key financial balances of a business
  • Calculate and interpret the main financial ratios
  • Engage productively with the accounting and finance function

What makes this programme different

A step-by-step approach requiring no prior knowledge, built on concrete examples
Work on real anonymised sets of financial statements
Glossary and reading guides provided to participants

Programme

1Understanding Accounting Logic

Why everything balances

  • The role and obligations of accounting
  • The double-entry principle, without bookkeeping technique
  • Expenses and income, fixed assets and depreciation
  • Common vocabulary and misleading terms

2Reading the Balance Sheet

A snapshot at a given date

  • Structure of assets and liabilities
  • Fixed assets, inventory, receivables, cash and cash equivalents
  • Equity, provisions, liabilities
  • Key balances: working capital, working capital requirement, net cash position

3Reading the Income Statement

What happened during the financial year

  • Intermediate performance indicators
  • Margin, value added, EBITDA, net result
  • Distinguishing profit from cash
  • The link between the income statement and the balance sheet

4Putting the Figures to Work

From reading to decision-making

  • Profitability, structure and turnover ratios
  • Spotting warning signals
  • Positioning your own activity within the company accounts
  • Preparing a discussion with the accountant or external auditor

Who is it for

Managers, project managers, sales professionals, technical leads, business founders and anyone required to work with accounting documents.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.