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Description

The Business Partner Mindset: Understanding Operations, Engaging and Reporting Back

Step out of the office to understand the activity behind the numbers and make yourself understood by operational teams

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

Management controllers taking on this role quickly discover that technical mastery is not enough. Operational managers see their requests as administrative policing and their spreadsheets simply do not speak to them. Exchanges are reduced to collecting data at month end.

This two-day programme establishes the foundations of the relationship with operational functions. Participants learn to understand an activity before costing it, then to translate a result into the language of the person in front of them. The content remains at foundation level: field discovery, listening and straightforward reporting back. Handling open disagreement is covered in a separate advanced programme.

Learning objectives

  • Describe the activity of an operational department together with its specific constraints
  • Conduct a discovery interview with an operational manager
  • Translate a financial indicator into the vocabulary of operational staff
  • Report a monthly result in a way a non-financial audience can understand
  • Organise regular exchanges with the departments being monitored

What makes this programme different

A discovery interview prepared and then conducted with a production manager
Reports brought by participants reworked for a non-financial reader
A department-by-department engagement plan built during the session

Programme

1The Expected Role

What operational functions ask of management control

  • What operational leadership expects from the numbers
  • The difference between controlling and supporting
  • Common barriers on both sides
  • A realistic scope for the role depending on company size

2Understanding the Activity

Go and see before you cost

  • Observing an operational process on site
  • Identifying the cost drivers genuinely used by the business
  • Identifying the constraints that explain the costs
  • Checking consistency between recorded data and reality

3Engaging with Operational Teams

Asking the questions that get people talking

  • Preparing a discovery interview
  • Open questions about the activity rather than about variances
  • Restating and validating what has been understood
  • Handling data requests perceived as intrusive

4Reporting Back Your Analysis

Making yourself understood by a non-financial audience

  • Choosing which information to present and which to leave out
  • Financial vocabulary to translate or explain
  • Designing a report that reads clearly without commentary
  • Setting up a short monthly review with the department

Who is it for

Newly appointed management controllers, along with accountants and analysts moving into a management control role.

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of the basics of management control or cost accounting.

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.