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Description

Finance for Executives: Reading the Accounts, Steering Cash and Prioritising Projects

Engage with your accountant on equal terms and make decisions based on the right financial indicators

  • 3 days — 21 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

A non-financial business leader receives a set of financial statements every year and signs them without always being able to challenge them. Profit looks healthy while cash tightens, and investment decisions are taken on instinct for lack of a calculation method shared with advisers and lenders.

Three days to acquire the financial literacy that actually supports decision-making: understanding how profit is formed, monitoring cash and appraising a project. The programme is designed for leaders who run the whole business, not for accountants who prepare the statements.

Learning objectives

  • Read a balance sheet and an income statement and explain their main components
  • Calculate and interpret the key performance margins and operating results
  • Monitor working capital requirements and anticipate cash pressure
  • Appraise the profitability of an investment and its funding method
  • Build a financial dashboard suited to your own organisation

What makes this programme different

Analyses are carried out on the real financial statements of the companies attending
The link between accounting profit and available cash is unpacked case by case
A single-page dashboard is built for each participant

Programme

1Reading the financial statements

Understanding what the balance sheet and income statement actually say

  • Structure of the balance sheet and the logic linking assets and liabilities
  • How profit is formed and the nature of costs
  • Notes to the accounts and the disclosures that change your reading
  • Questions to put to your accountant or auditor

2Analysing performance

Moving from figures to diagnosis

  • Intermediate operating results and margin build-up
  • Gross margin and cost structure
  • Break-even point and volume effect
  • Comparison over time and against sector benchmarks

3Steering cash flow

Where the survival of the business is decided

  • Working capital requirement and the operating cycle
  • Customer and supplier payment terms and inventory turnover
  • Rolling cash flow forecast
  • Short-term funding options

4Taking an investment decision

Prioritising between competing projects

  • Estimating the expected cash flows of a project
  • Profitability criteria and payback period
  • Choosing between internal funding, borrowing and leasing
  • Impact of the funding choice on the balance sheet structure

5Dashboard and management dialogue

Monitoring without drowning in figures

  • Selecting a limited number of indicators
  • Linking budget and actuals
  • Variance analysis and the decisions that follow
  • Communicating figures to teams, banks and partners

Who is it for

Owners and managing directors of small and medium-sized companies, general managers, members of executive committees and senior managers with no formal background in finance.

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.