Finance training for “non-finance” as powerful communication tool

Communication between finance and non-finance staff in any company is a challenge and sometimes also source of misunderstandings which may , if not managed well, escalate into an open conflict at working place.

Because Finance is the the first line of defense in safeguarding of company assets, it will force the authorization schemes and segregation of duties policy within the organisation. During budget and forecast process Finance will send out a “barrage” of requests to other departments. Finance Department is by nature obligated to enforce company guidelines. It will demand supporting documentation to justify the expenses. Unfortunately Finance has sometimes to say also “No”.

Obviously all these, does not make finance department popular. In addition, if Finance works isolated within the company and the role and mission of Finance is not understood, it will be regarded by the organisation as disturbance and road block for smooth business execution.

However, there is also an opportunity. To utilize it, Finance must leave the “safe fortress” of formalized communication ruled by forms and procedures and open itself to the peers. Finance can win loyal supporters within the organisation by giving them something valuable. Something powerful. Knowledge.

Organize the “finance training for non-financials”. Be not disappointed if only few people will attend at the beginning. It’s fine. Start simple. Do not act too serious. Do not hesitate to be funny and illustrative. Make a “show”, if you dare… They are not auditors or shareholders, they are your colleagues!

First, try to give your colleagues comfort in understanding and basic reading of income statement and balance sheet. Then move to working capital. Explain the main challenges how to manage inventory, receivables and payable. It always helps to illustrate it on recent cases, known in the organisation. No blaming please! Explain how the working capital is measured in days. After, we are just one step away, to explain cash-flow or even the concept of ROCE. In further stage you can continue with ROI and NPV calculation.

This all needs to be chopped to minimum 3-5 sessions, depending on the seniority of the audience. I am always trying to keep each session under one hour. It is easier to manage it in the calendar and you will get better attendance rate.

This training provides satisfaction for your non-finance peers, because they will be able easier to follow and understand the impact of their own activities on financial results. You will get more interested readers of management reporting and also more feedback, which will drive the quality of your own work up. The department managers will turn to be your supporters and even advocates. Your success will be confirmed, when you will be asked to repeat the training for their whole teams, or newcomers regularly. Grab this opportunity!

Finally, the “resistance to change” for new projects and continuous improvement will disappear. You will see more initiative from the teams, in cases where normally you would need to push with force. Your credibility will improve naturally, therefore you will need to spend much less time to enforce the rules and discipline.

Nobody shall be afraid to share his knowledge. You will not compromise your position, contrary it will make you stronger. And the rewards you get on professional and personal level are priceless…