How to write an effective and useable financial report
Never has a skill been so useful and more timely than this one
Are you being increasingly asked to understand and present financial information?
If so, read on because this may be the most useful invitation you get over the next few months.
You don’t need me to tell you that money is getting scarcer. So if you’re good at thinking through and writing up financial information and arguments, you’re going to be in demand.
It also means that if you can’t, that will weigh against you.
To write a good financial report you must be familiar with the language of finance and its special terms. You must also be able to analyse and present financial findings to a variety of audiences.
You need to know how to use charts, diagrams and supporting material. And you need to be able to present arguments and coherent conclusions and summaries about financial information.
If you and your colleagues can do all these things well - and so make better decisions - your organisation stands a better chance of getting through the next few months in one piece.
Lots of us lack confidence in anything to do with financial techniques and the presentation of supporting data. I know I do.
But by setting financial information in a business context and using a structured approach to preparing financial reports you can improve how you inform and influence your colleagues.
These are some of the many reasons why we are putting on this entirely new one day course.
I am sure you recognise a few of these subjects as they all require well presented, well thought through financial information:
- Analysing financial performance
- Budgeting and Forecasting
- Assessing the suitability of new suppliers
- Assessing the need for staff and when to deploy people into other jobs
- Reporting to project teams with a mixture of financial and non financial information
- Undertaking cost benefit analysis
- Assessing proposals for new investment and new business proposals
The course is designed for managers who have some knowledge of Accounting and Finance, but expert knowledge is not required. The key topics will be introduced through presentations and the use of live materials and case studies.
We’ll cover all of the areas I have mentioned plus:
- A review of the main published financial statements
- The key accounting terms
- How to use ratios for comparative and trend analysis
- How to use graphs and other visual presentation techniques
- Investment appraisal, budgeting, CVP analysis and cost benefit
- How to structure reports including use of appendix material
- How to match the language to differing audiences
- How to write coherent conclusions and recommendations
- How to write a Executive Summary that really does capture the important information
Your tutor
Your tutor Stewart Dickinson has more than 20 years experience in Management Development. Throughout his career time he has regularly offered short courses on a range of financial subject areas for both public and private sector clients.