Are you sitting comfortably with your cup of coffee and a biscuit? Because I’d like to tell you a little story about effective financial training.
Back when I worked as a Group Financial Controller at one of my favourite companies, I used to deliver the financial information at the monthly management team meetings as well as at our Board meetings. I always tried hard to provide the numbers for the people who liked the numbers, I told the story for the people who preferred to hear what the numbers meant in plain English and explained what decisions were being made as a result of this important financial information.
It dawned on me one day that it would really help if the management team understood the financials that little bit better. I knew it would then help everyone contribute more meaningfully to better decisions for the business. What I didn’t expect was just how much difference a training course would make. Wow!
I’d never put a training course together before. I worked hard on it, ensuring in particular that everything was explained as simply and easily as possible. I added plenty of fun games such as Hangman and Blankety Blank to embed knowledge throughout the session. I also advised there would be a quiz at the end to earn cpd points to ensure that all my colleagues paid close attention and didn’t just drift off!
The response was fantastic. A comment from one of the attendees was “I thought finance was boring but you’ve changed my mind”. So everyone was having fun at least! More importantly, however, was the impact this training course had on our business.
The management team now really understood how their activities and those of their team impacted on the bottom line (the company’s profits) and they could make immediate changes for the better. The entire team were able to contribute more meaningfully at the monthly team meetings, hence improved decision making. And the managers now really understood the importance of accurate processing by their staff and how it came through in the company results, thus improving the accuracy of and confidence in the information produced. Ultimately, this all resulted in better profits and bigger bonuses all round – an excellent result!
If this sounds like something you would like for your organisation, come and join me for one of my practical, interactive and, yes, fun one day training courses that are held around the UK. I can’t wait to meet your teams and help you achieve the kind of results I know will be delivered.
Like to know more about financial training? Simply call us on 01423 861122 or us at info@ripleytraining.co.uk for further information.
I look forward to welcoming you very soon.
Author: Mike Smith
