Money Matters: Properly Understand the Numbers that Your CFO Talks About
Demystifying Finance Through Hands-On Business Simulation for Confident Managerial Decision-Making
This highly immersive 5-day programme transforms finance from an abstract concept into a practical management tool. Designed specifically for managers without formal financial training, Money Matters uses an interactive board-based business simulation where participants work in competing teams as the Board of Directors of a growing manufacturing and distribution company. Using physical counters to represent cash, shareholder funds, debt, assets, costs, revenues, tax, and retained earnings, every decision is mapped visibly in real time — with no spreadsheets, hidden calculations, or “black box” answers.
Across five progressive days, participants explore core trading decisions, cost control, pricing, working capital management, strategy, investment appraisal, and value creation. By physically building Profit & Loss statements, Balance Sheets, and cash flow models step-by-step, delegates develop a clear understanding of how business decisions affect financial performance, enabling them to confidently interpret the numbers discussed by senior leadership and CFOs.
Why this course is important
In many organisations, managers are expected to control budgets, justify investments, and deliver financial performance without fully understanding how financial results are generated. This course bridges that critical knowledge gap by connecting everyday operational decisions to measurable financial outcomes.
Through hands-on simulation, participants gain clarity on how profit differs from cash, how working capital affects liquidity, and how strategy influences value creation. The programme develops the financial awareness needed for effective board-level decision-making, stronger budget management, and more confident engagement with senior leadership. By understanding the financial drivers behind organisational success, professionals become better equipped to manage risk, create sustainable growth, and contribute directly to shareholder value.
Who should attend
This programme is ideal for:
- Operational managers, department heads, and country managers
- Technical managers with budget responsibility
- Government managers
- Business unit leaders and senior supervisors transitioning into management
- Professionals responsible for delivering performance without formal financial training
What you will learn
By the end of this intensive five-day experience, participants will be able to:
- Explain how Profit & Loss statements and Balance Sheets connect to real business decisions
- Understand the full money cycle from cash to value creation
- Distinguish between profit and cash and manage working capital effectively
- Control costs, analyse pricing decisions, and conduct break-even analysis
- Interpret and calculate key financial ratios and performance indicators
- Evaluate investment opportunities using Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- Understand liquidity risk, funding structures, and gearing decisions
- Link strategy, risk, and financial performance to organisational outcomes
- Conduct capital appraisal and make board-level investment decisions
- Manage financial performance for sustainable growth and shareholder value
- Interpret the financial language used by CFOs and senior executives
Participants also develop executive-level thinking through board presentations, financial strategy formulation, and personal action planning focused on improving organisational performance.










