Overview

As finance professionals an important part of our role is extracting, monitoring and interpreting financial information to support decision making and monitor spending.

Financial information can be complex, containing both judgement and jargon.

We need to ‘make the numbers talk’. We need to translate complex information so non-accountants understand what they are looking at and why they should care.

We can meet resistance when discussing financial information. Others might perceive us as only interested in cutting costs or not understanding the operational side of the organisation. Others might see finance as a necessary evil at best or a complete waste of time at worst. Our challenge is to get those people interested.
 

Key Features

  • How can I translate financial information so that it can be used effectively by non-accountants?
  • What barriers exist to communicating financial information effectively?
  • Which skills and behaviours can help overcome these barriers and how do I develop them?

This event was recorded on 10 September 2024

Spearkers

Helen Kerrigan 

Helen is a director of Future Finance Training Ltd. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in 2001. During her time at KPMG, she audited clients in the retail sector, worked as a forensic accountant on an international project and enjoyed a secondment to Walmart’s commercial finance team, where she focused on budgeting and analysis. On secondment to KPMG’s learning and development team Helen discovered a love of training and had the opportunity to develop her expertise in this area.

Helen designs and delivers training materials for AICPA, ACCA, AAT, CIMA and ICAEW focussing on financial reporting and audit and assurance. She also delivers ‘finance for non-financial managers’ training to major commercial banks and other clients in industry. Recently Helen has been delivering Strategic Business Reporting, Advanced Audit and Assurance train the trainer programmes globally for ACCA.

Helen designs and delivers technical update for accountants working in practice. Recently she has worked with Gateley plc, ACCA, NHS, Centrica, Adidas and Jaguar Land Rover. Most recently for IFRS CPD sessions Helen has been focussing on the exciting topics of revenue recognition, lease accounting and financial instruments.

Kay Thompson-Barker

Kay is a highly respected People and Culture Consultant, who has designed and delivered Executive, Leadership, Talent and Management Development Programmes for many organisations. A member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the British Psychological Society, she has extensive experience in leadership, performance and career coaching, and is a qualified psychometric test use.