• New or aspiring directors unsure about the financial aspects of their role.
• Senior executives reporting directly to a board who wish to improve their ability to monitor and analyse company performance.
• Directors of smaller companies, especially private and not-for-profit companies and community organisations.

This course may be undertaken in conjunction with other courses in the Foundations of Directorship program or as a stand-alone education offering.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Interpret the financial statements of an organisation.
• Illustrate how an organisation is meeting its statutory obligations in relation to reporting its financial performance.
• Demonstrate the importance of good cash management.
• Outline directors’ duties with regard to financial statements and systems.
• Interpret financial performance using trends and ratios.
• Demonstrate when an organisation is facing solvency issues.
• Outline the board’s role in setting budgets and monitoring performance against them.
• Outline the use of KPIs in monitoring business performance.

Introduction to Financial Statements for Directors provides a straightforward introduction to financial statements from the director’s perspective. Participants will explore the three key financial statements: the balance sheet, income (profit and loss) statement and the cash flow statement; and discover how directors use these to monitor financial performance. The session also examines the financial aspects of directors’ statutory duties.

Assessing Financial Performance for Directors helps participants to assess company performance at the board level. It introduces key financial data and demonstrates how directors can use it. The session also covers non-financial indicators of company performance.

There is approximately 6-10 hours of pre-reading required before the course takes place.