Course summary
This course is part of the Westminster Executive Education Programme.
This five-day course equips you with the skills to connect finance to strategic decision-making. You will learn how financial drivers influence performance, how to interpret financial information with confidence, and how to use financial insight to support value creation and organisational resilience.
Through practical workshops, case studies and peer learning, the programme focuses on real-world financial challenges. You will explore how finance shapes strategy, evaluate business performance and strengthen your ability to communicate financial decisions at senior levels. By the end of the course, you will be ready to lead with clarity and drive stronger financial outcomes for your organisation.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their strategic financial skills, whether you work in finance, operations, project management, consulting or general leadership roles. It is ideal if you need to interpret financial information, support strategic decisions or contribute more confidently to organisational performance.
Participants will:
- Understand how strategic decisions translate into financial results and organisational value.
- Learn to assess performance, build forecasts and apply financial tools that support better decision-making.
- Develop the confidence to communicate financial insights clearly and influence key stakeholders.
Employers will benefit because their employees will be able to:
- Connect finance with strategy and daily operations.
- Contribute more effectively to leadership discussions and planning.
- Support responsible, value-driven financial decision-making across the organisation.
Course structure
Each day combines lectures, case studies, workshops, and peer discussions, with occasional site visits or guest speakers from senior roles.
The short course covers five consecutive days, with the following content:
Foundations of Strategic Financial Leaders
- Identifying the strategic drivers of financial performance
- Understanding how strategic decisions affect financial outcomes
- Linking accounting insights with organisational strategy
- Evaluating the financial implications of business models
Financial Performance and Strategy Execution
- Assessing performance through financial statement analysis
- Using ratio analysis and benchmarking to evaluate results
- Identifying performance gaps and execution risks
- Interpreting financial trends to inform strategic decisions
Forecasting and Scenario Planning (Two topics only due to site visit)
- Building financial forecasts to support strategy
- Scenario modelling and stress-testing for decision-making
Value Creation, Valuation and M&A
- Understanding the drivers of long-term value creation
- Core methods of enterprise valuation
- Analysing mergers, acquisitions and strategic investments
- Applying transformational finance tools to real-world cases
Financial Leadership and Strategic Communication
- Communicating financial information with clarity and influence
- Leading the implementation of financial strategy
- Developing your personal action plan for financial leadership
Discounts and offers
Groups
If you are booking as a group or institution, please contact us before you book as you may be able to benefit from our 15% group or corporate discounts.
Returning short course delegates
We offer a 10% discount to returning short course delegates. If you’re not booking your first short course or professional qualification with us and this discount is not applied to your course at checkout, please contact us.
UoW undergraduate/postgraduate students, alumni and colleagues
We also offer a 20% discount to our undergraduate and postgraduate students, alumni, and colleagues. To receive your discount code, please contact us before booking your course.
Deadline for course bookings
Limited places available. Booking closes 14 days before the course start date or once all places are filled.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Evaluate how strategic decisions affect financial performance and interpret key financial metrics in a leadership context.
- Apply advanced financial tools - ratio analysis, forecasting, valuation and scenario modelling - to support strategic decisions and drive value.
- Integrate financial insight into strategic planning, investment appraisal, M&A evaluation and transformation initiatives.
- Lead financial conversations with confidence and engage effectively with investors, boards and senior leadership.
- Develop a clear personal action plan to strengthen your impact as a strategic financial leader.
Why Choose This Course?
- Builds your capability to use finance as a strategic leadership tool, not just a reporting function.
- Designed for leaders across disciplines—not only finance specialists.
- Integrates theory, practical frameworks and real-world case studies.
- Strengthens your ability to engage confidently with senior stakeholders on financial strategy.
- Offers valuable networking opportunities with peers across sectors nationally and internationally.
- Delivered in central London within a state-of-the-art executive learning environment.
Booking information
Thank you for your interest in this new course. Bookings will open soon - fill in our enquiry form to be the first to know when bookings open. If you have questions about the course in the meantime, please contact us via the details at the bottom of this page.
Westminster Executive Education Programme
This course is part of the Westminster Executive Education Programme.
The Executive Education Programme is an empowering experience designed to boost skills and career prospects. Attendees can choose from four specialised courses, Digital Marketing Strategy, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Financial Leadership, and Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, each taught by experienced academics and practitioners. You will have opportunities for networking and site visit events.
Find out more on the Westminster Executive Education Programme page.