Turn financial information into business impact.
Financial information shapes nearly every strategic and operational decision, but many professionals aren’t fully confident in their ability to interpret what the numbers actually mean for performance, risk, and future direction.
This interactive, applied program helps leaders build real fluency in financial information. Rather than just reading financial statements, participants learn to uncover the business story behind the numbers. The focus is on interpretation and insight, not technical accounting or prescriptive decision-making.
Through real-world examples and hands-on exercises, the experience emphasizes practical application, strategic thinking, and confident communication. By the end of the program, participants will be equipped to use financial information as a tool for insight, enabling better decisions, stronger conversations, and a clearer understanding of how the business performs and grows.
Key Takeaways
- Enhance fluency in financial information regardless of organizational role to drive better decision-making.
- Build interpretation skills to assess financial statements from an organizational performance and business strategy perspective.
- Enhance the ability to connect key financial metrics to operational decisions by understanding how financial decisions are impacted.
- Learn how to identify and evaluate key performance drivers.
Communicate financial insights clearly by explaining why they matter and linking them to future outcomes.
Who Should Attend
This program is designed for experienced professionals for executives and senior leaders across sectors who want to:
- Strengthen their ability to interpret financial information and translate it into strategic, operational, and organizational impact.
- Engage with financial results regularly and seek sharper insight, stronger judgment, and greater confidence in financially informed conversations.
Sample Schedule
While subject to change, the following schedule gives participants an idea of what to expect in this two day program.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE “WHY” (SESSION I)
This session focuses on understanding how financial statements reflect underlying business performance. Participants will learn how financial statements identify key trends, strengths, and areas
requiring attention. Emphasis is placed on developing confidence in interpreting what the numbers reveal about the organization.
Lunch Break
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE “WHY” (SESSION II)
Building on the foundation of Session I, this session centers on translating financial results into a clear and compelling business narrative. Participants will link financial results to the strategic and operational choices that drive them, enhancing the ability to identify insights effectively and support informed decision-making across the organization.
BEYOND THE DATA (SESSION I)
This session introduces variance analysis as a tool for understanding what is driving financial performance. Participants will learn how to look beyond headline results to identify key performance drivers and areas of development or concern. The emphasis is on generating practical insights that support more informed decision-making.
BEYOND THE DATA (SESSION II)
This session builds on variance analysis by examining how financial outcomes shift under changing assumptions. Participants will explore how stress-testing and sensitivity analysis can reveal risk
exposure and strengthen strategic planning. Emphasis is also placed on communicating financial findings clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, ensuring insights translate into informed action.
APPLIED CASE ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE WHY (SESSION I)
In this applied case session, participants will work in peer teams, with guidance from faculty, to analyze financial results and assess organizational performance. Through structured discussion and facilitated feedback, teams will connect financial outcomes to operational drivers and strategic choices, strengthening their ability to interpret results in context and identify meaningful insights.
Lunch Break
APPLIED CASE ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE WHY (SESSION II)
Building on the analytical foundation of Session I, participants will continue working in peer teams, supported by faculty guidance, to develop a concise, insight-driven performance summary under
time constraints. The session culminates in a forward-looking recommendation supported by clear and consistent financial evidence, reinforcing participants’ ability to translate analysis into actionable guidance.
Meet Your Instructor
Over the past two decades, David Becher has partnered with organizations across the financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, packaged food, utility, and chemical industries through his consulting and executive education engagements, including program content for Carnegie Mellon University Tepper Executive Education. His work brings an evidence-based perspective to complex challenges and empowers executives to make more informed strategic and financial decisions.
His specializations include mergers, governance, and banking/deregulation. He has been cited in numerous publications, provided media interviews, and awarded two University-wide honors and numerous recognitions for teaching and research.
David is the Dean’s Industry Fellow and Professor of Finance at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. In addition to leading the Howley Finance Academy as Executive Director, he is a Fellow of the Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute and the Wharton Financial Institutions Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
He received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University and his BA from William & Mary. Prior to his time in academia, he worked for PNC Bank and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.