Financial literacy and management for communicators half-day online course

Overview

This half-day online course addresses one of the most consequential gaps in senior communications practice. Most practitioners cannot read a set of accounts. That is not unusual, it reflects how the function has historically been trained and recruited. But it has a cost. Practitioners who cannot engage with financial information are permanently downstream of the decisions that matter.

Drawing on real UK cases and evidence from practice, the programme builds the financial fluency senior communicators need to participate credibly in management conversations, read the signals that precede organisational risk, and make the case for communications investment in language that boards and CFOs actually use.

The course is designed for senior practitioners who are under pressure to demonstrate strategic value, defend budgets with confidence, and engage with finance and executive leadership on equal terms.

Who should attend

The course is designed to help practitioners build the financial literacy that management credibility requires. This includes:

  • Senior in-house communications leaders managing budgets and reporting to boards

  • Agency leaders and senior consultants advising clients on financial communications

  • Independent practitioners seeking to strengthen their management advisory capability

  • Practitioners preparing for director or C-suite roles

  • Any practitioner who has felt out of their depth in a financial conversation and wants to change that

It is not suitable for early-career practitioners; anyone seeking introductory communications skills training; or practitioners looking for technical accountancy instruction.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Read and interpret a profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement at the level required for management conversations

  • Identify the financial signals that precede reputational and communications risk

  • Manage and defend a communications budget using financial logic rather than output metrics

  • Build a business case for communications investment in terms that finance directors and boards recognise

  • Contribute to financial communications, including results announcements, profit warnings and restructuring

  • Complete a one-page financial intelligence brief for their own organisation

Topics covered

  • Reading a profit and loss account as a management intelligence tool

  • Balance sheet structure, intangible assets and the value of reputation

  • Cash flow and the signals that precede financial and reputational distress

  • The cost-centre problem and how to reframe communications as a value driver

  • Building the business case for communications investment

  • Practical budget management: construction, defence, variance and procurement

  • Financial communications: results announcements, profit warnings and annual report narratives

Programme structure and timings

  • Opening session: Why financial literacy is a management credibility problem

  • Module 1: Reading the numbers - P&L, balance sheet and cash flow

  • Module 2: Budget management and the business case for communications

  • Module 3: Financial performance and stakeholder narrative

What participants will leave with

  • Confidence to read a P&L and balance sheet as management intelligence tools

  • A vocabulary for financial conversations at board and executive level

  • A structure for building and defending a communications budget using financial logic

  • A completed one-page financial intelligence brief for their own organisation

  • A certificate of completion for CPD records and internal reporting

Learning design and delivery

The course is delivered entirely online to make it as accessible as possible for senior practitioners across the UK and internationally.

The programme combines instructor-led teaching, structured group discussion and practical application throughout the morning. Sessions are designed to be interactive, drawing on the experience of participants as much as the curriculum itself. Cohorts are kept to a maximum of eight participants to ensure depth of discussion and direct engagement with the tutor.

Participants receive a course workbook containing frameworks, case material and templates for use before, during and after the session.

Course tutor

Stephen Waddington is a professional advisor at Wadds Inc. and PhD researcher at Leeds Business School who supports agencies and in-house teams on a range of management, corporate communications and public relations issues.

His agency career includes leadership roles at Metia, Ketchum, Rainier PR and Speed. He has worked for clients including The Economist, HM Government, Intel, Microsoft, The Press Association, NHS, Tesco and Virgin Media Business.

Stephen is a former President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). He co-founded Socially Mobile, a social enterprise that supports public relations practitioners in increasing their earning potential. It delivers management training to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and underrepresented and underserved groups.

He has written or edited more than 50 publications on public relations and management, including Brand Anarchy, Chartered Public Relations, Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication, and Share This.

Delegate feedback

“Great course, highly recommended. Clear practical instruction, relevant and important topics, lively discussion and some immediately useful actions. A day well spent.”

Lisa Lee, Executive Director of Brand, Campaigns and Communications, WWF-UK

“This course synthesises much of the noise currently surrounding corporate communications into a logical framework that anyone serious about strategic leadership in communications should take seriously. It has completely transformed how I think about my role as a senior comms leader and the way I should be presenting myself and my function. Add to that an engaging cohort and an excellent leader and it was a great day.”

Clare Monks, Chief Communications Officer, The National Lottery Community Fund

“Public relations is responsive, fast-paced and arduous at times. Time to reflect, learn and challenge your approach is rare. This session was invaluable, blending theory with practical frameworks, along with an outstanding group of senior comms people who shared their experiences.”

Jo Wilmot, PR Director, The Think Tank

“This course brought together the big topics facing our industry in a structured and thought-provoking way. It's given me the confidence and practical tools to tackle these issues, turning potential challenges into opportunities. I'd recommend it to any senior practitioner contemplating where public relations sits in an increasingly fragmented landscape.”

Jane Whitham, Director, Altitude PR

Terms and conditions

Maximum of eight participants per course

Full payment required on booking

Places are non-refundable and non-transferable upon booking

Timing and available dates

930am - 1pm. Please register your interest and join the waitlist by completing this form. We’ll be in touch with dates and availability.

Course cost and booking

The course cost is £495+VAT. You can book directly via our online store once dates and availability is announced or email us and we'll invoice you.

Any questions?

Please contract us if you have any questions or require further information.