From Finance Expert to Trusted Business Advisor
Development program for senior finance professionals who want to influence decisions, develop their executive presence and leadership, and prepare themselves for C Suite leadership roles
Who This Is For
This program is suited to top talent finance individuals who are in or aspire to be:
- CFOs and Finance Directors
- Heads of Finance
- Finance Managers moving into leadership roles
- High potential finance professionals preparing for senior positions
It is not designed as entry level accounting training.
Move From Technical Expert to Business Leader
Most senior finance professionals reach a point where technical capability is no longer the limiting factor in their career. They understand reporting, forecasting and analysis. They manage teams and deliver accurate information. Yet influence at executive level can still be inconsistent.
> Important decisions happen quickly.
> Operational leaders act on instinct.
> Meetings move fast and finance input is not always shaping the outcome.
At senior levels, progression is no longer determined by accounting expertise. It depends on judgement, communication and the ability to guide business decisions.
Our development programs are designed to help finance professionals operate confidently as part of the leadership team.
Why This Becomes Important
As finance professionals move into senior roles, their responsibilities change.
You are no longer only responsible for producing information. You are expected to:
Advise leaders with incomplete information
influence decisions without direct authority
critically think about proposals contructively
balance commercial opportunity with risk
communicate clearly to non finance executives
Deal confidently with ambiguity and complexity
Many finance leaders discover that technical knowledge alone does not prepare them for this part of the role. This program focuses specifically on that transition.
A Practical Development Path
The FBP Kickstart Program (On Demand)
The first stage introduces the practical framework, tools and techniques of Finance Business Partnering.
This is not a technical course. It explains:
- how business leaders actually make decisions
- why finance influence is often limited
- how relationships affect financial outcomes
- how to present insight so it leads to action
The program is self-paced and provides the language and structure that underpin the rest of the development pathway.
It is particularly useful for finance professionals who want a clear starting point or prefer to first understand the approach before committing to deeper development.
The Leaders Lab
The Leaders Lab is our core development program for high performing individuals.
It is designed for senior finance professionals and high potential leaders who want to operate more effectively at executive level.
This is not a traditional training course. It combines group workshops and individual coaching across the year, allowing you to apply the concepts directly to your real workplace situations.
Participants work on:
- influencing senior stakeholders
- handling disagreement in leadership discussions
- communicating recommendations clearly
- building trust with operational leaders
- strengthening commercial judgement
You bring current challenges into the sessions and work through them in a structured environment.
The focus is on how you operate day to day, not theory.
Plus every second month we interview a CFO live in the session where they talk through their career, the speedhumps they had to navigate and how they worked their way to the top.
All of these group sessions are recorded and captured in our exclusive online portal. They can be viewed any time including the back catalogue of sessions recorded before you even joined the program. Thousands of dollars in value in that alone.
Communication
Profiling
We will profile you using the world renowed Insights Discovery ® tool. Identify what sort of communication style you use.
From there we show you how to adapt to your colleagues who may have a preference for other styles. This will dramatically improve the way you interact with leaders in all functions.
360
Assessment
We will also have you leaders, peers and team assess you on the 12 Leadership Behaviours of Human Synergistics Life Stye Inventory (LSI) tool.
Be prepared to dig deep into why you behave the way you do, and work on ways to dial up and down those behaviours that are effective and those that are not.
AI as a Support
Tool
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly part of modern finance work. Within the program, AI tools such as ChatGPT are used as practical support.
Participants see how they can assist with structuring ideas, preparing for meetings and clarifying communication. The emphasis is not automation. It is helping finance leaders apply judgement more effectively and efficiently.
What Makes This
Different
How the Programs
Work Together
Many participants begin with the foundation course (or have completed the FBP Accelerator) and then continue into The Leaders Lab, where they get ongoing guidance and accountability
Start With a Conversation
The best starting point is a short discussion with Andrew.
You can explain your current role and challenges, and he will recommend whether to begin with the foundation program or move directly into the Leaders Lab.