Creating Finance Teams That Shape Decisions, Not Just Deliver Data
Finance Business Partnering Training for Teams
Many organisations have capable finance teams that produce accurate reporting and sound analysis. Despite this, important decisions are often made without finance involvement until late in the process.
Projects are approved before a financial review occurs. Operational teams move forward and finance reviews the outcome afterwards.
This is rarely a technical capability issue. Most finance teams understand the numbers very well. The challenge is how finance interacts with the business and how its expertise is communicated and used.
The Finance Business Partner Accelerator is designed to address this gap and help finance teams contribute more effectively to decision making across the organisation.
The Finance Business Partner Accelerator
The program is delivered directly by Andrew Jepson and is designed for finance teams across all roles and all levels of experience.
Rather than teaching technical accounting concepts, or how to build excel spreadsheets the modules address how finance professionals operate within the organisation. Sessions are practical and based on real workplace situations. Participants apply techniques immediately within meetings, planning discussions and stakeholder conversations.
The intention is not to change reporting processes.
It is to change how finance contributes to decisions.
What the Modules Cover
Leveraging the QUIET approach to Finance Business Partnering Framework, the program is delivered through a series of 2 hour facilitated modules . Each module focuses on the 5 practical areas finance professionals need to excel at to be a great finance business partner.
Participants are not taught finance & accounting concepts. They are taught how to apply their existing financial knowledge more effectively within the organisation.
Q
Q for Quality
The quality of the data and information at your disposal determines how effective you will be. But it must be balanced and can not be done at the expense of speed.
Participants learn to:
- Move themselves from a world of data and reporting to a world of insights, solutions and getting action
- Manage their time more effectively to work on the things that matter
- Develop methods to ensure they have credibility with the rest of the organisation and gain the confidence to operate in the commercial space
U
U for Understanding
A great finance business partner deeply understands the commercial operations of the organisation, their role in it and how the people in it operate.
Participants learn to:
- Develop techniques to increase their commercial acumen within the organisation
- Practice using different communication styles and adapt to their audience
- Understand how their behaviour influences how others perceive finance
I
I for Insights
Providing insights to the organisation, storytelling and strong presentaiton skills helps a finance business partner communicate their perspective effectively.
Participants learn to:
- Convert data into clear business insights that are actionable
- Crafting compelling and emotionally appealing storytelling and narrative
- Present with confidence in any situation whether they enjoy it or not.
E
E for Ethos
Apply a mindset and approach to work that differs from the traditional finance professional and centres on customer service principles.
Participants learn to:
- Improve communication through persuasive techniques and develop executive presence within their organisation
- Develop curiosity and questioning techniques that allow information to flow naturally
- Operate in a world of complexity and ambiguity and move away from a yes/no mindset
T
T for Trust bit
Strong relationships is where influence begins, especially when you don’t have formal authority. Strong relationships help conversations move faster, ideas land more easily, and collaboration happen with less friction.
Participants learn to:
- Develop strong relationships that help build trust and influence internally
- Identify a process for influencing stakeholders when you don’t have authority
- Navigate conflict, manage objections and challenge without being abrasive.
What Participants Say
“The modules were a genuine mindset shift. I learned how to influence discussions, support the business with actionable insights and deliver financial presentations that lead to action. The program was highly practical and provided tools I was able to apply immediately in my workplace.”
Mohammed El Rouby
CFO, Pharmaceuticals Industry
Elissa Green
Finance Business Partner, Energy Industry
“Once the robots arrive the only thing left will be business partnering”
When Organisations Typically Contact Us
finance joins discussions late in projects or planning
operational leaders do not actively seek finance input
reports are produced but actions do not follow
finance professionals hesitate to challenge decisions and are reactive rather than proactive
finance is viewed primarily as reporting or compliance
The program focuses on improving how finance communicates, collaborates and participates in business discussions so financial insight is actually used.
What Organisations Notice
After implementation, organisations commonly report:
- earlier involvement of finance in planning and projects
- more productive management discussions
- operational teams proactively seeking finance input
- clearer presentation of financial information
- increased confidence and engagement within the finance team
The change is behavioural rather than technical. Finance becomes more integrated into how the organisation operates.
Who the Program Is For
This program is suitable for:
- CFOs and Finance Directors developing their teams
- FP&A and commercial finance functions
- Finance Managers, Controllers and Analysts (even internal audit and AR/AP) who work or aspire to work more closely with non finance colleagues
- Organisations building a more commercially focused finance capability
- Finance teams transitioning beyond reporting roles
- Finance teams who have begun leveraging AI but are still not seeing the impact of their work across the organisation
It is not technical accounting training and does not focus on systems or software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the training in person or virtual?
What level of finance staff can attend?
How do we know if this is suitable?
How do you deliver the programs?
Programs are tailored to the organisation but typically run over several months with modules spaced apart. This allows participants to apply concepts between sessions and discuss real experiences in later modules.
Between sessions, participants apply the techniques in their day to day roles. Later modules review what worked, what did not and how to adjust the approach. This creates sustainable improvement rather than a short term training effect.
Full program structure and options are discussed during an introductory conversation.
Do you teach us how to use AI to make this easier?
Yes. AI is incorporated into the modules as a practical support tool.
We do not run a separate technology course or teach coding. Instead, we show participants how tools such as ChatGPT can assist with applying the techniques covered in the program. This includes structuring ideas, preparing for meetings, clarifying financial explanations and developing recommendations.
During sessions we demonstrate real examples, provide example prompts and allow them to practise using the tools themselves. The aim is to help finance professionals become comfortable using AI in their day to day work so it supports their judgement rather than replaces it.
AI does not make the decisions.
It helps finance professionals communicate and act on their expertise more effectively.
Do your programs include self paced video lessons
Yes all of our programs gain access to the FBP Kickstart program, which includes 6 hours of video lessons on the tools and techniques we focus on. If you run our programs virtually we also provide detailed notes and recordings of the actual modules which your team can view any time
Does this program qualify for CPD from the professional accounting bodies
Yes all of our programs are claimable as CPD hours under the main global accounting bodies (CPA Australia, CAANZ, AICPA, CIMA, ICAEW, etc). We will happily provide you with a certificate to claim these hours.
How do we ensure the learnings are applied by our team members once the training concludes?
We have been running these programs for several years now. The tools and techniques taught are designed to be applied the minute the delegates leave the modules. Any challenges they face doing that we can then address in the next modules
In saying that research shows that 86% of what we teach will be forgotten within a month of the program concluding. To combat this we provide a full transition, handover and embedding session with senior finance leaders to ensure ongoing benefit.
We guarantee our programs work for 100% of the people, who do 100% of the work, 100% of the time. This embedding session is critically to ensure this happens once we step away and handover to you.