Develop your understanding of financial principles.
For business leaders, managers and executives to drive organisational success, they must have a robust financial understanding. Finance is a crucial component that helps professionals understand how an organisation operates. This requires a commercially minded approach to participate in financial discussions and decision-making.
The Introduction to Financial Management online course is designed for you to develop a clearer understanding of the financial management principles within business. You’ll explore different legal forms a business can take, how this affects the way business is managed, gain an understanding of how the financial market functions to enable businesses to access finance, and enhance your skills to evaluate the financial performance and important decisions within a business.
Programme information
- DurationApproximately 20-24 hours of study, plus reflection activities
- LocationOnline
- Cost£950
Module dates
Modules 1 and 2
Immediate online access to self-paced learning.
Module 3
Next live online sessions: 22 October and 29 October 2025 (12:00 - 17:00)
Please note: both Module 3 dates must be attended. Bookings will automatically be enrolled on the next available live online session. The option to change to a later date is available after booking is completed.
Concessions available
Cranfield alumni can claim a 20% discount via .
Who is this for?
All non-financial executives who have an interest in the financial management and wish to understand the role this has in business.
Programme impacts
- Clarity of the different legal forms of organisations and issues arising from ownership-management separation in companies.
- Enhanced ability to critically assess the objectives of financial management in an organisation and recognise the role of financial manager.
- Advanced insights into the role of financial markets and how companies operate within the financial markets.
- Improved knowledge to evaluate and interpret key financial statements of a company.
- A set of comprehensive financial ratios to effectively analyse a company’s efficiency, liquidity, and profitability.
- Developed understanding of time value of money concepts for personal and corporate financial decisions.
Programme structure
This course includes 3 modules:
- Modules 1 and 2 are online and self-paced, so you choose where and when you learn.
- Module 3 is live online with peers and Cranfield faculty to embed your knowledge and learnings.
What you'll learn
Module one – How the legal form of business affects their financial management
Online self-paced learning (estimated four hours – plus reflection activities)
Enhance your understanding of the purpose and importance of financial management for a business, the different legal forms a business can take and how this affects the way business is managed.
- Explanations into the different financing options for businesses.
- Deeper knowledge into how the financial market functions to enable businesses to access finance.
- Clearer understanding of the role of a financial manager and objectives for financial management.
- Discover types of capital and financial instruments.
- Gain a clearer picture of the financial markets and organisations within them.
Module two – Gaining business insight from three key financial statements
Online self-paced learning (estimated six hours – plus reflection activities)
Discover the three key financial statements for business and acquire the knowledge and techniques to evaluate the financial performance and health of a business,
- Gain the latest insights and tools to effectively use financial information to assess a company's strengths and weaknesses.
- Explore how to evaluate the business operations efficiency using financial ratios.
- Gain the tools to evaluate the profitability and financial health using financial ratios.
- Enhanced understanding of the concept of the time value of money and the skills to analyse important financial decisions.
Module three – The role of transparency and time in decision making
Live online (two half days, five hours each – plus reflection activities)
To embed and enhance your learning from the two online modules, you’ll join peers and our expert faculty in a live online environment to advance your understanding of financial management.
- Insights into the role of financial markets and institutions in relation to the working of companies.
- Explore, compile and interpret a company’s financial statements.
- Discover how to evaluate the financial performance of a company.
- Develop an appreciation of the importance of ‘time value of money’ (TVM) principles to financial decision making.
Digital Badges and Certificate
On completion of each module, you will be issued with a digital badge that can be displayed on your professional profiles, serving as compelling evidence of your expertise and commitment to staying at the forefront of business and management knowledge.
On successful submission of the final assignment you will receive a certificate of achievement.
Programme Director
How to apply
Next steps
Our team of executive development experts will be happy to talk to you about your development needs, please email us or call +44 (0)1234 754500.