Financial Acuity Certificate

The Financial Acuity Certificate program is designed to empower non-finance professionals with the essential financial knowledge and skills needed to understand, analyze, and contribute effectively to decision-making processes that inherently must rely on financial data. Participants will learn to demystify financial jargon, interpret key financial statements, and grasp fundamental financial concepts to enhance their capacity to drive innovation and change.

This program will provide an overview of financial statements from a practical business leader's perspective, not an accounting standpoint. The sessions will be spent understanding the relationship between financial statements and how they relate to cash flow, resource allocation, and decision-making. Like it or not, every decision an organization makes goes through the financial statements. The more leaders understand how this works, the better they can use this knowledge to impact the organization's mission positively.

Core Curriculum

Participants will learn to:

• Clearly articulate how they add value to financial performance with their contributions, regardless of where they sit in the organizational structure, and find possible solutions to current challenges
• Forecast revenue and project costs, allocate resources effectively, and set performance metrics to determine and support strategic objectives.
• Use break-even analysis to make better-informed decisions, help manage costs, and tell the team's story to others using numbers and data

Live Online Certificate Experience

Our virtual learning experiences are highly interactive and engaging, with an emphasis on actionable insights and cutting-edge learning methodologies. Accessible from anywhere, each session focuses on a key learning objective and offers immediately applicable insights and practical takeaways. 

Program Dates and Times

Tuesdays April 8, 15, 22, and 29; 1-4 p.m. Eastern Time

What to expect

• Four days of interactive virtual classroom sessions with expert faculty and thought leaders.
• Full access to the dedicated course platform with pre-work, session materials, and discussion boards. 
• Resources on the learning platform to set goals and apply each day’s learning objectives to your specific challenges.
• Dedicated time to connect with peers and colleagues to build your network of fellow leaders.

Attendance at the virtual learning session is required to gain the maximum benefit from the program and to earn the certificate of completion. Live online program sessions are not recorded. Smith College Executive Education offers non-degree programs only. 

Who attends

Participants who gain the most benefit from this program are aspiring, emerging, or mid-career people leaders, managers, and individual contributors working in non-finance roles but still rely on financial measures to drive strategy and innovation.  

Experience level

0-10 years of professional experience

Common titles and roles of Financial Acuity Certificate participants:

• Assistant or associate director
• Program manager
• Team leader or contributor
• Project manager

In fields including but not limited to:

• HR 
• IT
• Marketing
• Creative

Accessibility

Programs are delivered in English, and participation requires proficiency in spoken and written English. For other accommodations, please email our program team to support your participation.