Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
One of the most common criticisms of non-finance managers, executives, and directors is that they have difficulty understanding financial performance from the analysis provided. Often variance analysis is overwhelming, confusing, lacking in precision, begging more questions than it answers with superficial explanations. In this course, you will take a deep dive into how you can do variance analysis better. In the process, you will add significant value to management decision making.
Using an audience centric view, you will learn best practices using examples and case studies to improve traditional variance analysis using numbers and descriptive explanations. You will also learn to make variance analysis through charts, graphs and images. Finally, you will explore different structures that help facilitate a conversation about organizational performance. This is impactful course whether you preparing the analysis, reviewing it as a leader, or presenting it to your audience. Honing this skill elevates executive presence and the level of influence and persuasiveness of any financial professional.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Adopt an audience-centric mindset when preparing and presenting variance analysis.
- Apply best practices to variance analysis to elevate clarity and concision.
- Incorporate a visual sense to variances using charts, graphs, and images.
- Structure the analysis to facilitate a conversation about the actions management should take to address variances.
Who Will Benefit
Variance analysis is most often prepared by controllers and FP&A analysts and then circulated by finance executives to managers, executive, and directors. Even auditors prepare variance analysis to perform analytical review procedures. Whether you are a preparer, reviewer, or user of variance analysis, this course is for you.
How to Access the Course
This course is a live webinar. You must attend the live course to receive verifiable CPD hours. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. To get the full experience of this interactive course, use a computer that has video and microphone capabilities.
Electronic material can be accessed one week prior to the course and should be downloaded in advance.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Blair Cook, CPA, CA CPA (Ill) MBA, is a seven-time CFO, a director of multiple companies and organizations, and a thought leader in all matters of the Office of the CFO. Blair is the co-founder of Executive Finance Partners, a global professional development and executive coaching firm. He serves as a corporate director and audit committee chairman of publicly listed companies: Terravest Industries and Clarke Inc. He is also the Board Treasurer of the Devour Food & Film Festival. Blair is the author of The Illiterate Executive: An Executive’s Handbook for Mastering Financial Acumen.