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Essentials in Finance

Explore key finance concepts and learn to apply them

#1

FT ranked logo colour

in Open Executive Education in Belgium and #27 worldwide

508

former participants

4.3/5

for Learning Impact

Financial understanding and planning can make or break a business. So it’s vital you know how to read and understand your company’s numbers yourself – even if you work in a function like marketing, legal or HR.

This 100% online, self-paced programme explores key financial concepts over four modules. You dive into the numbers with a learning simulation – and get the knowledge you need to make informed business decisions.

Detailed programme

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This programme is divided into eight modules, each focusing on a different aspect of financial management.  

Module 1: Finance and accounting simulation  

  • Discover how traditional business activities, financial transactions and financial statements relate to each other 
  • Understand cash flow statements, profit-and-loss accounts and balance sheets 
  • Learn how to calculate a number of key ratios 

Module 2 - 4: Financial statements

  • The balance sheet
  • The income statement
  • The cash flow statement

Module 5: What financial statements reveal

  • Learn how to asses a company’s liquidity, profitability and solvency

Module 6: Working capital management

  • Explore how managing working capital keeps organisations running smoothly

Module 7: Working capital optimisation

  • Learn how to optimise a company's cash position through managing inventory levels and accounts receivable and payable

Module 8: Wrap-up

  • Evaluate what you've learned throughout the programme
  • Plan how you will use your new knowledge and skills starting today

This online journey brings together learning formats including videos, simulations, exercises, quizzes, case studies and real-life examples. You’ll also have background reading to do and questions to help you reflect on your own experience. 
 
In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to put theory into practice and become confident at making financial decisions. By the end of the programme, you’ll be ready to leap into finance discussions and projects in your organisation. 
 
You can start Essentials in Finance at any time – and study wherever and whenever suits you. It takes around 10 to 12 hours to complete the programme and you can split this time over a maximum of three months.  

Why this programme

On this programme, you’ll live and learn key financial concepts – such as balance sheets, profit-and-loss accounts and cashflow statements – through hands-on examples and a simulation game. And you’ll gain the knowledge to make sound business decisions so you can leap confidently into discussions with colleagues.

Who should attend

  • Professionals who don’t have a background in finance 
  • Professionals who want to boost their knowledge of finance fundamentals 
  • Professionals who want to become more confident at having business discussions  
  • Are you striving not only to grow personally, but to develop the same mindset and language with the entire team? Contact onlineacademy@vlerick.com to register a group.

In previous editions, we had the pleasure of welcoming participants from companies like:

Axa logo
Silverfin logo
spotit logo
Umicore logo

Faculty

Wouter De Maeseneire

Wouter De Maeseneire

Professor of Corporate Finance

Wouter De Maeseneire is passionate about explaining financial management principles by linking finance to business models and strategies.

Mathieu Luypaert

Mathieu Luypaert

Professor of Corporate Finance

Mathieu Luypaert explains how insights into financial figures and decisions can lead to value creation.

Get in touch!