Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels with five or more years of experience in corporate or divisional roles who seek a deeper understanding of finance and accounting.
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels with five or more years of experience in corporate or divisional roles who seek a deeper understanding of finance and accounting.
Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive
Requirements
This program is suitable for attendees at all executive levels with five or more years of experience in corporate or divisional roles who seek a deeper understanding of finance and accounting.
Overview
In five days of hands-on, interactive sessions, Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive provides you with a unique opportunity to deepen your expertise of finance and accounting for better management and decision-making capabilities.
The program features sessions on the role of accounting, key concepts of managerial and financial accounting, ratio calculation, forecasting and valuation, and shareholder value management.
At the end of the program, you will have mastered key finance and accounting concepts and understand the relationships among profitability, cash flow, liquidity, solvency, and growth, and identify the red flags in financial statements – highly important in the current volatile financial context.
For a complete program schedule download the agenda.
Are You Ready to Take the Next Step?
Do you already have a solid understanding of financial statements, revenue and expense recognition, and asset and liability measurement but are looking for tools to evaluate the financial consequences of operating, investing, and financing decisions? Our Financial Analysis and Valuation program might better meet your needs.
Please contact our Learning Solutions Specialists at +1 212-854-3395 for a personal conversation to learn more.
“The Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive program was an excellent offering with the right balance of classroom instruction and appropriately challenging content. The impressive set of professors presented expert direction, discipline, and knowledge that will undoubtedly be applicable in any executive's day-to-day profession.”
Past Participant Matthew Whalen
SVP and Chief Technology Officer at GTECHFaculty director Doron Nissim introduces the program.
Impact
Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive blends broad financial principles with practical applications.
How You Will Benefit in the Current Context
Participants report appreciating the thoroughness of the program: rigorous, but rewarding. The personal attention participants receive from faculty brings concepts into clearer focus more readily and helps participants quickly gain confidence in their new finance and accounting skills.
Summary of Benefits
- Understand accounting's role in business and master the language of accounting
- Learn and apply key concepts of managerial and financial accounting
- Calculate ratios and develop a sound ratio analysis
- Develop forecasts and conduct valuation analysis
- Apply finance and accounting concepts to shareholder value management
- Identify red flags in financial statements
Upon completion of this program, you will earn five credits towards a Certificate with select alumni and tuition benefits. Learn more.
Program Structure
PLEASE NOTE: The upcoming iteration of this program will take place in a live, virtual setting. See the agenda. You may also view the in-person program schedule for when our in-person programming resumes.
Topics covered during the program are:
Introduction to financial accounting
The economic and institutional setting for financial reporting
- What is financial accounting?
- Objectives, products and uses of financial accounting
- The rule setting process: U.S. and internationally
Assumptions
- Accounting entity
- Going concern
- Monetary
- Periodicity
Constraints
- Estimates
- Materiality
- Consistency
- Conservatism
Accrual accounting
- The accounting equation
- Asset and liability recognition and measurement
- Revenue recognition
- Expense recognition
- Articulation
- Transaction analysis
“This program quickly and efficiently helps you discover, understand and constructively challenge finance and accounting information.”
Clement Schvartz
Director at Google“I come from a technical background. Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive has really changed my life and gave me the opportunity to read and understand and take strategic decisions from the accounting results and propositions that I've been getting from the finance department. I used to only stop at the balance sheet, the P&L statement but since going to FANE I have been able to go beyond that. Today I'm very comfortable looking at many figures, which is very important for my company.”
Didier Hazoume
COO at Lababidi Holdings“The finance and accounting for the nonfinancial executive program was excellent offering the right balance of classroom instruction and appropriately challenging content. The impressive set of professors presented expert direction, discipline and knowledge that will undoubtedly be applicable in any executive's day to day profession.”
Matthew Whalen
SVP and Chief Technology Officer, GTECH“This course was an incredibly valuable investment for me. I am impressed by how much I learned and have since retained from an intense and productive five day course.”
Jill Anderson
Chief of Staff, New York Power Authority“I especially liked that I could bring my company’s financial statement to the program and discuss it in one-on-one conversations with the coaches. What I learned helped me grow my company. After the program I negotiated a loan with the company’s bank. That was a couple of years ago. This year, we finished paying off that loan and are about to request a new one because we’re continuing to grow. In the last four years we’ve doubled our sales, and we’ve increased our earnings in the double-digits. I was able to effectively turn the program learnings into results.”
Renzo Alcantara
CEO, TCI S.A.“This program provided an outstanding foundation in accounting and finance. I had no background when I entered. When I left, I found myself asking meaningful questions about not only the numbers, but the strategy behind them. An outstanding program!”
Mark Facciani
Business Analyst at the Conti Group“Fast-paced, highly informative course for individuals from varied non-financial backgrounds. All were able to follow and grasp aspects that were most relevant to them as well as broadening their perspectives on other aspects of accounting and financials.”
Dr. Ruth Redman
Carl Zeiss Microscopy“The FANE program provides you a big picture of Finance and Accounting. It also allows you to drill down to details and break down all finance and accounting principles and fully diagnose how any organization is functioning. I am convinced it'll give more agility and confidence to make the right decisions for my organization!”
Florian Bernodat
Site Director, The Nature's Bounty Co.“Any executive needs to understand the basics of finance and accounting. This courses does exactly that!”
Christian Khoury
Vice President at ADPParticipant Profile
Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Executive is designed for midlevel to senior-level executives with five or more years of experience in corporate or divisional roles who seek a deeper understanding of finance and accounting.
The program is well suited for those in creative or technical fields and can also serve as a refresher for executives with some knowledge of finance and accounting.
Columbia Business School alumni and up to four of their colleagues are eligible for a 25 percent tuition benefit for this program. More on the Alumni Tuition Benefit.
Industry
Job Function
Faculty
Doron Nissim
Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting & Finance
Doron Nissim
Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting & Finance
Professor Nissim earned his PhD in Accounting at the University of California, Berkeley, and joined Columbia Business School in 1997. He was granted tenure in 2005, and full professorship in 2007. He served as the Chair of the Accounting Division during the years 2006-2009 and 2014-2016.
Professor Nissim’s research is primarily in the areas of earnings quality, fundamental analysis, equity valuation, financial institutions, and corporate finance. His studies have been published in such internationally acclaimed accounting and finance journals as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Accounting Research, the Accounting Review, the Review of Accounting Studies, Contemporary Accounting Research, and Journal of Banking and Finance, as well as in practitioner-oriented journals such as the Financial Analysts Journal and The Journal of Financial Perspectives. Professor Nissim’s research is frequently cited in the popular press, including The Wall Street Journal, Time, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Chief Executive Magazine, The Economist, and the International Herald Tribune. Professor Nissim served as an editor of the Review of Accounting Studies from 2006 to 2013, and as the director of The Initiative on Banking and Insurance in the Program for Financial Studies at Columbia Business School from 2015 to 2017.
At Columbia Business School, Professor Nissim teaches MBA, EMBA, MS, and PhD courses in financial accounting, earnings quality, fundamental analyses, valuation, investment management, financial institutions, and research methods. He also serves as the director of three executive education programs — Financial Analysis and Valuation, Finance and Accounting for the Non-financial Executive, and Finance and Accounting for New York Presbyterian Hospital — and he teaches in several other open enrollment and custom executive education programs.
Professor Nissim consults extensively, both to buy- and sell-side firms as well as to other entities. His consulting focuses on equity valuation, fundamental analysis, earnings quality, investment management, and financial institutions.
Professor Nissim has received several honors and awards, including a prize from the Financial Executive Research Foundation for “the article from those published in the Accounting Review, which had the greatest import for users and preparers of financial reports;” Morgan Stanley Award for Contributions to the Development of ModelWare Core Strategies; two nominations for the Brattle Prize at the Journal of Finance (outstanding paper in corporate finance); and two teaching awards: Columbia Business School Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in a Core Course, and Columbia Business School Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
FAQ
Certification
I’m interested in the Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE), how do I get started?
At Columbia Business School Executive Education, you’ll be able to customize a unique learning experience by selecting programs that best interest you and are most suited for your needs. Any completed program, regardless of format (live online, in-person, or online), will count towards the Certificate in Business Excellence.
Which programs qualify for the CIBE?
Any completed executive education program, regardless of format (live-online, in-person, or online), will count towards the Certificate in Business Excellence. Partner programs will also count towards the certificate.
What programs are considered partner programs?
Executive education programs developed and administered with our educational partners, bring the best of our combined knowledge, thought leadership, resources, and expertise. Kindly find a list of our partners here on our partnership page.
What are the costs of the certificate?
There’s no set cost associated with the certificate path since you’re able to customize your learning journey with in-person and online programs (price will vary depending on the program type and length).
Are there any tuition assistance or scholarships?
At Columbia Business School Executive Education, we offer non-degree and non-credit-based professional development programs to the global business community. As our programs are non-degree and non-credit, they do not qualify for financial aid.
How are CIBE credits determined?
Credits for a program are determined by the program duration and total learning hours.
Where do I find information on the credit value for a program?
You will find this information on each program page. Credits range from 0.5 credits – 26 credits per program.
How do I get enrolled in the CIBE?
Your certificate journey will start with your first program, and you have 4 years to complete your CIBE. You may register for any of our executive education programs on each program page. You may enroll using the “Enroll Now” button, and the application process should take 5-10 minutes.
How do I receive credits?
You are required to fully attend a program and complete all necessary coursework in order to receive CIBE credits. Credits are only awarded after you complete a program.
How do I check the status of my Certificate completion?
Kindly reach out to a Learning Solutions representative for any questions on the status of your CIBE credit count.
Do CIBE credits expire?
Credits are only valid for four years (Please note: While we are not able to offer in-person programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the duration to complete the programming has been extended to five years.). If you have not completed your CIBE within four years, we will only count non-expired credits towards your CIBE credit total.
Does the Certificate in Business Excellence expire?
Your Certificate in Business Excellence does not expire. Once you become a certificate recipient, you will join the greater alumni community at Columbia Business School.
I’ve reached 18 CIBE credits, what’s next?
Congratulations! You should receive a digital copy of your certificate at the end of your program. If you do not receive a copy from your program manager, kindly contact your Learning Solutions representative or your program manager for next steps.
Will I receive a physical certificate?
Yes, all certificate recipients will receive a physical plaque. If you completed your last CIBE credits through an online or live online program, you will receive a plaque in the mail. We will ask for you to provide us with your preferred mailing address and our vendor will ship the plaque directly to you. We kindly ask for your patience as the processing time takes a few weeks. Please contact your program manager for the status of your plaque. If you completed your last CIBE credits through an in-person program, you will receive a plaque at the end of the program.
How do I get access to my alumni benefits?
Once you complete your CIBE, we kindly ask for your patience as we process your alumni credentials. The processing time can take anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks long.
Can I refer colleagues to the Certificate in Business Excellence?
If you are a certificate holder, you may sponsor up to four colleagues each year for full-price in-person programs lasting up to seven days and all full-price online programs.
Can I add the Certificate in Business Excellence to LinkedIn?
Yes! We will provide you with instructions on how to add your certificate to your LinkedIn profile after you become a Certificate recipient.
Preferred Pricing and Tuition Benefits for Alumni
Are there preferred pricing options available for live online programs?
Yes, preferred pricing is available for groups of two or more. To inquire, email execed@gsb.columbia.edu.
As a Columbia Business School alumni am I eligible for tuition benefit?
Columbia Business School alumni and up to four of their colleagues are eligible for a 25 percent tuition benefit for this program. More on the Alumni Tuition Benefit.
Assignments
Will there be any homework or assignments?
For select programs, there will be some assignments to complete after the end of select program sessions. Assignments will typically consist of readings, self-reflections, and brief assessments. This approach is designed to help you practice your learnings.
How long will assignments take?
We do not expect that homework assignments will take up a large amount of time to complete.
Will there be any examinations or grades?
There will be no examinations or grades for our live online programs.
Access
When will I receive information on how to log in?
You will receive your login information immediately before the program start date. Kindly reach out to your Program Manager for further instructions on how to prepare and log in for the program.
What platform do you use to deliver live online programs?
We use the Zoom platform.
Recordings
Will sessions be recorded?
Most live online sessions (depending on the faculty and program) will be recorded and will be available for you upon request. In-person programs are not recorded.
How long will they be available for?
Recordings will be available for the duration of the program. Depending on the program, some recordings may have additional availability post-program.
How do I gain access to the recordings?
Your Program Manager will provide you with further instructions on how to gain access to recorded sessions.
Experience
How do participants network during the live online programs? Will I participate in group work?
Our live online programs are fully virtual and highly interactive. Most programs also feature small group work for a high-touch learning experience. The virtual program experience allows participants to feel comfortable and productive learning at home while preserving the interconnectivity of an in-person program.
What are the networking opportunities during the live online sessions?
Yes. Examples of this may include: virtual lunches, virtual receptions, use of the chat function, and virtual office hours for you to connect with participants and faculty. Please refer to the agenda of the specific live online program you are interested in for details.
Live Online Format
What are live online programs?
Now, more than ever, executives need the knowledge and insights to help them adapt to change and solve complex problems. As the business world has evolved, we have applied new best practices to continuously improve your learning experience. With our live online programs, we are taking select in-person programs and are translating them to a fully live and virtual format, delivering the same interactive sessions with faculty and real-time application of the knowledge you would experience in person.
What is the difference between live online and online programs?
Compare our two formats for distance learning here.
What does “live online” mean?
Live online programs are fully virtual, highly interactive programs taking place in real-time, often featuring small group work for a high-touch learning experience. Our Columbia Business School faculty stream to you live and virtually, no matter where you are located.
Are all live online programs the same in terms of format and length?
No. Please refer to the agenda of the specific live online program you are interested in. For any questions, please reach out to the Contact person listed on the program's web page.
Do I have to attend all live sessions?
Participants are expected to attend all sessions. However, we understand that participants may have scheduling conflicts. Kindly let us know in advance whenever possible and your Program Manager would be happy to discuss how we can help you get up to speed. We will also record most faculty sessions, which you can review upon request.
Will I need to attend the live sessions even if I’m based in a different time zone?
You are required to attend all live sessions even if you are based in a different time zone. (Kindly reach out to the Learning Solutions team to learn more about our asynchronous program offerings, which consist predominantly of pre-recorded videos that you can watch on your own time).
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