Finance for Senior Executives
As companies worldwide strive to deliver valuable products and services in a global recession, they recognize that executives must have a firm grasp of finance to maximize profitability. Created for senior managers who are not financial specialists, this intensive program provides a thorough grounding in finance. You will acquire effective strategies for managing through the downturn and succeeding in the long term.
What You Can Expect
This weeklong leadership training program examines corporate finance at the strategic level by exploring the proven techniques of successful companies around the world. Equipped with a deeper understanding of finance, you will return ready to employ the financial resources needed to weather today's recession—and position your company for global competitive advantage.
Your Course of Study
Providing critical insight into the fundamentals of finance and a view of best practices in action, the program delves into timely topics—from capital markets and investment opportunities to cash flow and performance metrics. As a result, you will gain an in-depth perspective of the flow and management of financial resources.
Who Is Right for the Program
Focusing on corporate finance principles, this program is designed for executives in any functional management or general management role. It also is suited to financial executives who want to update their core skills in a broad strategic context.
What You Can Expect
Exploring the diverse financial challenges facing today's senior decision makers, Finance for Senior Executives provides the frameworks to strategically use financial resources and position your company for future success. By examining corporate finance from both internal and external perspectives, this HBS Executive Education leadership development offering enables you to establish the best financial systems for management and control—and utilize capital markets for the most profitable outcomes. You will leave with the strategies and tools to improve your company's bottom line and to take on new responsibilities over time.
Specifically, you will be better able to:
- Position your company to compete in today's volatile global marketplace and to seize opportunities when the market expands
- Establish successful and realistic performance plans, incentives, and financial controls at the corporate and divisional levels
- Employ proven forecasting methods that enable you to predict and monitor outcomes with greater confidence
- Recognize and address biases within financial systems and structures
- Master the workings of capital structure and capital markets to ensure better strategic decision making in an economic downturn
- Balance profit, growth, and control in highly dynamic environments
- Understand and implement optimal restructuring strategies
- Work more effectively with a diverse range of colleagues in financial roles inside and outside your organization
How Will My Organization Benefit?
Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School are a significant investment for both you and your organization. Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, each leadership development program provides applicable lessons in the classroom that can be implemented successfully within your organization. You will acquire a fresh perspective on global business from our groundbreaking curriculum, world-renowned faculty, and an accomplished group of elite peers from around the world.
"This course raises the awareness of the role, purpose, and centrality of the finance function in effective corporate governance within the new global marketplace. One learns to evaluate criteria to make the right decisions regarding the investing of a company's scarce resources."
Hassan Khan [Regional Operations Manager GCC], Masterfoods Middle East, Saudi Arabia
Your Course of Study
This leadership development program's comprehensive curriculum gives you a clearer understanding of the flow and management of financial resources at divisional and corporate levels. Immersed in a rich learning experience that includes dynamic faculty lectures, interactive classroom sessions, and structured and informal group activities, you will explore successful and unsuccessful approaches to financial management. You will emerge with strategic insights into complex financial challenges—including the current global crisis—while acquiring the proven frameworks and tools for better day-to-day financial management and control.
Specific topics include:
- Understanding the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a firm
- Employing basic analytical skills and the principles of corporate finance
- Working with capital markets and financial institutions—how do they operate, what are the best practices for maximizing available resources, and what are the implications of recent market developments?
- Utilizing the standard techniques of analysis, including capital budgeting, cash flow, valuation, and risk analysis
- Establishing and monitoring executive compensation policies
- Managing corporate distributions—including cash, property, and stock dividends—within the context of redemptions and liquidations
- Examining the decision-making processes of corporate managers, stockholders, creditors, unions, financial advisers, investors, and turnaround specialists
- Restructuring and strategically employing valuation and financial analysis
- Mastering the theory and best practices related to profit planning, strategic profitability analysis, resource allocation, residual income techniques, and performance scorecards
- Setting performance goals and incentives, and using diagnostic and interactive control systems to achieve those objectives
In addition to the above topics, the program also includes an optional session on best practices in accounting.
"Attending this program was a powerful experience. I now feel much more comfortable talking about financial strategies and can approach a wide range of finance-related discussions and decision making with confidence. In addition, I now have a stronger basis for proactively initiating contacts with finance partners."
Anna Chérouvrier Hansson [Head of Business Development – Life Science], Invest in Skåne, Sweden
Who Is Right for the Program
Finance for Senior Executives is designed to meet the needs of senior managers who are not financial specialists, but are called upon to make decisions or formulate strategies based on important financial input or outcomes. Typical participants are responsible for managing a functional area, department, or division at the senior level, including those with roles in operations, marketing, information technology, human resources, research and development, production, legal affairs, or financial administration. Titles include, but are not limited to:
- President
- Chief executive officer
- Vice president
- Group manager
- Director
While executives who attend the program typically hold positions outside finance, the program also benefits financial executives who need to strengthen their understanding of underlying corporate finance principles and update their skills in a broad, strategic context.
Past Participants Represented:
| Industries | Nationalities | ||||
| 9% | Chem/Pharm/Bio | 15% | Asia/Pacific | ||
| 2% | Communications | 17% | Europe | ||
| 8% | Consumer Products | 7% | Latin America | ||
| 6% | Financial | 61% | North America | ||
| 8% | High Tech | ||||
| 8% | Manufacturing | ||||
| 15% | Nonprofit Services | ||||
| 9% | Other Services | ||||
| 9% | Professional Services | ||||
| 5% | Raw Materials/Energy | ||||
| 5% | Real Estate/Construction | ||||
| 9% | Retail Services | ||||
| 7% | Utilities/Telecommunications | ||||
Participating Companies Have Included:
Amerada Hess Corporation |
Intel Corporation |
"After 20 years in the government sector, I am starting a new career in the business sector. It is absolutely necessary for me to be able to make my own decisions in regard to finance. Through the program, I have gained a better understanding of financing and, more important, I realize my shortcomings. There’s no question that I now have the knowledge and confidence to be an effective business leader."
Ragna Arnadottir [Executive Vice President], Corporate Office, Landsvirkjun, Iceland
Meet the Program Faculty
Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Finance for Senior Executives is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized for being skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.
Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Carliss Y. Baldwin, William L. White Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
Bo Becker, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
William E. Fruhan, Jr., Baker Foundation Professor. Member of the Finance Unit.
Stuart C. Gilson, Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit; and faculty chair of "Corporate Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions."
Robin Greenwood, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit; and faculty chair of "Finance for Senior Executives."
Timothy A. Luehrman, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
Christopher J. Malloy, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
Karthik Ramanna, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting & Management Unit; Faculty Teaching Team HBS MBA course “Leadership and Corporate Accountability”
Yuhai Xuan, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Finance Unit.
"Most of my career has been focused on operations and P&L, and I wanted a deeper understanding of how my CFO makes financial and valuation decisions. This program exceeded my expectations in all areas. I have a new set of tools I can use to determine the financial strength of our organization, to work more effectively with my finance and accounting departments, and to make better business decisions overall."
Edward L. Brunot [President and Chief Operating Officer], MDV – a Nash Finch Company, U.S.
Admissions
Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.
Fees, Payments, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.
If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
Requirements
Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.
HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.
Language Proficiency
We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.
Application Process
Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.
To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.
If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.
If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.
Complete Your Application
Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.
Meet the Deadlines
We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.
Notification of Acceptance
We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.
The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).