Financial Data Analysis for Leaders Program
Transform Financial Data into Insight and Value
Overview
The numbers don't make decisions. Leaders do. And the best leaders know how to use financial data to make better ones.
AI can crunch ratios in seconds. What's scarce is the judgment to know what matters, what the numbers reveal, and what to do next. That's not just a data challenge. It's a leadership one.
Financial Data Analysis for Leaders is a five-day business finance course for non-finance professionals seeking financial fluency. Beyond teaching metrics, it demystifies how companies create value from the perspective of capital providers—and how financial statements capture it.
Whether you're building a foundation in finance or sharpening your skills, this hands-on financial data analysis course equips you with practical methods and a framework to assess a company's past, forecast its future, uncover the story behind the numbers, and apply insights to solve real business challenges.
Key Takeaways
Speak Finance with Confidence
Build lasting financial literacy: read the three financial statements, understand how they connect, and learn why profit is not cash.
See Your Business the Way Investors Do
Separate price from value, build a valuation from scratch, and learn to identify what creates or destroys value.
Make Better Decisions
Apply financial judgment to real decisions about costs and investments, and choose performance metrics that encourage the right behaviors.
Make Your Case with Credibility
Analyze a real company in real time and tell a story that holds up under scrutiny from leadership, boards, investors, and stakeholders.
More about the Financial Data Analysis for Leaders program
Leaders encounter financial data every day in moments that matter—from budget reviews and capital requests to acquisitions, pricing decisions, and board discussions. But having the data isn't enough. You need the fluency to interpret it, question what it means, communicate across functions, and make a compelling case for action.
Financial Data Analysis for Leaders is designed for decision-makers across the organization whose choices carry financial consequences. In an approachable, supportive learning environment, the program builds from the fundamentals of financial reporting to the drivers of value creation. Accessible instruction, practical exercises, and hands-on application help you turn complex financial concepts into insight, sound decisions, and business value.
How the Five Days Build
In five days, you’ll move from reading financial statements to telling the story behind them.
- Day 1: Learn the language. Financial statements stop being a black box. You’ll read them with confidence and see how they tell a connected story.
- Day 2: Put the data to work. See how a business really performs, and use what you uncoverto make and defend better decisions.
- Day 3: See what a business is worth. Separate price from value, and learn valuation by valuing a business from scratch.
- Day 4: Discover what drives value. Understand what creates value, why growth alone doesn’t, and how your own decisions contributeto it.
- Day 5: Tell the story. Analyze a real company in real time, uncoverthe story behind the data, and communicate it in a way that moves people to act.
A First-Principles Approach
Most finance courses start with ratios to memorize. This program starts with how value is created, giving every metric a purpose. You’ll build the financial statements before analyzing them, developing a framework you can apply long after the week ends.
Enjoy An Engaging Program Experience
Led by Professor Panos N. Patatoukas, L.H. Penney Chair in Accounting, Accounting Group Chair, and Co-Faculty Director of Sustainable and Impact Finance, alongside Professor Sunil Dutta, William D. Crawford Chair in Taxation and Accounting, the program combines:
- Short, focused lectures drawing on current companies and real-world events
- Daily hands-on spreadsheet exercises, with ready-to-use templates
- Interactive polls, breakout sessions, and peer discussions exploring your own organization's metrics
- A real-time capstone that brings together everything you've learned over five days
Choose Your Delivery Option
For added convenience and accessibility, this financial statement analysis program is offered as a simultaneous hybrid experience with a choice to attend in person at our state-of-the-art classroom on campus or virtually through our Digital Learning Forum.
No matter how you join us, you’ll enjoy the same, high-caliber instruction and engage in a live and highly collaborative learning environment designed for interactions between people in all parts of the world and various time zones.
Emerge as a More Financially Fluent Business Leader
In just five days, you'll build a company's financial statements, value a business from scratch, assess whether it creates value, and tell the story behind a real company's market price. You'll leave with a practical framework and template to apply in your own organization—and the confidence and judgment to put them to work.
Beyond strengthening your financial fluency, you'll be ready to bring a financial perspective to strategic conversations, build credibility beyond your functional expertise, and help shape better business decisions. And when you're ready to bring those insights to investors, boards, and teams, our Storytelling for Business Leaders program builds on what you've learned.
Who's it for
- Senior-level executives and managers in operations, strategy, product, marketing, HR, and general management looking for a deeper understanding of how to leverage finance for decision-making
- Leaders taking on P&L or general management and moving from functional expertise to running a business
- Sales and customer-facing leaders looking to understand their clients’ financials, business drivers, and return on investment
- Technical and functional experts moving into leadership: specialists from engineering and science to healthcare and law
- Finance professionals—controllers, analysts, and finance managers—seeking a valuation and value-creation perspective beyond reporting
- Groups or teams looking to build a shared financial language across the enterprise
Want to approach your employer about supporting your development? Check out this article.
The Digital Learning Forum
This program is held as a simultaneous dual-delivery experience with in-person and live-online participants in our Digital Learning Forum. Both online and in-person participants will engage in a live and highly-collaborative learning environment designed for interactions between people in all parts of the world.
Format & Structure
Online
- Five-day live online program
- World-renowned Berkeley Haas faculty
- Cutting-edge virtual learning experience with multiple perspective cameras and directional audio that immerses you in the classroom
- Real-time communication between faculty, virtual participants, and in-person participants
- Daily hands-on applications, a collaborative whiteboard, and breakout discussions with virtual participants
- Capstone on a real company
- Live online guided campus tour
- Online networking session with virtual participants
- Access to the program alumni community
- Financial Data Analysis for Leaders Program Certificate of Completion
In-Person
- Five-day, in-person program
- World-renowned Berkeley Haas faculty
- State-of-the-art classroom at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business campus
- Daily hands-on applications and breakouts for group discussions
- Capstone on a real company
- Real-time communication between faculty, in-person participants, and virtual participants
- Catering provided (breakfast, lunch, light snack)
- Explore the Berkeley campus with fellow participants during an in-person guided tour
- Exclusive in-person networking reception with faculty and peers
- Access to the program's alumni community
- Financial Data Analysis for Leaders Program Certificate of Completion
Dates & Costs
Online
In-Person
Other Ways to Participate
Attend this program with a group of your colleagues.
Attend this program with colleagues to gain greater organizational impact. Groups of five or more receive special rates.
Customize this program for your organization.
Use this program's curriculum as the foundation of a program based on your company's unique objectives.
What people are saying
Get more information
Download the Financial Data Analysis for Leaders Program Guide
The complimentary guide includes sample schedule, program curriculum, learning objectives, and more.
Employer Reimbursement
Gain tips on how to approach your manager about professional development and tuition reimbursement.
How do I enroll in the Financial Data Analysis for Leaders program?
Enrolling in any one of our programs is simple:
- Click on the "enroll" button on the program page
- Create an account or log in to our customer portal
- Complete the online reservation form (should take less than 2 minutes)
- Pay by credit card to complete your enrollment, or select your preferred payment type to reserve your seat and connect with the finance team
How much time can I expect to spend on coursework each day?
We know that time away from the office is precious, so we work hard to make our program experiences as productive and valuable as possible. Our programs span full business days starting between 8:30-9:00 a.m. and running through 5 p.m. with lunch served in the classroom and short breaks throughout the day.
Approximately 1-2 hours of evening activities and preparation for the next day are required for some programs. Please download the program guide for more detail.
Do your programs provide credits towards a degree, grades, transcripts, or Continuing Education Units (CEUs)?
Our programs are non-degree programs and do not hold any credit unit equivalency, letter grades, pass/fail designation, Continuing Education Units (CEUs), or transcripts. Rather, we provide a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.
To qualify for a certificate of completion, a participant must meet the minimum requirements as noted for each program and maintaining at least 80% attendance/engagement.
Can I enroll in a program if I live outside of the U.S.?
Yes. Enrollment is available to global leaders, but visa requirements may apply. Proficiency in written and spoken English at a level that allows full engagement and participation in a program is recommended.
For most international participants, a B1/B2 visa—for participation in scientific, educational, professional, or business conventions, conferences, or seminars—is required for entry into the United States to attend a program with us.
Requesting and receiving a visa takes time and we recommend beginning the process three or four months in advance of the start date of a program.
You can ask your Program Manager to prepare an invitation letter to help with your visa application. It is important to emphasize that the visit is for business purposes.
The Visa Waiver Program is available to citizens or nationals from select countries. Check the Department of State website to determine your eligibility and learn about the waiver process.
The list of countries sanctioned by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control currently includes: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Ukraine-Crimea Region, plus the addition of Russia for Berkeley Executive Education at this time.
Is this program suitable for executives without finance experience?
Yes. This finance for non-finance professionals program requires no prior training in finance or accounting and builds from first principles. Pre-readings and spreadsheet templates are provided—basic spreadsheet familiarity is helpful. Whether you’re a senior executive, a sales leader, or a functional expert moving into leadership, you’ll build the financial acumen to lead with confidence. Participants with finance experience will find that the valuation and value-creation perspective goes well beyond financial reporting.
Faculty
Panos N. Patatoukas
Professor, L.H. Penney Chair in Accounting | Accounting Group Chair | Co-Faculty Director, Sustainable and Impact Finance, Haas School of Business
Certificates
Certificate of Completion
Signal your professional achievement to your network and get recognized for your completion! Upon successful completion of the program, UC Berkeley Executive Education grants a verified digital certificate of completion to participants that you are encouraged to add to your profiles.
Note: This program results in a digital certificate of completion and is not eligible for degree credit/CEUs. After successful completion of the program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed to you directly. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of UC Berkeley Executive Education.
Certificate of Business Excellence
Participants in the Certificate of Business Excellence (COBE) program will earn a mark of distinction from a world-class university, gain access to a powerful global network, and enjoy the flexibility of completing the program in up to three years. A UC Berkeley Certificate of Business Excellence allows individuals to create a personal learning journey structured by our four academic pillars to gain management essentials in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Finance to drive both personal and organizational development.
