Storytelling for Financial Leaders Program
Transform Financial Insight into Executive Influence
Overview
Today's financial leaders are more than stewards of capital. They explain what the numbers mean and why they matter.
And they do it in a world reshaped by AI and data, in moments that count: earnings calls, board discussions, capital decisions, and high-stakes negotiations.
What sets the best apart is the ability to turn data into stories that build credibility with investors, alignment internally, and trust across the value chain. What many financial leaders are missing is a framework for storytelling for finance that moves people and drives decisions.
Storytelling for Financial Leaders is a three-day program built to close that gap. Organized around three lenses—external, internal, and value chain—you'll gain practical tools for every stakeholder conversation, plus hands-on experience using AI for finance as a thinking partner to prepare for the moments that matter.
Key Takeaways
Turn Financial Data and Expertise into Influence
Gain powerful frameworks that turn financial data and expertise into executive influence, equipping financial leaders to translate insights into narratives that move audiences, build credibility, and drive decisions.
Lead with Empathy, Build Credibility and Trust
Refine critical financial communication skills to engage key stakeholders through realistic simulations of earnings calls, boardroom decisions, and other inflection points that shape your impact.
Use AI as a Thought Partner
Leverage AI and gen AI tools as a partner for financial decision-making and communication: sharpening narratives, translating complex data into effective visualizations, and helping you prepare for calls, presentations, and meetings.
Influence Strategy Through Alignment
Harness the power of narrative to align cross-functional teams, influence high-stakes decisions, and lead confidently through disruption, transformation, and change.
More about the Storytelling for Financial Leaders program
Today's financial leaders communicate in moments that matter: earnings calls, board discussions, analyst conversations, supplier and customer negotiations, and periods of heightened uncertainty. In these moments, financial acumen is necessary but not sufficient. What's missing isn't more data or deeper expertise. It's storytelling fluency.
Storytelling for Financial Leaders is built for financial leaders and business executives navigating this evolution. Organized around three perspectives—external, internal, and value chain storytelling—the program prepares you to translate financial data into insights and stories that build credibility with investors, alignment within the organization, and trust along the value chain.
Harness AI to Tell Your Story
Storytelling is increasingly shaped by data and emerging technologies. This program teaches you to use AI for finance—as a thought partner to empathize with audiences, stress-test messages, anticipate stakeholder reactions, and sharpen the narratives, decisions, and conversations that already define your role. The goal isn't to replace your judgment, it's to extend it.
An Engaging Program Experience
- Led by Panos N. Patatoukas and UC Berkeley faculty with expertise at the intersection of communication, leadership, and analytics, the program experience includes:
- Realistic simulations of investor calls, boardroom decisions, and value chain conversations
- Frameworks for empathizing with every audience — from boards and investors to customers, suppliers, employees, and regulators
- Guided use of AI to analyze tone, generate alternative structures, and visualize financial narratives
- Peer discussions and personalized coaching to refine your message and delivery
Add Storytelling to Your Leadership Repertoire
By the end of the three-day experience, you'll have presented in simulated earnings calls, defended narratives in mock boardrooms, and refined your storytelling with peer and faculty feedback. You'll walk out with a not just a framework and toolkit that turns financial data and expertise into influence, but also the confidence to apply it in your next high-stakes meeting. The program is practical, immersive, and immediately applicable.
Who's it for
- Financial leaders with cross-functional exposure: controllers, directors of finance, vice presidents, and other financial executives who engage executive peers, boards, investors, analysts, customers, suppliers, employees, and regulators
- Financial leaders preparing for C-suite roles: professionals moving beyond technical expertise to communicate with impact
- CFOs, Chief Accounting Officers, and their teams: sharpening storytelling in board, investor, audit committee, and other high-stakes settings
- Business leaders across the organization: executives who need to engage with and communicate financial narratives
Join us individually to sharpen your own storytelling, or bring your team to build a shared framework for the conversations that matter most.
Want to approach your employer about supporting your professional development? Check out this article.
Format & Structure
In-Person
- Three days of immersive, in-person learning at the UC Berkeley Haas campus
- World-renowned UC Berkeley Haas faculty and experienced industry practitioners
- Realistic simulations of investor calls, boardroom decisions, and value chain conversations, refined through peer learning and collaborative feedback
- Use AI as a thought partner to sharpen narratives and prepare for high-stakes conversations
- Use of AI to turn complex data into clear insights and effective visualizations
- Blend of practical financial storytelling frameworks, faculty-led sessions, and hands-on exercises
- Exclusive in-person networking reception with faculty and peers
- Access to the Storytelling for Financial Leaders alumni community
- Storytelling for Financial Leaders Program Certificate of Completion
Dates & Costs
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.
Get more information
Download the Storytelling for Financial 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.
Is AI integrated into this financial storytelling program?
Yes. AI is woven throughout the program — across faculty-led sessions, simulations, and hands-on exercises. More importantly, this program teaches you to think with AI: using AI as a thinking partner to empathize with audiences, stress-test messages, anticipate stakeholder reactions, and translate complex data into clearer narratives and visualizations.
It's AI for the moments that matter most to financial leaders—earnings calls, board meetings, investor conversations, and high-stakes value chain discussions. The goal isn't to replace your judgment. It's to extend it.
How do I enroll in the Storytelling for Financial 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.
Faculty
Panos N. Patatoukas
Professor, L.H. Penney Chair in Accounting | Co-Faculty Director, Sustainable and Impact Finance, Haas School of Business
Homa Bahrami, PhD
Executive Teaching Fellow, Senior Lecturer: Entrepreneurship & Innovation | Management of Organizations, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
Sara Beckman
Teaching Professor | Earl F. Cheit Faculty Fellow Entrepreneurship & Innovation | Innovation & Design | Operations & IT Management | Sustainability, Haas School of Business
Jenny Herbert Creek
Professional Faculty | Finance, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
Jeffrey Eyet
Professional Faculty | Entrepreneurship & Innovation | Institute for Business Innovation
Darcy E. Illg
Professional Faculty | Management of Organizations | Persuasive Communication & Interpersonal Dynamics, UC Berkeley 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.
