Finance & Accounting Fundamentals
Introduction Case Study
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Purpose
The purpose of the course is to help
you understand the fundamentals of
Accounting and Finance
At the end of this lecture, you will
learn the following
• A case of developing the
understanding the fundamentals of
Accounting and Finance
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Case Study -“From Numbers-Phobic to Finance-Savvy” — How One Manager Finally
Understood Accounting & Finance Fundamentals
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Profile
33 years old
Product & operations manager
in a growing tech-enabled
services company
MBA in marketing, but avoided
finance courses as much as
possible
Promoted to Heard these
She felt lost
Business Unit words but did Her biggest
when CFO
Manager and not really fear…
would say…
… understand…
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
The Challenge: Decisions Without Numbers
“What’s the impact
on gross margin?”
“How long until we
CFO recover the cost of
rewards?”
asked “What’s the
projected payback
period?”
“How will this
show up in our P&L
and cash flow?”
That evening she told a
The CFO politely said:
colleague:
“Your idea may be good,
“I have to fix this. I need to
but without numbers it’s
really learn accounting and
a guess, not a business
finance, not just memorize
case.”
terms.”
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Turning Point: Treating Accounting as a Tool, Not a Subject
Income Statement
“In 6 months, (P&L)
I want to
comfortably Balance Sheet
read and
explain
Cash Flow Statement
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Step 1: Build a Simple Conceptual Map (The “Three Buckets”)
P&L (Profit Balance Cash Flow
& Loss) Sheet Statement
“Accounting is not about
memorizing terms.
It’s three connected stories
Insight
about the same business:
Performance, position, and
cash.”
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Step 2: Use Her Own Company’s Numbers as a Learning Lab
Took last
year’s P&L to
AI and
asked…
“I learned faster
CFO started because I was
informally working with my AI pointed
mentoring own real out…
her numbers, not
abstract
examples.”
Cross-
checked with
the CFO and
asked…
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Step 3: Learn Core Concepts with Micro-Cases Instead of Definitions
Revenue Recognition COGS & Gross Margin
CapEx vs Accruals &
OpEx Provisions
Concrete
AI Intuitive
mini-
explanations understanding
scenarios
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Step 4: Connect Accounting to Decision-Making
“Finance is not
about exact
prediction.
Insight It’s about seeing
scenarios and risks
using numbers.”
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Step 5: Build a “Finance Cheat Sheet” and Daily Habits
Weekly Finance Habit
Picked one
topic
Asked AI…
Related it back
to her unit
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Finance-Literate Manager
Purpose
Presented
the revised CEO Pilot was
CFO said…
loyalty remarked… approved
program
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Framework: Neha’s F.I.N.A.N.C.E. Mastery Path
Step Stands For Key Action
Understand the 3 statements: P&L =
F Frame the Big Picture performance, Balance Sheet = position,
Cash Flow = cash reality.
Immerse in Real Use your own company/unit financials; ask
I
Statements AI + finance colleagues to interpret them.
Learn each concept (revenue, COGS,
N Narrate with Micro-Cases
CapEx, etc.) with small concrete examples.
Build simple models for your real projects
A Apply to Decisions
(cost, revenue, payback, scenarios).
Create & use a 1–2 page cheat sheet of
N Normalize the Vocabulary common terms and what they mean for your
business.
Create Weekly Learning 30–60 minutes weekly: pick one topic, ask
C
Rituals AI to teach simply, relate to your work.
Ask questions, review your interpretations;
Engage with Finance
E treat finance team as partners and
People
teachers.
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Final Takeaway
Three Learning through Practicing on Small,
AI as a patient
connected real company actual consistent
tutor
stories. numbers decisions learning habits
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
What is next?
Overview of Finance & Accounting Fundamentals
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management
Finance & Accounting Fundamentals
Introduction Case Study
Enrichmentors Growing through Excellence over 40 years to become Best in Management