AI for Managers: Work Smarter With the Numbers

The 2-Day Course That Gives Every Manager Practical AI Skills for Financial Decision-Making

Residential & Online · No technology background required · Practical, hands-on learning

Why This Course?

Every manager deals with numbers. Budgets to build, forecasts to defend, cost reports to interpret, investment cases to present. This work is time-consuming, often stressful, and rarely feels like the best use of your time.

AI changes that equation — but only if you know how to use it for the specific financial tasks managers actually do. This is not a course about AI in general. It is a course about how managers with budget responsibility, reporting obligations, and financial decision-making responsibilities can use AI to do that work faster, more confidently, and more effectively.

No technology background required. No finance degree needed. Just practical skills you can apply from the moment you return to your desk.

Who Should Attend?

• Managers with budget responsibility who build, manage, and defend budgets but do not have a finance background
• Team leaders and department heads who need to interpret financial reports, explain variances, and present performance data to senior leadership
• Project managers and operational managers who propose investments, track costs, and report on financial performance
• HR, marketing, sales, and operations managers who work with financial data regularly but find it time-consuming and sometimes intimidating
• Anyone who sits in a finance meeting and wants to contribute more confidently — and prepare for it more efficiently

No prior experience with AI tools required — and no advanced financial background needed. Just bring a willingness to try things.

What You Will Be Able to Do After This Course

By the end of Day 2, you will:

? Use AI to understand and interpret financial reports — balance sheets, P&Ls, budget vs. actuals — without needing to be a finance expert

? Build and present budgets faster and more confidently, using AI to structure your thinking and stress-test your numbers

? Draft financial commentary, variance explanations, and investment cases that land with senior stakeholders

? Use AI to prepare for finance meetings — anticipating questions, preparing answers, and understanding the numbers before you walk in

? Analyse your team's or department's performance data and translate it into clear, actionable insight

? Build and propose investment cases (CAPEX) using AI to structure NPV, payback, and risk analysis

? Leave with a personal AI toolkit — tested prompts for the financial tasks you do most often

Course Agenda

DAY 1 — Understanding Finance Through the Lens of AI

Module 0 — Introduction: Why AI Changes Everything for Managers Morning · 09:00–09:30

We start with the question every manager is asking: is AI actually useful for the work I do, or is it just another technology I have to learn?

• The manager's AI opportunity — where the time savings are biggest for non-finance professionals
• What AI is, in plain language — no jargon, no technical background required
• What AI is not — the three things managers must never assume AI can do
• Self-assessment: where are you starting from, and what financial tasks take you the most time?
• How this course works: every module connects to a real task you will be able to do differently

By the end of this module, you will know exactly why AI is relevant to your role — and what you will build over the next two days.

Module 1 — Reading Financial Reports With AI as Your Interpreter Late Morning · 09:30–11:00

Financial reports are the language your organisation uses to measure success. Most managers receive them, skim them, and hope no one asks a difficult question. After this module, that changes.

• What financial reports are actually telling you — and why it matters for your role
• The Balance Sheet — using AI to explain what your organisation owns, owes, and what the key signals mean for your team
• The Income Statement / P&L — using AI to understand revenue, costs, margins, and EBITDA in the context of your department
• The Cash Flow Statement — using AI to understand why profit and cash are different, and why it matters for your decisions
• Budget vs. Actuals reports — using AI to interpret variances and understand what the numbers are saying
• Sample prompts you can use tonight: "Explain this P&L to me as if I am a marketing manager with no finance background. What are the three things I should focus on?"

By the end of this module, you will be able to use AI to interpret any financial report you receive — and walk into your next finance meeting prepared.

? Coffee Break · 11:00–11:15

Module 2 — Understanding Performance: KPIs, Variances and What They Mean Mid-Morning · 11:15–12:45

Your organisation measures performance. Your department is part of that measurement. This module shows you how to use AI to understand what the numbers mean, explain them to others, and use them to make better decisions.

• What KPIs actually measure — and how to use AI to understand the ones relevant to your role
• Profitability and goal achievement — is your team contributing to the result the organisation needs?
• Operational efficiency — are you using resources as effectively as you could be?
• Working capital and liquidity — why these matter even for managers who do not run the treasury
• Variance analysis for non-finance managers — using AI to explain why actuals differ from budget, in language anyone can understand
• Writing variance commentary with AI — turning a table of numbers into a clear, confident narrative
• Sample prompt: "My team's costs are 12% over budget this month. The main drivers are overtime and external consultancy. Help me write a two-paragraph explanation for my monthly report."

By the end of this module, you will be able to analyse and explain your team's performance data clearly — without needing a finance degree.

??? Lunch · 12:45–13:30

Module 3 — Strategy, Competitive Context and Your Department's Role Early Afternoon · 13:30–14:30

Every budget and every investment case exists in a strategic context. This module shows you how to use AI to understand that context — and to position your proposals within it more effectively.

• How corporate strategy connects to your department's financial targets
• Using AI to analyse your organisation's or department's strategic position
• Understanding market dynamics and competitive context — using AI to research and synthesise quickly
• Translating strategy into financial objectives — how AI helps you set goals that align upward
• Using AI to understand your organisation's annual report or strategy document: "Summarise the three strategic priorities in this document and explain what they mean for the operations department."
• Preparing for strategic planning conversations — how AI helps you contribute with confidence

By the end of this module, you will be able to connect your team's financial performance to the organisation's strategic direction — and make that connection visible in every conversation.

Module 4 — Preparing for Finance Meetings With AI Mid-Afternoon · 14:30–15:00

Finance meetings are often where managers feel least confident. The numbers are dense, the questions come fast, and the finance team speaks a different language. This module changes that dynamic completely.

• Using AI to prepare for budget reviews, board presentations, and performance meetings
• Pre-reading financial documents with AI: "I have a budget review in two hours. Here is the pack. What are the three questions I am most likely to be asked, and what are the best answers?"
• Anticipating challenges to your numbers — using AI to stress-test your position before the meeting
• Turning complex data into clear talking points — AI as your preparation partner

? Coffee Break · 15:00–15:15

Module 5 — Budgeting With AI: Building Your OPEX Budget Late Afternoon · 15:15–16:45

Budgeting is the financial task most managers find most stressful. The process is long, the scrutiny is intense, and the spreadsheets are rarely as straightforward as the finance team suggests. AI changes the budgeting experience — not by doing the thinking for you, but by handling the mechanical work so you can focus on the decisions that matter.

• The budgeting process explained — how your OPEX budget fits into the organisation's financial plan
• Direct vs. indirect costs, fixed vs. variable — using AI to categorise and understand your cost base
• Incremental budgeting — using AI to build on last year intelligently, identifying what has changed and why
• Zero-based budgeting — using AI to justify every line from first principles, without starting from a blank page
• Rolling budgets — using AI to maintain a continuously updated forward view of your costs
• Building your budget narrative — using AI to write the justification that finance teams and senior managers actually want to read
• Sample prompt: "Here is my team's cost breakdown for last year. I need to build a zero-based budget for next year. Help me identify which costs are essential, which are discretionary, and what questions I should be asking about each line."

By the end of this module, you will have used AI to build the structure and narrative of a real OPEX budget — and feel significantly more confident going into your next budget cycle.

Day 1 Debrief & Evening Exercise 16:45–17:00

• Q&A on Day 1 content
• Evening exercise: identify one investment or budget proposal you are working on or will need to prepare. You will build the AI-assisted version tomorrow.

DAY 2 — Applying AI to Your Financial Decisions

Module 6 — Proposing Investments: Building Your CAPEX Case With AI Morning · 09:00–10:30

Every manager eventually has to argue for resources — new equipment, additional headcount, a system upgrade, a new project. The quality of the financial case you present determines whether you get the yes. This module shows you how AI helps you build a compelling, financially credible investment case.

• What a CAPEX proposal needs to contain — and what finance teams and boards actually look for
• NPV (Net Present Value) — what it is, why it matters, and how to use AI to calculate and explain it in plain language
• IRR (Internal Rate of Return) — how to use AI to calculate IRR and explain what it means for your proposal
• Payback period — the simplest metric, and how to present it alongside NPV and IRR for maximum credibility
• Risk analysis — using AI to identify the assumptions your proposal depends on, and stress-test the ones that matter most
• Writing the investment narrative — using AI to build the case that connects your numbers to the strategic priorities the approver cares about
• Negotiating with internal stakeholders — how AI helps you prepare for the objections before they come
• Sample prompt: "I am proposing a €120,000 investment in new production equipment. The expected savings are €35,000 per year for 6 years. The discount rate is 8%. Calculate the NPV, IRR, and payback period, then help me write a one-page investment summary for a non-technical approval committee."

By the end of this module, you will have built and presented a financially credible investment case using AI — ready to adapt for your real proposal.

? Coffee Break · 10:30–10:45

Module 7 — Hands-On Prompt Workshop: Your AI Toolkit for Financial Tasks Mid-Morning · 10:45–12:30

This is the most practically intensive session of the course. In small groups organised by role and industry, you will build, test, and refine a personal library of AI prompts for the financial tasks you do most often.

• The one principle that separates useful AI output from useless AI output — and how to apply it every time
• The COSTAR-F framework for managers — a simple structure for writing prompts that get finance-grade results without a finance background
• Building prompts for your real tasks:
  • Interpreting a financial report you received this week
  • Drafting a variance explanation for your monthly report
  • Building or updating your department budget
  • Preparing for an upcoming finance meeting or budget review
  • Writing an investment case or business proposal
  • Explaining financial performance to your own team

Role-based groups: Operations · Marketing & Sales · HR & People · Project Management · General Management

Each group builds and tests a minimum of four prompts on real scenarios from their work, then shares back to the full group.

By the end of this module, you will have a personal AI prompt library — tested, organised, and ready to use on your real work from Day 1 of your return.

??? Lunch · 12:30–13:15

Module 8 — Monitoring Performance, Identifying Trends and Taking Action Early Afternoon · 13:15–14:30

Having the numbers is not enough. The value is in knowing what they mean, spotting problems early, and knowing what to do about them. This module shows you how AI transforms performance monitoring from a reactive to a proactive activity.

• Are we on track? — using AI to compare actuals to targets and identify gaps before they become crises
• Are objectives being achieved? — using AI to translate KPI data into a clear picture of team performance
• Identifying trends — using AI to spot patterns in your data that point to future problems or opportunities
• Identifying and mitigating risks — using AI to assess which variances matter most and what the right response is
• Taking action — using AI to draft the management response: the corrective action plan, the escalation memo, the board update
• Sample prompt: "Here are my team's actuals for the last six months versus target. Identify the three most significant trends, flag any that suggest we will miss our year-end target, and suggest one corrective action for each."

By the end of this module, you will be able to use AI to move from data to decision in a fraction of the time it currently takes.

Module 9 — Using AI Responsibly: What Every Manager Needs to Know Mid-Afternoon · 14:30–15:15

AI is powerful — and that means using it carelessly carries real risk. This module gives you the practical boundaries every manager needs to work within, without making AI governance feel like a burden.

• What you should and should not put into an AI tool — a simple, practical framework
• Why AI output always needs a human check — especially for financial figures and decisions
• The one rule that protects you: every material AI output used for a real decision must be reviewed by a qualified person
• What to do when AI gets something wrong — and how to spot it before it causes a problem
• Your organisation's AI policy — what to check before you start, and who to ask if you are unsure

By the end of this module, you will know exactly how to use AI responsibly — confident in what is appropriate, and protected against the risks that catch people out.

? Coffee Break · 15:15–15:30

Module 10 — Building Your Workflow and 90-Day Action Plan Late Afternoon · 15:30–16:45

The final module turns everything you have built over two days into a concrete commitment — with a plan, a timeline, and accountability.

• Designing your AI-powered workflow — taking the task you identified in the evening exercise and mapping the new, AI-assisted way of doing it
• Your 90-day action plan:
  • Days 1–30: Use your prompt library on three real tasks. Measure the time saving. Share one prompt with a colleague.
  • Days 31–60: Redesign one regular financial workflow using the principles from today. Document what changes.
  • Days 61–90: Introduce AI to your team for one shared task. Review and refine based on what you have learned.
• Public commitments — in groups of four, state your first specific commitment: what task, what tool, what date
• Continuing your learning — where to go next, how to stay current, and the alumni network you now belong to