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Finance for Non-Financial Managers short course

Gain financial analysis skills and learn methods to improve bottom line decision-making in this short course in finance.

Register now

Short course overview: Finance for Non-Financial Managers

Do you request capital, equipment, or additional people to grow your unit? If so, you need to understand how to demonstrate the financial value of your proposal. Finance is about leveraging access to capital to improve your company, unit, and your personal career/life. We begin by focusing on your own investment and retirement plans and leverage this knowledge to understand how companies make financial decisions.

You will explore best practices in finance used by leading companies to make value-enhancing investment decisions, learn the language and methods used in finance to measure and drive firm performance, and identify key value drivers by using real-world examples from major corporations. 

Upcoming dates

April 22, 2026 to May 13, 2026
Delivery: Online, instructor-led
Price: $1,450

Register

Want to learn more?

Fill out the form below to request more information.

Who is this course for?

Managers, directors, and executives who want to learn how to access capital to build their unit and advance their careers. Small business owners and entrepreneurs who seek to to grow their companies by making sound financial decisions will also benefit from the course.

The bottom line for you and your organization

  • Gain an understanding of the language and analytical thought process of finance
  • Read and deconstruct financial statements to assess firm performance and identify risks
  • Use financial models to make better decisions and maximize shareholder value

Showcase your new skills

In addition to earning a certificate of completion after finishing this program, you will also earn a digital badge to showcase your skills on platforms like LinkedIn. These credentials show your network the concrete and in-demand skills you earned from taking this Kelley program.

Course outline

  • Use time value of money (TVM) to evaluate your own retirement plans 
  • Estimate the cost of capital by understanding shareholder/bondholder return expectations
  • Understand the impact of inflation, risk, and return expectations on retirement
  • Apply concepts to your own retirement by creating an Excel template to help plan

  • Understand how the balance and income statements interact
  • See how pro-forma (future-looking) statements are used
  • Assess performance using financial statements
  • Evaluate financial statements to enhance future performance of the company/unit

  • Estimate economic profits
  • Net Present Value (NPV)
  • Internal Rates of Return (IRR)
  • Why capital is the key to company, unit, and personal career enhancement 
  • Payback, NPV, and IRR examples
  • Understand cost of capital example

  • Evaluate the capital investments
  • Exercise: Evaluating capital investments in practice

Course details

Format: Live-virtual, online classes and additional recorded material.

Schedule: One 75-minute session per week for four weeks plus 90 minutes of asynchronous material each week.

Discounts: Available for IU alumni, staff, and groups of three or more participants. 

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Access a customizable supervisor request letter to support your case for attending a Kelley professional development course.

Meet your instructor

Ken Carow portrait

Ken Carow

Professor of Finance

Kenneth (Ken) Carow, PhD, CFA, is a professor of finance at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He has served as the executive associate dean of faculty and research, associate dean for Indianapolis research and programs, and chair of the Undergraduate program. Ken has taught courses in corporate finance, financial risk management, financial institutions, working capital management, and real estate in the Undergraduate, MBA, Physician MBA, and Executive Education Programs. He received 10 internal teaching awards and one national teaching award. Ken is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Society of Indianapolis, MENSA, and several financial management associations.

Ken serves on the Thrivent Board of Directors (a Fortune 500 financial services company with over $180 billion in assets). He has also served on the boards of directors for Lutheran High School of Indianapolis and the Midwest Financial Association. He is a past associate editor for the Journal of Financial Research and The Financial Review.

Ken’s primary research interests include financial institutions and the deregulation of markets. He has published a total of 26 papers in such leading journals as the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Risk and Insurance; the Journal of Corporate Finance; Strategic Management Journal; Journal of Financial Research; and other journals.

Areas of Expertise

Banking, debt design, financial institutions, and insurance.

Russell Rhoads portrait

Russell Rhoads

Clinical Associate Professor of Financial Management

Areas of Expertise

Behavioral finance, derivatives, market volatility, financial markets, and bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Questions? Contact us.

To learn more about the short course, contact us at kelleypd@iu.edu.

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