'The success of Creative Kitchens took their management team rather by surprise. Since their start-up, four years ago, everyone has been working hard to keep up with the increasing pace of new orders. At today’s management meeting Sharon Bentley, the company’s management accountant, drops a bombshell. The Bank has asked for a thorough review of the company’s trading activities before they can sanction any further increase in the overdraft facility.'

From the opening session, Training for Financial Awareness presents a scenario with which any manager can empathize. The manual provides the trainer with a rigorous, professional and yet fun resource to teach managers the basics of the financial processes. As the story of Creative Kitchens unfolds, so the accompanying exercises enable the participants to discover more of the financial jigsaw.

The eight free-standing sessions, a total of 29 activities, include exercises both on compiling and using financial data. The sessions may be used independently, or built into a complete 'finance for non-financial managers' programme. The authors provide instructions for using the exercises, model questions and answers to help build on the learning. There is also an overview of the key learning points to help the facilitator structure the exercise and ensure everything is covered.

The most effective management training is that which has empathy for the environment and the day-to-day problems faced by the participants. This the authors understand only too well. They approach finance as a management issue (rather than an accounting one) and, consequently, provide materials that will help any financial trainer engage and involve their audience in learning