Finance Basics Every Manager in High-Growth Companies Should Know
Managers make daily decisions that affect company finances. They approve overtime. They set project budgets. They decide whether to hire contractors or full-time employees. They choose vendors.
Yet many managers—especially those recently promoted in high-growth companies—can't read a basic profit and loss statement.
This lack of financial literacy costs Philippine companies millions in poor decisions. Managers overspend without realizing it. They approve expenses that don't generate ROI. They don't understand how their choices impact the bottom line.
And when finance teams try to explain why budgets are tight or why certain requests are denied, managers feel frustrated and undervalued because they don't speak the same language.
The solution? Finance training for non-finance managers.
Why Managers Struggle With Finance
In most Philippine companies, here's how someone becomes a manager:
They're great at their job (sales, operations, HR, etc.)
They get promoted because of technical skill, not leadership ability
They're now managing people and budgets—with zero financial training
Suddenly, they're expected to make smart financial decisions without understanding the basics. And no one's teaching them.
Here's why this gap exists:
Finance is seen as "someone else's job"
Many managers assume financial decisions belong to the finance department. They don't realize that every choice they make—from hiring decisions to vendor selection to overtime approval—is a financial decision.
Financial reports are full of jargon
P&L statements, balance sheets, cash flow projections—these documents are intimidating if you've never been trained to read them. Managers glance at them, don't understand them, and ignore them.
No training for non-finance leaders
Companies invest in product training, customer service training, and compliance training. But finance literacy? Rarely. It's treated as optional when it should be foundational.
The Cost of Financially Illiterate Managers
When managers don't understand finance, problems multiply:
Poor budget decisions
Managers overspend in some areas and underspend in others because they don't understand tradeoffs. They don't realize that saying yes to one expense means saying no to another.
Misalignment with company goals
When managers don't understand how the company makes money or where costs are highest, they can't prioritize effectively. Their decisions may be logical from a departmental perspective but damaging from a company perspective.
Frustration between departments
Finance teams say no to requests without explaining why (because they assume managers understand the numbers). Managers feel micromanaged and undervalued. Resentment builds.
Wasted resources
Managers approve projects that don't generate ROI. They invest in tools that aren't used. They hire when they should be automating. All because they lack the financial context to make smart choices.
For high-growth companies where margins are tight and every decision matters, this isn't just inefficient—it's dangerous.
The Essential Finance Skills Managers Need
You don't need to turn managers into accountants. But every manager should understand:
1. How to read a profit & loss (P&L) statement
This is the most basic financial document, and yet many managers can't interpret it. They should know:
Revenue: Where does money come from?
Cost of goods sold (COGS): What does it cost to deliver our product/service?
Gross profit: What's left after COGS?
Operating expenses: What does it cost to run the business?
Net profit: What's left at the end?
When managers understand this, they see how their decisions impact profitability.
2. Understanding ROI (Return on Investment)
Every expense should generate value. Managers need to ask: "If I spend PHP 100,000 on this, what will we get back?" This mindset shift alone improves decision quality dramatically.
3. Budgeting basics
Managers should know:
How to create a realistic budget
How to track actuals vs. budget
How to adjust mid-year when priorities change
Why overspending in Q1 creates problems in Q4
4. Linking expenses to productivity
Managers need to connect financial decisions to business outcomes. For example:
Hiring costs money, but does it increase output?
Overtime increases costs, but does it meet a critical deadline?
Software subscriptions add up—are we actually using them?
When managers think this way, they make smarter choices.
Why HR Should Invest in Finance Training
If you're an HR leader, finance training should be part of your standard manager onboarding. Here's why:
Better decision-making across the organization
Financially literate managers make better hiring decisions, better vendor choices, better budget allocations. This compounds over time into significant cost savings.
Reduced friction between departments
When managers understand the numbers, conversations with finance become collaborative instead of combative. Everyone speaks the same language.
Faster career progression
Managers who understand finance are better positioned for senior leadership roles. You're not just developing better managers today—you're building your leadership pipeline for tomorrow.
Stronger organizational performance
In high-growth companies, financial discipline is what separates sustainable growth from chaotic growth. When every manager understands the financial implications of their decisions, the entire organization moves faster and smarter.
What Good Finance Training Looks Like
Finance training for managers should be:
Practical, not theoretical
Managers don't need to learn complex accounting principles. They need to understand how to read the reports they receive, how to interpret the numbers that matter, and how to make better decisions.
Relevant to their role
Use real examples from your company. Show managers actual P&L statements, real budget templates, and case studies from your industry. The more relevant the training, the more they'll retain.
Interactive, not lecture-heavy
Adults learn by doing. Use exercises, case studies, and group discussions. At ReadySetWork, we make finance training engaging by using real-world scenarios that managers face every day.
Short and focused
You don't need a week-long course. A 3-6 hour seminar covering the essentials can dramatically improve financial literacy. Follow up with resources they can reference later.
The Bottom Line
Every manager makes financial decisions. The question is: are they making informed decisions or guessing?
In high-growth companies where resources are tight and speed matters, you can't afford managers who don't understand the financial implications of their choices.
Finance literacy isn't optional. It's foundational. And it's one of the highest-ROI investments HR can make.
ReadySetWork runs finance-for-non-finance training that equips managers with practical, usable skills. Our seminars are designed specifically for Philippine workplaces and focus on real-world application, not theory.
Because every decision is a financial decision.
Explore our Accounting & Finance training programs or contact us to discuss finance literacy training for your managers.
