NOTE: This course is designed for business owners, managers, and key team members who already have some familiarity with financial statements and want to use them more effectively to guide decision-making, planning, and growth. If you are brand new to financial statements, our Introduction to Financial Management course may be a better starting point.
Accounting is the language of business—but financial management is how you use that language to run your business with intention. This intermediate-level course moves beyond basic definitions to focus on understanding, analyzing, and applying financial information to improve performance, manage risk, and plan for the future.
Not sure which financial class is right for you? Check out our Introduction to vs. Intermediate Financial Management – Which is Right for You? for a comparison of each.
Overview
Participants will learn how the three core financial statements—the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement—work together to tell the full story of a business’s financial health.
Over four sessions, participants will build skills in (1) understanding and applying financial statements, (2) financial analysis and interpretation, (3) budgeting and profit planning, and (4) cash flow planning and management.
Through practical examples, case studies, and hands-on exercises, you’ll strengthen your ability to interpret financial results, identify strengths and red flags, and connect day-to-day operations to long-term outcomes.
In this session, you will:
- Interpret the three core financial statements—income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
- Assess a business’s financial position and performance by identifying key indicators related to liquidity, profitability, efficiency, leverage, and growth capacity.
- Analyze financial statements using practical tools, including trend analysis, common-size analysis, benchmarking, and financial ratio analysis, to support informed decision-making.
- Evaluate profitability drivers such as pricing, cost structure, gross margin, operating expenses, and contribution margin—and understand how management choices impact results.
- Develop and use budgets for sales, expenses, profit, and cash flow to support planning, control, and strategic goal-setting.
- Apply profit planning techniques to identify opportunities for improving margins, controlling costs, and strengthening overall financial performance.
- Differentiate between profit and cash flow and explain why profitable businesses can still experience cash shortages.
- Forecast and manage cash flow by analyzing cash inflows and outflows, understanding the cash conversion cycle, and identifying timing-related risks.
- Manage working capital more effectively by evaluating accounts receivable, inventory, payables, and debt levels.
- Use financial information to communicate more effectively with accountants, lenders, investors, and other advisors, and to support financing and growth decisions.
This course does NOT:
- Teach bookkeeping, recordkeeping, or accounting software
- Provide personalized financial, legal, or investment advice
- Discuss tax planning or tax compliance
- Focus on advanced accounting theory or CPA-level technical standards
- Replace the need for professional advisors
Registration for Spring 2026
Location: Live Virtual
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Dates for Spring 2026:
- Tuesday, May 12, 2026
- Tuesday, May 19, 2026
- Tuesday, May 26, 2026
- Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Fee: $359*
Registration Deadlines
| Registration type | Date | Fee |
| Earlybird | Earlybird closes: 4/12/2026 | Earlybird Registration Fee: $287.20 |
| Late Registration | Late Registration begins: 4/28/2026 | Late Registration Fee: $395 |
| Course registration closes | 5/4/2026 | — |
Registration policy: Payment will be required at the time of registration. You must have either a credit card or a valid UW-Madison funding string to be able to register.
Cancellation policy: If you cancel before the program begins, there is a $25 cancellation fee. If you cancel after the program begins, you will be charged for the full program fee. To cancel, call registration at 608-262-2451. If there is inclement weather, please call 608-263-2221 for a recorded message after 6:30 am for day classes or after 3:30 pm for night classes. Please note that in the case of a cancellation (by either the participant or the SBDC), participants can only be transferred one time into a new course.
Disability Statement: Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu to request accommodations.
I love how this course is put together and presented. Even though I took it before, I felt I learned a ton more this time. I will be back again in a few years.
Owner, Badgerland Irrigation and Lighting Service, LLC, Fall 2022 Participant
[Taking this class] confirmed we are doing many things right. I learned the value of key reports and ratios, [which gave me] to have more tools to profit from and analyze our operations/decisions.
-President, Aro Eberle Architects, Inc., 2023 participant
[I appreciated the] ease of understanding. Difficult “intimidating” topics made easier to understand and apply to my skill set. Very practical information that I can immediately apply and use in business.
–General Manager, Food Fight Restaurant Group, Fall 2022 participant
It helped to have an in-depth explanation of the importance of the information, as well as connecting the dots for what pieces flow together.
-Co-owner, The Fireplace Professionals, Inc., 2023 participant
All aspects of the course were valuable! The way material built upon itself was easy to follow and helped translate to my own business needs.
-Owner, Wilder's Plants & More, 2023 participant
This class lit a fire under my butt to take action on cleaning up my financials.
-Owner, Tricky Foods, 2023 participant
Instructor
Victoria Thayer, CPA & President of Novii CPA
Victoria Thayer, CPA, is the President of Novii CPA, a relationship-focused CPA firm located in Madison, WI. With 10 years of experience, she serves small to medium-sized business owners across the United States in the biotechnology, professional services, and manufacturing industries. Victoria’s expertise includes financial statement preparation, budgeting, forecasting, tax planning, and tax preparation. In recognition of her accomplishments and dedication, Victoria was honored with the 2023 WICPA Excellence Award – Young Professional and the 2023 Young Athena Award Nominee. Victoria is also a member of the WWBIC Advisory Committee, the WICPA Federal Taxation Committee, and the AICPA Emerging Leaders Committee.
Prior to Novii CPA, Victoria grew up in a world vastly different from her current reality. Raised by a single mother, her family’s financial circumstances seemed destined to follow a familiar path. Refusing to let circumstances define her, she recognized that education offered boundless possibilities. Victoria graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and business administration. She later earned her master’s in accounting from Edgewood College and obtained her CPA license.
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship within the Universities of Wisconsin.
It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Wisconsin SBDC at UW-Madison helps entrepreneurs succeed at any stage. We offer no-cost, confidential consulting and business education across a wide region, primarily serving Dane, Sauk, and Columbia counties. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.