Budget Reporting Skills That Actually Matter
We started corinthavex's training program in 2019 because we kept meeting talented people who understood numbers but struggled with real-world reporting. The gap between spreadsheet knowledge and practical budget communication was wider than anyone expected.
Our approach focuses on what actually works in Australian business environments. Not theory for theory's sake, but the specific skills that help finance teams communicate clearly with stakeholders who need to make decisions.
Start Your JourneyHow We Got Here
From a small workshop series to comprehensive programs that shape how finance professionals communicate across Queensland and beyond.
2019
First Workshop Series
Started with eight people in a borrowed conference room at Robina. The focus was simple: help finance staff explain variance reports to non-finance managers without causing confusion or panic.
2021
Program Expansion
By mid-2021, we'd worked with 150 professionals. Added modules on forecasting communication and stakeholder presentation skills after feedback showed these were the areas people struggled with most.
2023
Industry Recognition
Queensland Finance Network featured our methodology in their autumn conference. Started seeing graduates recommend the program to their colleagues, which became our main source of new participants.
2025
Looking Forward
Now preparing for our September intake with updated content on digital reporting tools and remote stakeholder engagement. The fundamentals stay the same, but the delivery methods keep evolving.
What Changes in Three Months
Most participants notice improvements within the first four weeks. Not magical transformations, just steady progress in areas that matter.
Sarah Klepper joined our January 2025 cohort struggling to present quarterly forecasts to her executive team. By March, she was leading those presentations with confidence. The content hadn't changed much, but her delivery approach had.
- Learn to spot the story in your numbers before you start writing reports
- Build presentation templates that work for different stakeholder groups
- Practice explaining variances without jargon or defensive language
- Develop quick-turnaround reporting skills for urgent requests
- Get comfortable with questions you can't immediately answer
Real Projects From Recent Programs
Every cohort works through actual scenarios submitted by Australian finance teams. Here's what the autumn 2024 group tackled.
Quarterly Variance Analysis
Mid-sized retail chain needed clearer variance reports for regional managers. Participants redesigned the template and communication approach, cutting follow-up questions by about half.
Capital Budget Presentation
Manufacturing company struggling with capital approval processes. Group developed a presentation framework that helped finance teams explain ROI calculations to operations staff more effectively.
Monthly Management Pack
Tech startup needed faster turnaround on monthly reports. Participants streamlined the reporting workflow and created executive summaries that highlighted decision-relevant information first.
The Methodology Behind It
We don't follow a rigid curriculum. Each program adapts based on what participants need. But there's a consistent framework: understand your audience first, structure your data second, communicate third.
Week one covers stakeholder analysis because you can't write effective reports without knowing who's reading them. Week four introduces presentation skills because written reports rarely stand alone.
By week twelve, most people have developed their own approach. That's the goal—not to create clones who follow our exact method, but to give people tools they can adapt to their specific situations.
Who Runs These Programs
Three practitioners who spend most of their time doing the work, not just teaching it. That hands-on experience shapes how we approach training.
Finnian Blackwood
Program Director
Fifteen years in financial reporting across retail and manufacturing. Started teaching after realizing most communication problems stemmed from poor reporting structure, not bad numbers.
Meredith Alvarez
Communication Specialist
Background in both finance and corporate training. Focuses on helping technical staff translate complex budget information into language that drives decisions rather than confusion.
Ingrid Thorsen
Analysis Instructor
Former CFO at two Queensland companies. Joined corinthavex in 2022 to share practical approaches to forecasting and variance analysis that actually work under pressure.