Tackling Anxiety in Finance MBA Courses

This article is sponsored by Ashridge Business School.

Learn more about the Ashridge MBA program

Are you looking at MBA programs but feeling anxious about the complexity of the finance MBA course – all those numbers and jargon? Do you imagine a room of financial analysts breathing down your neck?

If you ask potential MBA students which subject they feel most anxious about, the vast majority respond with finance, according to Steve Seymour, director of MBA programs at Ashridge Business School.

Simplifying finance terms

It is important, therefore, to ‘demystify and simplify’ the subject both in candidates’ perceptions and course delivery. “The first challenge is to reduce anxiety so that finance terms and classes become far less daunting in reality,” says Seymour (pictured below.)

The finance MBA course at Ashridge aims to prepare students to interpret and evaluate the financial implications of their actions, understand financial management and communicate effectively with financial specialists.

Seymour elaborates: “The intention is not to train students to become accountants or financial analysts, but to enable them to speak their language and understand their thinking.”

Steve Hill, a 2012 Ashridge MBA graduate with a background in finance, agrees: “The finance MBA course covers everyday finance terms and information you need to understand a business – no one tries to catch you out.

“The course builds from basics and assumes you know very little about finance. The class works through an example and then tests it in a safe environment as a group. The accountants behave and don’t try to baffle anyone with finance speak.”

Benefits of an MBA

Peter Markey, a 2012 graduate of Ashridge’s executive MBA had no grounding in finance before his course: “I was anxious about the finance course and dreaded it. However, the teaching style and resources soon put me and the others at ease. The MBA finance jargon is light and key phrases and finance terms are well explained, which you put into practice immediately.”

Having graduated, Markey explains the Ashridge philosophy in practice: “Leading a team and developing your people doesn’t require an in-depth understanding of HR, and it’s the same with finance – knowing the essentials and key financial metrics to drive your business, not every aspect of financial accounting.”

On the flipside, Seymour believes the benefits of an MBA for students with a background in finance include gaining additional knowledge and learning to “simplify and explain what they need from others in their business, which benefits everyone”.

“Students need to be persuaded that numbers are more straightforward and simple to work with than people or words!” he jokes.

On completion of the finance courses on a program like the Ashridge MBA, students who started the program with limited financial knowledge should be able to, as a minimum:

- Understand and feel comfortable with reading and interpreting finance terms and annual reports as well as to appreciate the factors which drive financial performance in differing businesses.

- Understand the concept of discounted cash flow (dcf) and be able to apply dcf techniques.

- Understand the techniques and options used to value a business financially.

- Feel comfortable preparing budgets and financial plans.

Finance MBA success

“The key to MBA success is being open,” says Markey, “open to new learning and experiences, and having an ‘I don't know it all yet’ attitude.” In his opinion, the best students come prepared to be challenged.

According to Markey, commercial experience is also vital to MBA success: “It really helps to know the inner workings of a business and have real business experience to draw from.”

Markey faced his own challenges in the program, returning to the classroom after seven years. “Getting back into learning was hard. I had lost the rhythm of learning in this way. I had to relearn how to learn quickly!”

He summarizes his Ashridge MBA experience as ‘life-changing’. “I've made friends for life and the whole experience really boosted my confidence in the workplace.”

This article is sponsored by Ashridge Business School.