Creating a culture of continuous improvement begins with education, and SVA is committed to offering a broad range of education to finance departments. That’s why our tagline is “Educating Continuous Improvement”.
SVA offers courses covering a wide range of topics including current technical accounting issues, building leadership and teamwork in finance organizations, and financial process improvement.
All of our courses are built on the twin foundations of our Financial Effectivement Framework™ and our Lean Value Creation Framework™, and can be customized to meet your organizations needs. SVA delivers courses by webinar, live in person, or on your site. We also deliver courses at conferences and trade shows. Contact us for more information.
We have found that even a small commitment to continuous training and improvement yields a significant payback in efficiency and effectiveness. Our courses are designed to benefit the entire finance organization. While almost all of our courses are NASBA approved for CPE credit, we have found that organizations get the most benefit when everyone in the department participates. That way, the entire organization becomes aligned to continuous improvement.
Some of our most popular courses include:
Optimizing the Accounting Close:
Learn how top performing companies have applied continuous improvement methods to make the close process more visible, predictable, efficient, and accurate.
- Constantly changing nature: Evolving standards, sometimes turbulent economic conditions, and changing corporate structures and imperatives all impact the close. Even if your close is 100% optimized, it will soon change.
- Extreme time pressure: The close must be completed on time. No excuses. Finance companies can’t “not close” to focus on process improvement. All process improvement initiatives need to be performed in the period between closes.
- Criticality of results. Just as the close has to be completed on time, it also needs to be right.
Because of these factors, improving the accounting close has proven to be a challenge for many companies.
In this course, you will learn how top performing companies have applied continuous improvement methods to make the close process more visible, predictable, efficient, and accurate.
During this dynamic class you will learn about a total solutions approach that will help you to increase collaboration and productivity to achieve a more effective and efficient close.
Who Should Attend: CFOs, VPs of Finance, Controllers, Assistant Controllers, Accounting Managers, Managers of Financial Reporting, Consolidation Managers, Internal Auditors, Compliance Auditors, Project Managers involved with process improvement, any professional involved with the close process
Mastering Audit Management:
Proven practices and techniques for a more efficient audit. Learn how successful companies have simultaneously reduced both risk and cost
The external audit process is in theory managed by independent auditors. However, the impact of an inefficient external audit process falls disproportionately on the company being audited. Ultimately, the responsibility for financial statements AND audit efficiency lies with the company’s management.
In this course we bring together years of best practices related to managing external audits based on real experiences from multiple perspectives. You will learn practical techniques and methods to continuously improve processes resulting in more effective and efficient audits.
Who Should Attend: CFOs, VPs of Finance, Audit Directors, Controllers, Accounting Managers, Managers of Financial Reporting, Consolidation Managers, Compliance Auditors, Project Managers involved with process improvement, Any professional involved with the external audit.
Financial Effectiveness Framework™ Courses:
SVA offers a series of courses built on the foundation of our Financial Effectiveness Framework™. Talk to one of our course developers about which course or courses would be most effective for you.
- Technology, Systems and approach for Greater Economic Impact
- Latest COSO Updates
- Managing Financial Reporting – SOX & Controls
- Next Steps in SOX Compliance – Introductory & Advanced Courses available
- Mastering Reconciliations, Analysis & Other Detailed Work Paper Issue
- Mastering SEC Reporting (10-K’s & 10-Q’s) through Process Improvement
Lean Value Creation Framework™ Courses:
Learn how high performing finance organizations use Lean and Agile techniques improve teamwork, increase trust, become more efficient, and add more value to their companies.
- Leveraging Metrics, Goals, & Bench Marking to Increase Process Efficiency
- More Efficient External Reporting through Internal Process Improvement
- Applying Agile/LEAN Improvement Methodology in Finance
- Increasing Team Effectiveness Through Trust
- Developing Professionalism to Increase Team Effectiveness
- Leveraging Inevitable Change to Create Process Improvement
- Inspiring Leadership that Stimulates Continual Improvement within Financial Departments
- Inspiring Teamwork that Stimulates Continual Improvement within Financial Departments