Strategic Finance for Accountants
Unlock Your Potential - Add Value in an AI-Enabled World Enrol NowMaster Strategic Finance
As AI increasingly takes care of processing, reporting, and first-pass analysis, the value of finance is shifting. What matters now is how you interpret the numbers, frame decisions, and influence outcomes.
This programme helps you make that step, from producing information to shaping what happens next.
Worth up to 15 CPD hours
Online Access: Join us from anywhere in New Zealand or Australia and benefit from the flexibility of online learning.
Choose your pathway:
- Workshops only: 8 hours spread across 4 weeks
- Workshops + coaching: 8 hours spread across 4 weeks, plus 5 individual coaching sessions
To discover more, please read on…
Strategic Finance for Accountants: Staying Relevant and Adding Real Value
The role of finance is changing.
High-performing accountants are no longer defined by the reports they produce, but by the clarity they bring to decisions. They connect financial insight to commercial outcomes, communicate with confidence, and help leaders act.
If you want to increase your influence, contribute at a higher level, and position yourself for leadership roles, Strategic Finance is designed to support that transition.
You will learn practical tools and approaches you can apply immediately in your work.
Why This Shift Matters.
Many accountants are already closer to the business than they were a few years ago. They build forecasts, analyse performance, and contribute to discussions.
But there is a clear next step.
The shift from contributing insights to shaping decisions.
As AI takes on more of the technical and analytical work, your value comes from judgement. Knowing what matters, what to challenge, what to recommend, and how to explain it in a way others act on.
This capability rarely develops by accident. Strategic Finance helps you build it deliberately.
What You Will Gain
- Stronger business partnering skills
- Greater influence in decision-making
- A clearer path to senior and leadership roles
- More interesting, higher-impact work
- Increased market value and career opportunities
- Confidence to contribute in an AI-enabled environment
Recognise This Situation?
Meet Sarah.
She’s established in her accounting career. Technically strong and trusted.
She prepares analysis, builds forecasts, and contributes in management meetings.
In one meeting a few months ago, she spoke up. She questioned a set of assumptions she thought were optimistic.
The conversation moved on quickly. No one picked it up. She wasn’t sure how to push it further, so she let it go.
In a more recent strategy discussion about a new product line, she has done the analysis. But as she listens, something doesn’t quite stack up. The assumptions seem optimistic. Some costs feel understated, though she can’t clearly explain why.
She has the information, but not a clear recommendation. Not a way to frame what she sees so others engage with it.
So she stays quiet.
The decision moves forward.
Later, she thinks about both moments. The time she spoke up and wasn’t heard. And the time she stayed quiet.
In both cases, she had the analysis. But she didn’t influence the outcome.
If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.
You’re technically strong and closer to the business. But you’re not yet being asked, “What do you think we should do?”
Strategic Finance is about closing that gap.
Strategic Finance For Accountants Course Format
This course is delivered as live, interactive online workshops.
- 8 hours of workshops
- Spread across 4 weeks
- Small cohort for interaction and discussion
- Practical examples and real‑world application
- Coaching sessions (one hour each) booked through an online tool at a time of your choosing.
Content
Workshop One: Strategic Finance
- What Strategic Finance really is (and isn’t).
- Understanding and commenting on the true drivers of historical performance.
- How to identify strategic insights that change organisational performance.
- Introduction to the Strategic Finance Model.
- How to add value in an AI-enabled world.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Two: Strategic Plans / Controls
- How strategic planning and forecasting link to insight-driven analysis and driving organisational performance.
- Why forecasting or budgeting future performance properly is key to being a better business partner.
- Why we should consider controls a strategic tool.
- Ensuring the numbers are right.
- Building out the full Strategic Finance Model.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Three: Commercial Levers
- Commercial Thinking – What being commercial really means.
- Assess commercial situations
- Commercial decision-making tools and techniques.
- How to drive performance through appropriate financial mechanisms.
- Knowing what levers to pull before things go wrong or as they are going wrong.
- Having mechanisms that help the business achieve its future performance.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Four: Business Partnering
- Being able to articulate what is going on.
- How to stand out as a business partner who adds value.
- Audience analysis and communication strategies
- How to effectively communicate financial insights.
- How to build a good story and tell it compellingly.
- Dealing with tricky situations.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Testimonials
Strategic Finance helps accountants see the bigger picture and look at their organisation in a more ‘commercial’ way.
Recent participants said this CFO-created and led course enabled them to:
Become A Bigger Thinker
“I started this course as an accountant, focusing on debits and credits. At the end of the course, I was thinking strategically, considering the whole entity ecosystem, and being more commercial. It helped me to be a bigger thinker.”
Think More Strategically
“… I was able to improve our work procedures, particularly around data integrity and month end procedures. The course made me realise what I needed to have in terms of information to be able to think more strategically for the organisation.”
Navigate the Complexities of Their Organisation
“The coaching sessions have allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture. Through the coaching sessions, I have grown more confident in navigating the complexities of the organisations. It has empowered me to proactively seek out answers and seek out clarification where required.”
Be Clear On Career Development
“Many of us regularly attend training and courses to maintain our CPD requirements. Sadly, rarely do we come out of those sessions inspired with new skills to add to our toolbox. This one is different. I found it of great value and highly recommend it for anyone on the senior hierarchy ladder wanting what we all unspeakably need—targeted sessions for our own individual growth, development, and progression.”
Become A Better Business Partner
“I found the training to be very professional and structured, and I highly recommend it as a great course on strategic finance and finance business partnering. The quality course material and the guidance for the coaching sessions were excellent in ensuring that the coaching sessions were relevant and useful.”
Choose Your Strategic Finance Pathway
Strategic Finance Essentials – Workshops Only
For those who want a strong strategic foundation.
- 8 hours of workshops spread across 4 weeks
- Online – join from anywhere in NZ or Australia
- 8 hours of CPD
- Group‑based learning
- Investment: $750 + GST
- Optional individual coaching available at $250 per hour (discounted from $275)
RECOMMENDED:
Strategic Finance Full Programme – Workshops + Coaching
For those who want both capability development and personalised support.
- 8 hours of workshops spread across 4 weeks
- Online – join from anywhere in NZ or Australia
- 15 hours of CPD
- Group‑based learning
- 5 individual one-hour coaching sessions
- Includes a bonus coaching session (pay for 4, receive 5)
- Investment: $1,750 + GST
Why Coaching Matters
- Strategic Finance isn’t just about understanding the concepts — it’s about applying them in real situations, under real pressure.
- Coaching creates the space to step back, test your thinking, and build confidence in how you interpret results, make decisions, and communicate commercially.
- It helps turn knowledge into judgement, and insight into action, so you’re not just learning concepts — you’re changing how you lead and manage.
- That’s why we recommend 5 hours of individual coaching to enhance the 8 hours of workshops.
Cohort Size
- Group programmes are capped at a maximum of 10 participants.
- This ensures meaningful interaction and a high standard of learning.
Upcoming Courses
- September 2026 Intake
- November 2026 Intake
- March 2027 Intake
Payment Plan Available
You may pay this fee in instalments if you wish. 50% prior to the course start date, 25% after Module 2, and 25% after the final training session.
In addition, some organisations may be able to apply for co-funding through the RBPN (Regional Business Partner Network).
If you would like to know more about this option, please contact MacGregor Jamee Limited.
The STRATEGIC FINANCE Guarantee
We’re confident Strategic Finance gives you the tools, techniques, and mindset to kick-start your career as a strategic adviser.
That said, we’re happy to offer you this no-questions-asked guarantee:
If you believe Strategic Finance isn’t right for you after participating in the first group training session, we will refund the fees you’ve paid to this point.
No questions asked.
Created and Coached by a Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Finance is led by MacGregor Jamee’s director, Fiona Harnett.
Fiona’s background makes her uniquely qualified to do this.
Plus, Fiona’s been where you are now. She’s risen from junior accountant to CFO. So, she knows what it takes to have a successful accounting career.
Previous course participants had this to say about Fiona’s coaching and mentoring style:
“Fiona is absolutely awesome and amazing coach, providing 100% valuable support and guidance with her expertise in understanding our organisation from both a helicopter view and a detailed view.”
“I found Fiona very passionate and keen to share her learnings with real life examples from her experience. Her breadth of experience clearly reflects in the examples and thoughtful slides / information she shared with us all. I found her style friendly yet professional. ”
“Fiona is an outstanding coach – she is able to distil the information that she is given and reframe it back to you so that you can see it in a different light – something that is hard to do when you are in the thick of things. She also tells it as it is – you may not really want to hear it – but you need to!”
Strategic Finance’s Magic Ingredient: The Strategic Mindset
Another reason to enrol in Strategic Finance? It’s CFO-led training that puts the strategic mindset at its core.
A strategic mindset is crucial for success. It’s what makes strategic finance ‘work’.
In Strategic Finance we cover what a strategic mindset is – and how to develop yours.
Not everyone needs the same mindset. We all bring different strengths, gaps and habits. That’s where the combination of workshops and 1:1 coaching makes the difference. What you need to work on depends on your role, your experience, and what you’re finding difficult in practice — that’s where the coaching focuses.
The feedback from participants is – “The mindsets offer great insights into where we as Finance business partners can aspire to be“.
Re-cap: Everything You Get with STRATEGIC FINANCE
Build the capability to operate as a true business partner and strategic adviser.
Strategic Finance is a CFO‑led development programme for accounting and finance professionals who want to move beyond technical excellence and into trusted, commercial leadership.
Courses are delivered through scheduled intakes in September 2026, November 2026, and March 2027, with group sizes capped at a maximum of 10 to ensure depth, interaction, and practical application.
What Strategic Finance Covers
The programme focuses on the skills, mindset, and behaviours required to add value at a strategic level, including in an AI‑enabled finance environment.
You’ll work through modules covering:
- What Strategic Finance really is (and isn’t)
- Strategic plans, controls, and decision frameworks
- Commercial levers and value drivers
- Business partnering, influence, and storytelling
Delivered Online
All learning is live, interactive, and applied, grounded in real CFO experience rather than theory alone.
You can join this valuable training programme wherever you live in New Zealand or Australia.
Ready to Register Your Interest?
If Strategic Finance feels like the right next step, you’re invited to enrol or start a conversation.
To enrol, or to discuss which pathway best suits you:
Fiona Harnett
📞 021 477 671
Or complete the short contact form at the bottom of this page.
I look forward to welcoming you into a future Strategic Finance cohort.
Fiona Harnett
CFO | Director, MacGregor Jamee Ltd
Coach and Creator of Strategic Finance
Enrol or Enquire Today
Strategic Finance for Accountants
Unlock Your Potential - Add Value in an AI-Enabled World Enrol NowMaster Strategic Finance
As AI increasingly takes care of processing, reporting, and first-pass analysis, the value of finance is shifting. What matters now is how you interpret the numbers, frame decisions, and influence outcomes.
This programme helps you make that step, from producing information to shaping what happens next.
Worth up to 15 CPD hours
Online Access: Join us from anywhere in New Zealand or Australia and benefit from the flexibility of online learning.
Choose your pathway:
- Workshops only: 8 hours spread across 4 weeks
- Workshops + coaching: 8 hours spread across 4 weeks, plus 5 individual coaching sessions
To discover more, please read on…
Strategic Finance for Accountants: Staying Relevant and Adding Real Value
The role of finance is changing.
High-performing accountants are no longer defined by the reports they produce, but by the clarity they bring to decisions. They connect financial insight to commercial outcomes, communicate with confidence, and help leaders act.
If you want to increase your influence, contribute at a higher level, and position yourself for leadership roles, Strategic Finance is designed to support that transition.
You will learn practical tools and approaches you can apply immediately in your work.
Why This Shift Matters.
Many accountants are already closer to the business than they were a few years ago. They build forecasts, analyse performance, and contribute to discussions.
But there is a clear next step.
The shift from contributing insights to shaping decisions.
As AI takes on more of the technical and analytical work, your value comes from judgement. Knowing what matters, what to challenge, what to recommend, and how to explain it in a way others act on.
This capability rarely develops by accident. Strategic Finance helps you build it deliberately.
What You Will Gain
- Stronger business partnering skills
- Greater influence in decision-making
- A clearer path to senior and leadership roles
- More interesting, higher-impact work
- Increased market value and career opportunities
- Confidence to contribute in an AI-enabled environment
Recognise This Situation
Meet Sarah.
She’s established in her accounting career. Technically strong and trusted.
She prepares analysis, builds forecasts, and contributes in management meetings.
In one meeting a few months ago, she spoke up. She questioned a set of assumptions she thought were optimistic.
The conversation moved on quickly. No one picked it up. She wasn’t sure how to push it further, so she let it go.
In a more recent strategy discussion about a new product line, she has done the analysis. But as she listens, something doesn’t quite stack up. The assumptions seem optimistic. Some costs feel understated, though she can’t clearly explain why.
She has the information, but not a clear recommendation. Not a way to frame what she sees so others engage with it.
So she stays quiet.
The decision moves forward.
Later, she thinks about both moments. The time she spoke up and wasn’t heard. And the time she stayed quiet.
In both cases, she had the analysis. But she didn’t influence the outcome.
If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.
You’re technically strong and closer to the business. But you’re not yet being asked, “What do you think we should do?”
Strategic Finance is about closing that gap.
Strategic Finance For Accountants Course Format
This course is delivered as live, interactive online workshops.
- 8 hours of workshops
- Spread across 4 weeks
- Small cohort for interaction and discussion
- Practical examples and real‑world application
- Coaching sessions (one hour each) booked through an online tool at a time of your choosing.
Content
Workshop One: Strategic Finance
- What Strategic Finance really is (and isn’t).
- Understanding and commenting on the true drivers of historical performance.
- How to identify strategic insights that change organisational performance.
- Introduction to the Strategic Finance Model.
- How to add value in an AI-enabled world.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Two: Strategic Plans / Controls
- How strategic planning and forecasting link to insight-driven analysis and driving organisational performance.
- Why forecasting or budgeting future performance properly is key to being a better business partner.
- Why we should consider controls a strategic tool.
- Ensuring the numbers are right.
- Building out the full Strategic Finance Model.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Three: Commercial Levers
- Commercial Thinking – What being commercial really means.
-
Assess commercial situations
- Commercial decision-making tools and techniques.
- How to drive performance through appropriate financial mechanisms.
- Knowing what levers to pull before things go wrong or as they are going wrong.
- Having mechanisms that help the business achieve its future performance.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Workshop Four: Business Partnering
- Being able to articulate what is going on.
- How to stand out as a business partner who adds value.
- Audience analysis and communication strategies
- How to effectively communicate financial insights.
- How to build a good story and tell it compellingly.
- Dealing with tricky situations.
- Strategic Finance mindsets.
Testimonials
Strategic Finance helps accountants see the bigger picture and look at their organisation in a more ‘commercial’ way. Recent participants said this CFO-created and led course enabled them to:
Become A Bigger Thinker
“I started this course as an accountant, focusing on debits and credits. At the end of the course, I was thinking strategically, considering the whole entity ecosystem, and being more commercial. It helped me to be a bigger thinker.”
Think More Strategically
“… I was able to improve our work procedures, particularly around data integrity and month end procedures. The course made me realise what I needed to have in terms of information to be able to think more strategically for the organisation.”
Navigate the Complexities of Their Organisation
“The coaching sessions have allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture. Through the coaching sessions, I have grown more confident in navigating the complexities of the organisations. It has empowered me to proactively seek out answers and seek out clarification where required.”
Be Clear On Career Development
“Many of us regularly attend training and courses to maintain our CPD requirements. Sadly, rarely do we come out of those sessions inspired with new skills to add to our toolbox. This one is different. I found it of great value and highly recommend it for anyone on the senior hierarchy ladder wanting what we all unspeakably need—targeted sessions for our own individual growth, development, and progression.”
Become A Better Business Partner
“I found the training to be very professional and structured, and I highly recommend it as a great course on strategic finance and finance business partnering. The quality course material and the guidance for the coaching sessions were excellent in ensuring that the coaching sessions were relevant and useful.”
Choose Your Strategic Finance Pathway
Strategic Finance Essentials – Workshops Only
For those who want a strong strategic foundation.
- 8 hours of workshops spread across 4 weeks
- Online – join from anywhere in NZ or Australia
- 8 hours of CPD
- Group‑based learning
- Investment: $750 + GST
- Optional individual coaching available at $250 per hour (discounted from $275)
RECOMMENDED:
Strategic Finance Full Programme – Workshops + Coaching
For those who want both capability development and personalised support.
- 8 hours of workshops spread across 4 weeks
- Online – join from anywhere in NZ or Australia
- 15 hours of CPD
- Group‑based learning
- 5 individual one-hour coaching sessions
- Includes a bonus coaching session (pay for 4, receive 5)
- Investment: $1,750 + GST
Why Coaching Matters
- Strategic Finance isn’t just about understanding the concepts — it’s about applying them in real situations, under real pressure.
- Coaching creates the space to step back, test your thinking, and build confidence in how you interpret results, make decisions, and communicate commercially.
- It helps turn knowledge into judgement, and insight into action, so you’re not just learning concepts — you’re changing how you lead and manage.
- That’s why we recommend 5 hours of individual coaching to enhance the 8 hours of workshops.
Cohort Size
- Group programmes are capped at a maximum of 10 participants.
- This ensures meaningful interaction and a high standard of learning.
Upcoming Courses
- September 2026 Intake
- November 2026 Intake
- March 2027 Intake
Payment Plan Available
You may pay this fee in instalments if you wish. 50% prior to the course start date, 25% after Module 2, and 25% after the final training session.
In addition, some organisations may be able to apply for co-funding through the RBPN (Regional Business Partner Network).
If you would like to know more about this option, please contact MacGregor Jamee Limited.
The STRATEGIC FINANCE Guarantee
We’re confident Strategic Finance gives you the tools, techniques, and mindset to kick-start your career as a strategic advisor.
That said, we’re happy to offer you this no-questions-asked guarantee:
If you believe Strategic Finance isn’t right for you after participating in the first group training session, we will refund the fees you’ve paid to this point.
No questions asked.
Created and Coached by a Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Finance is led by MacGregor Jamee’s director, Fiona Harnett.
Fiona’s background makes her uniquely qualified to do this.
She brings over 20 years’ experience as a GM and CFO across a range of industries, alongside formal coach training through an International Coach Federation‑approved programme.
Plus, Fiona’s been where you are now. She’s risen from junior accountant to CFO. So, she knows what it takes to have a successful accounting career.
Previous course participants had this to say about Fiona’s coaching and mentoring style:
“Fiona is absolutely awesome and amazing coach, providing 100% valuable support and guidance with her expertise in understanding our organisation from both a helicopter view and a detailed view.“
“I found Fiona very passionate and keen to share her learnings with real life examples from her experience. Her breadth of experience clearly reflects in the examples and thoughtful slides / information she shared with us all. I found her style friendly yet professional. “
“Fiona is an outstanding coach – she is able to distil the information that she is given and reframe it back to you so that you can see it in a different light – something that is hard to do when you are in the thick of things. She also tells it as it is – you may not really want to hear it – but you need to!“
Strategic Finance’s Magic Ingredient: The Strategic Mindset
Another reason to enrol in Strategic Finance? It’s CFO-led training that puts the strategic mindset at its core.
A strategic mindset is crucial for success. It’s what makes strategic finance ‘work’.
In Strategic Finance we cover what a strategic mindset is – and how to develop yours.
Not everyone needs the same mindset. We all bring different strengths, gaps and habits. That’s where the combination of workshops and 1:1 coaching makes the difference. What you need to work on depends on your role, your experience, and what you’re finding difficult in practice — that’s where the coaching focuses.
The feedback from participants is – “The mindsets offer great insights into where we as Finance business partners can aspire to be“.
Re-cap: Everything You Get with STRATEGIC FINANCE
Build the capability to operate as a true business partner and strategic adviser.
Strategic Finance is a CFO‑led development programme for accounting and finance professionals who want to move beyond technical excellence and into trusted, commercial leadership.
Courses are delivered through scheduled intakes in September 2026, November 2026, and March 2027, with group sizes capped at a maximum of 10 to ensure depth, interaction, and practical application.
What Strategic Finance Covers
The programme focuses on the skills, mindset, and behaviours required to add value at a strategic level, including in an AI‑enabled finance environment.
You’ll work through modules covering:
- What Strategic Finance really is (and isn’t)
- Strategic plans, controls, and decision frameworks
- Commercial levers and value drivers
- Business partnering, influence, and storytelling
Delivered Online
All learning is live, interactive, and applied, grounded in real CFO experience rather than theory alone.
You can join this valuable training programme wherever you live in New Zealand or Australia.
Ready to Register Your Interest?
If Strategic Finance feels like the right next step, you’re invited to enrol or start a conversation.
To enrol, or to discuss which pathway best suits you:
Fiona Harnett
📞 021 477 671
Or complete the short contact form at the bottom of this page.
I look forward to welcoming you into a future Strategic Finance cohort.
Fiona Harnett
CFO | Director, MacGregor Jamee Ltd
Coach and Creator of Strategic Finance
Enrol or Enquire Today