English for Special Purposes

Finance English

Professional English for accounting, FP&A, treasury, banking, investments, audit, risk, and corporate finance.

8 modules
64 field terms
Interactive practice

Printable Curriculum

Download the full materials

Instructor Guide Participant Workbook Dialogue Lab Jargon Guide

Web Practice Lab

Practice the decisions, not only the vocabulary

Use the activities below to rehearse how a professional in this field clarifies risk, pushes back, and turns pressure into a concrete next step.

Module Focus

Scenario Coach

Respond under pressure

Your professional response

Jargon Flashcard

Pushback Builder

Build a four-step response

Evidence or fact Risk or consequence Decision or next step

Dialogue Coach

Model line

Language notes

Progress

Practice checklist

I used at least two field terms accurately. I named the evidence or policy boundary. I gave a concrete next step. I avoided overpromising.

0 of 4 complete

Student PDF in Web Form

Module map

Open Participant Workbook PDF

Finance Communication: Drivers, Assumptions, Materiality, Risk

Finance English is decision language. Strong learners do not only state numbers; they explain what changed, why it changed, whether it matters, what is recurring, and what decision follows.

Revenue, Gross margin, Operating income, EBITDA

Financial Statements, Close, and Accounting Judgments

Financial statement conversations require precise links among income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, notes, accruals, revenue recognition, reserves, and internal controls.

Accrual, Deferred revenue, Working capital, Free cash flow

FP&A, Budgeting, Forecasting, and Variance Analysis

FP&A conversations live between accounting truth and business uncertainty. Learners need language for budget vs actuals, forecast risk, bridge analysis, sensitivity, scenarios, guidance, and management action.

Budget, Forecast, Run rate, Variance

Treasury, Cash, Liquidity, Working Capital, and FX

Treasury language connects operations, banking relationships, liquidity risk, funding strategy, covenant compliance, and market exposure. Cash is not the same as profit.

Bridge, Sensitivity, Scenario, Guidance

Markets, Investments, Performance, and Client Communication

Investment conversations require language for return, risk, benchmark, attribution, volatility, liquidity, duration, yield, spread, allocation, fees, and fair performance presentation.

Liquidity, Cash runway, Revolver, Covenant

Banking, Credit, Lending, and Counterparty Risk

Credit conversations are evidence-driven. Learners need language for borrower capacity, leverage, collateral, covenant package, probability of default, loss given default, concentration, and stress case.

DSO, DPO, Hedge, FX exposure

Controls, Audit, Compliance, Fraud, and Ethics

Finance teams must be precise when discussing control failures, audit evidence, policy exceptions, conflicts of interest, suspicious activity, and performance claims.

Return, Volatility, Liquidity, Yield

Valuation, M&A, Capital Allocation, and Executive Finance

Senior finance discussions often combine valuation, strategy, risk, capital structure, and narrative. Learners need language for assumptions, valuation methods, diligence findings, synergies, add-backs, WACC, NPV, IRR, and board recommendations.

Duration, Spread, Benchmark, Attribution

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