Executive education courses in finance deliver among the most tangible returns: they aim to raise the profitability of organization and generate shareholder value. Many executive courses in finance are run by the world’s top business schools in global financial centers like London or New York City. 

Many of the programs are for non-finance executives looking to get up to speed on the fundamentals of corporate finance – cash flow management, valuations, mergers and acquisitions. From there, participants learn how to evaluate investment opportunities and acquire assets and to create shareholder value. They also learn how corporate funding decisions are made, and how to win finance for their projects and teams. 

Some are certificate programs that enable participants to tailor the learning to their professional needs by choosing from a wide array of course options that come together into a single qualification. 

Often, the programs cover novel technologies such as financial technology (fintech), artificial intelligence and machine learning in finance, with participants learning how to harness the power of technology to make better business decisions and to boost efficiency and accuracy. 

The best executive courses in finance tend to be short, lasting a few days to a few weeks, either in person, online or a combination of delivery methods. Here are the top 10: 
 

In today’s digital economy, being able to make decisions based on data rather than gut feeling is essential to effective organizational performance. Across all industries, businesses are transforming into data-driven enterprises. But leveraging analytical capabilities requires new competencies. That is where executive education courses come in. 

Participants in Executive Courses in Business Analytics learn basic frameworks for business analytics including biases, experimentation, descriptive, prescriptive and predictive analytics. They also may learn the basics of coding and also technological tools for leveraging data science, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. Participants in the best executive courses for business analytics get the skills to not just analyze data but communicate the results and assess their likely impact on company performance. Participants also learn how to build data-driven organizational cultures. 

Some of these business analytics executive programs are online, the others delivered in-person on campus. Some look at how business analytics applies to various aspects of an organization, for example in human resources, marketing or mining; while others are generalist programs applicable to a wide range of functions from sales to operations and finance, across all economic sectors.  

Ultimately, it’s about converting the data insight into action to create business value, through raising productivity and efficiency, improving safety and lowering costs. The return on investment is often tangible and measurable. 

Here are the Top 10 Executive Courses in Business Analytics

Companies today are having to respond to rapid changes in business and society amid increasing competitive threats but also business opportunities for companies bold enough to shape their market. 

Happily, there are a wide range of executive education courses in strategy or strategic management offered by some of the world’s leading business schools around the world. On these courses, participants learn how to assess threats and opportunities, and build a compelling vision for transformation based on the broader environmental, political and social landscape. 

In these strategy-oriented executive courses, participants discover how to choose the right team members and nurture the best ideas, putting together a strategic plan of action. Then, the executives enrolled in these 10 leading programs learn how to build innovation capability and lead change management. They come away with the confidence to take on tough challenges and develop solutions that drive organizational performance. 

The best executive courses in strategy cover a wide range of topics that are important for managers with increasing responsibility.

See the top 10 executive courses in strategy below.

People managers have been vital in supporting workers during the Covid-19 crisis, and in designing more diverse and inclusive workplaces in response to calls for equity. There are many executive education programs in human resources (HR) management, run by top business schools around the world. 

Drawing on the latest academic research and industry best practice, participants in these HR executive courses learn effective strategies for hiring, recruitment, performance evaluation, promotion and compensation. Participants also explore and learn to anticipate rapid changes in business and society. 

Many of the best executive courses in HR also cover how companies can use data and people analytics to improve human resources management. The programs are practical, with participants getting stuck into lively classroom discussions and interactive exercises to help identify individual strengths and communication styles.

The learning outcomes include enhanced leadership capability and bolstered confidence to influence decisions that have a tangible impact on the bottom line, in terms of raising employee engagement and productivity, leading change management and performance measurement. 

Participants learn to build up the cultural and human capital of their company, which is one of the most important assets on the balance sheet. That ultimately creates customer and business value.  

See the top executive courses in human resources management below.

Family companies are the engines of economic develop across the world, and they play an important role in labor market, employing the vast majority of private sector workers. They also tend to be more resilient than other companies with lower insolvency rates through crises. 

However, family business face unique challenges, and that is where executive education can help. A number of the world’s leading business schools cater to family-owned companies with specific executive courses. 

A common theme among the course providers is how to transition from one generation to the next, along with the unique governance challenges faced by family firms. 

Many of the best executive courses in family business management also offer executive coaches to support the implementation of academic theory into the real world, and may even offer a personalized leadership development journey. The programs are hands-on, with participants learning through a blend of theory and role-play.

Some of the courses are partnerships delivered between multiple institutions, with participants spending their time at both schools in different parts of the world to develop a more global perspective on family enterprise. Other programs are delivered entirely online, offering greater flexibility and convenience to participants. 

These executive education programs are for all members of family-owned companies in addition to non-executive directors and board members, along with investors and other stakeholders. 
 

Today’s executive boards face unprecedented challenges, from the global pandemic and its economic fallout to civil unrest, cybersecurity threats and growing calls for greater diversity and inclusion. 

A number of business schools have responded by launching a wide array of executive education courses in governance over the years. They cover a variety of topics such as role defining, succession planning, board appointments and how to raise organizational performance.  Participants emerge better equipped to tackle the issues raised by the COVID-19 crisis. 

The best executive courses in governance take an in-depth look at all aspects of corporate governance including the legal and regulatory frameworks as well as the behavioral and psychological issues. A key element is peer learning from an experienced group of participants who are current, emerging or veteran board members and executives. 

The programs are highly interactive with participants developing the skills and insights to serve effectively — and how to apply them in practice. The aim for many governance courses is to strengthen financial return, enterprise risk management and governance diversity. 

Some of the courses focus on digital transformation, and how participants can evaluate opportunities and threats for their companies. Others focus on emerging issues such as CEO succession plans, shareholder activism, cyber risk, diversity and inclusion. Many executive courses in governance will also explore ethics, while sustainability and regulation are also key themes. 

There are many changes afoot in the world of sales from evolving consumer and customer needs to digital acceleration and disruptive events. One way to get ahead and grasp these rapidly evolving concepts is to take an executive education program. Helsinki to Salt Lake City, the courses are offered by business schools across the world, through a mixture of in person and online learning. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharper focus the importance of using digital technology to create new distribution channels and sales strategies to satisfy changing consumer tastes. Therefore, many of the emerging executive courses in sales focus on digital transformation, but not so much on technology but rather people and culture, and how they can benefit the sales function.  

Thus, some of the programs focus on managing a sales workforce in terms of strategy, structure, motivation and performance management. But many will focus on the technology behind sales itself, including data analytics, with companies spending millions of dollars to collect and analyze their data to generate revenue and increase profit. Sales analytics is also about uncovering how salespeople can improve their own performance. 

Another area of focus is on ethics and how to make sound decisions, not solely based on economics. Here are the top 10 courses that encompass all of this and much more. 

Psychology has permeated the business world in the past few years and has transformed our understanding of behavior and improved the ability to make management decisions. 

At business school, executives are learning how to better understand how and why people behave, which is seen as key to tackling most issues in society. Whether they need to boost employee engagement, encourage changes in how consumers, co-workers or clients behave, participants come with varied aims to executive courses centered on psychology. 

Some of these executive education programs focus on behavioral science and how to understand the very different motivational factors that are driving consumers, with the digital world changing how buyers think, feel and behave. Participants learn how to understand consumer wants and needs and enhance the clarity of their marketing communications. 

Other executive programs in psychology are aimed at specific sectors, such as financial services, where technology, regulation and competition have disrupted financial planning and client relationships. Despite advances in fintech, human interactions are still critical. 

Others still cover human behavior in the context of leadership in today’s turbulent times, with the pace of change in business and society accelerating exponentially. 

Here are the Top 10 Executive Courses in Psychology.

Social entrepreneurship and nonprofit organizations are part of a rapidly growing movement that seeks to create societal value and protect the environment alongside generating economic value. A number of business schools offer excellent executive education programs for managers who operate in this dynamic and rewarding space. 

The programs typically offer a flexible schedule, practical application of classroom learning in the workplace and a sophisticated curriculum offering a strong foundation in nonprofit management and leadership. The executive courses help mission-driven leaders develop their strategy, financial and fundraising skills. Participants also learn a great deal from one another. 

The programs will either be either for social enraptures or nonprofit leaders. Participants who are social entrepreneurs will develop entrepreneurial skills, learning how to integrate design thinking and social innovation, in addition to measuring the impact of their social venture model.  The nonprofit executive courses focus on strengthening people’s leadership capabilities and encouraging them to spark innovation and lead change within their organizations. 

Increasingly, demand is rising for corporate leaders who consider more than just the bottom line: they include environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors in their organizational strategy. 

Leaders are being urged by consumers, investors, regulators, and society to shift their methods of value creation as environmental and societal concerns have grown. Sustainability is now a business imperative. 

And as such, a growing number of business schools provide executive education courses in corporate sustainability leadership, which cover ESG investing, sustainable supply chain management, and employee and consumer engagement. Participants will also learn how to develop innovative business models and how to disclose sustainability practices to meet increasing and conflicting stakeholder demands. 

Using a mix of interactive lectures, simulations and action learning, the executives will develop practical and impactful strategies for building consensus and making change. With companies facing greater pressure to tackle societal challenges such as inequality as well as climate change, these skills are critical to any leader’s future success.