Commercial Finance and ROI

Commercial Finance and ROI is designed to help finance professionals become more strategic partners in business growth and investment decisions. This workshop goes beyond the numbers, equipping participants to evaluate investment opportunities, communicate ROI in a commercial context, and influence decision-making through strategic insight. The session blends practical tools like portfolio theory, unit economics, and VC-style framing with real-world challenges around innovation, risk, and value creation.

Testimonials

It was the best training / webinar I've attended for some time, it was up to date, relevant, interesting, well put together and well delivered.

Best webinar I have been to in years and Oli delivered a very thought provoking session.

Really informative and relevant course.

Overview

What we Cover:

The role of commercial finance in business strategy
Why ROI matters — and when it doesn’t
Tools and techniques for ROI analysis
Portfolio thinking to balance risk and innovation
Framing business opportunities using the 10-Step VC Pitch
Measuring unit economics and evaluating decisions through a strategic lens
Applying optionality, incrementality, and synergies in investment analysis

The Challenges:

Justifying investment decisions under uncertainty
Balancing short-term ROI with long-term growth and innovation
Aligning financial evaluation with strategic priorities
Translating financial metrics into business impact
Encouraging commercial thinking across finance and non-finance teams

The Barriers:

Over-reliance on traditional ROI calculations without strategic context
Inconsistent frameworks for investment evaluation
Difficulty communicating the value of intangible or innovative initiatives
Lack of shared language between finance and business teams
Limited understanding of risk-adjusted return and optionality

Learning Objectives:

After completing this module, participants will be able to:

Assess ROI with greater strategic and commercial context
Use portfolio theory to evaluate and prioritize investment opportunities
Apply unit economics and VC framing to build compelling business cases
Enhance investment analysis using optionality, incrementality, and synergy thinking
Communicate ROI clearly to influence stakeholder buy-in and decision-making

Business Benefits:

More effective and confident investment decisions
Finance teams that think and act more commercially
Better alignment between financial analysis and business strategy
Improved support for innovation and long-term value creation
Stronger cross-functional collaboration in planning and prioritization

Facilitator

Oliver Deacon

Oli is an ICAEW FCA based out of the UK and a PCC-certified coach with ICF. He is also a former Microsoft Finance Director, where he business partnered marketing, product and software engineering teams with a $4.5BN P&L.

Prerequisites: No Prerequisite knowledge is required to be successful in this course

Advanced Preparation: No advanced preparation is required

Program Level: Basic

Delivery Method: Group Live

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