Read company accounts and disclosures to identify the figures that matter for a story.
Public Relations & Media
Business and Financial Journalism for General Reporters
Build the financial literacy and reporting techniques needed to cover company results, markets and economic data accurately, translating technical disclosures into stories a general audience can understand and trust.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
A general reporter assigned to cover a set of quarterly results can be handed an income statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow statement with almost no notice, and the story still has to be filed accurately by the same afternoon. This course builds the financial literacy and reporting technique needed for business and financial journalism without assuming a specialist background. Participants learn to read company accounts and disclosures, identify red flags such as restated figures or unusual auditor language, and interpret economic indicators and their typical market impact. Sessions on corporate events cover preparing a results-day filing plan, questioning management guidance with appropriate scepticism, and analysing mergers, restructuring and governance issues using verifiable facts rather than company statements alone. A module on investigation introduces searching public filings and regulatory registries for information a company has not volunteered, and interviewing analysts and investors to add independent perspective. The course closes on translating technical financial detail into accurate plain language and managing the market-sensitivity and legal risk specific to financial reporting. Participants leave able to cover a results announcement or corporate event confidently under deadline.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Interpret key economic indicators and explain their typical market impact to readers.
Prepare a results-day filing plan and question management guidance with appropriate scepticism.
Analyse mergers, restructuring and governance events using verifiable facts rather than company statements alone.
Use public filings and data sources to investigate discrepancies in financial disclosures.
Interview executives, analysts and investors to add independent perspective to financial coverage.
Translate technical financial detail into accurate plain language while managing market-sensitivity risk.
Who Should Attend
General news reporters assigned to cover business and financial stories.
Local and regional journalists covering company news without a specialist finance background.
Digital news desks expanding coverage into business and markets reporting.
Broadcast journalists preparing to interview executives and analysts on air.
Journalism students seeking foundational financial reporting skills.
Communications staff who need to understand how financial journalists assess disclosures.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Building Financial Literacy for Reporting
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reading Company Accounts and Disclosures
- Read an income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement to identify the figures that matter for a story.
- Distinguish revenue, profit and cash flow trends that indicate genuine performance change from one-off adjustments.
- Identify red flags in financial disclosures, such as restated figures or unusual auditor language.
- Compare a company's results against its own guidance and analyst consensus to judge significance.
Session 2Understanding Markets and Economic Indicators
- Interpret key economic indicators — inflation, employment, interest rates — and their typical market impact.
- Explain how equity, bond and currency markets react to scheduled data releases and central bank decisions.
- Distinguish short-term market volatility from data that signals a genuine change in economic conditions.
- Build a reference glossary of financial terms to keep reporting accurate and consistent.
02Covering Company Results and Corporate Events
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reporting Quarterly and Annual Results
- Prepare a results-day filing plan around scheduled announcement times and embargo terms.
- Identify the headline figure and supporting context that will matter most to a general readership.
- Question management guidance and forward-looking statements with appropriate scepticism.
- File a results story that explains significance to non-specialist readers without oversimplifying the numbers.
Session 2Covering Mergers, Restructuring and Corporate Governance
- Analyse the strategic rationale and claimed cost savings behind a merger or acquisition announcement.
- Cover corporate restructuring, including job losses, with attention to regulatory and disclosure requirements.
- Report on governance issues, including board composition and executive pay, with appropriate context.
- Distinguish company statements from independently verifiable facts in corporate event coverage.
03Investigating and Analysing Financial Stories
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Using Public Filings and Data for Financial Investigations
- Search regulatory filings and corporate registries for information not included in a company's own disclosures.
- Cross-reference executive share dealings and related-party transactions against public disclosure requirements.
- Use financial data terminals or public data sources to benchmark a company against sector peers.
- Identify discrepancies between public statements and filed financial data worth investigating.
Session 2Interviewing Analysts, Investors and Executives
- Prepare technical questions for company executives that press beyond prepared talking points.
- Interview analysts and investors to add independent perspective on a company's reported performance.
- Manage access relationships with corporate communications teams without compromising editorial independence.
- Verify claims made by interested parties against independently available financial data.
04Writing for a General Audience and Managing Risk
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Translating Financial Detail for Non-Specialist Readers
- Translate technical financial terms into plain language without losing accuracy or nuance.
- Use analogy and context to explain the real-world significance of a financial figure.
- Structure a financial story so a general reader understands the headline without needing background knowledge.
- Select charts and data visuals that make a financial trend understandable at a glance.
Session 2Managing Legal and Market-Sensitivity Risk
- Apply market abuse and insider information rules when handling price-sensitive information before publication.
- Review defamation and regulatory risk specific to reporting on company wrongdoing or financial distress.
- Time publication of market-moving stories in line with relevant disclosure and trading rules.
- Maintain source protection standards appropriate to financial stories involving confidential information.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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