Strong financial literacy enables in-house counsel to move beyond identifying legal risks and become trusted commercial advisers. Gain practical skills to interpret the financial information that drives executive and board decision-making, recognise early warning signs of financial stress, and assess the commercial implications of contracts, transactions and strategic initiatives. Learn how to critically analyse budgets, forecasts and management reports, ask more informed questions of finance teams, and deliver advice that is commercially focused, strategically aligned and better positioned to support business objectives.
Thursday, 19 November 2026
Professional Skills
1.00pm to 2.00pm Financial Literacy for In-House Counsel: Beyond the Financial Statements
Building on the fundamentals, this advanced session explores how in-house lawyers can use financial information to identify risks, support decision-making and provide more commercially focused advice. Moving beyond balance sheets and profit and loss statements, delegates will learn how to interrogate financial information, spot warning signs and better understand the commercial realities driving executive and board decisions.
- Identify financial warning signs and assess indicators of financial distress, solvency concerns and business risk
- Interpret cash flow forecasts, budgets and management reports to better understand commercial decision-making
- Use of cash versus non-cash financial information and key instances where commonly interchanged
- Evaluate the financial implications of contracts, transactions and strategic business initiatives
- Ask the right questions of finance teams, executives and boards to provide more commercially focused legal advice
Presented by Ashley Miller, Partner, Grant Thornton
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Presenters
Ashley Miller, Partner, Grant ThorntonAshley is a Financial Advisory Partner with over 20 years of experience advising both local and international clients on a wide range of transaction types, spanning the mid-market and top-end sectors. His unique blend of transaction and industry experience, includes five years of recent industry involvement and secondments in Asia, Europe and the US, and is what sets him apart from other advisors. Ashley’s expertise spans across a variety of industries, with a particular focus on agriculture, consumer products, food and beverages, health, industrial products and services, Japanese services, and manufacturing. Part of his experience includes acting as an investigating accountant and supporting companies with several ASX IPOs. Additionally, he is particularly adept at helping clients with sales and purchase agreement services, completion processes, and dispute resolution. He has also worked on a number of M&A-related dispute matters, including one of Australia’s largest corporate settlements.
This seminar is part of a series
In-House Counsel Series
Today's in-house counsel are expected to do far more than provide legal advice. They must navigate evolving regulatory frameworks, manage legal and commercial risk, support strategic decision-making and help their organisations respond to rapid technological and societal change. This practical webinar series has been designed specifically for in-house legal professionals, delivering timely guidance on the issues shaping legal practice and corporate governance. Across eight focused sessions, gain practical insights into employment law developments, privacy reform and AI governance, ESG and climate reporting, financial literacy, regulatory investigations and corporate misconduct, as well as the ethical, commercial and operational challenges facing modern legal teams. Equip yourself with the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage risk, enhance organisational resilience and deliver greater strategic value to your business.
Description
Attend the complete series and earn 10 CPD units including:
5 units in Substantive Law
3 units in Professional Skills
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management and Business Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
*The full series is running from Thursday, 17 September 2026 to Thursday, 26 November 2026
If you register for the full series as a live online product after the date of an individual session, you will be sent the recording for the sessions that have passed. Alternatively, you can register for individual sessions by following the links below.
View series listing
