Mastery Programme

VFD Mastery Programme

For Accountants in Practice and in Industry

Transform how you deliver financial insight and client value. The VFD Mastery Programme gives you the tools, structure, and confidence to provide Finance as a Service. Helping you increase fee income, deliver board-level impact for every client you support and meet CPD requirements.

Mastery Programme Starts Thursday 27th November 2025

Deliver Finance as a Service

Build a more profitable, scalable, and rewarding practice.
Increase capacity, retain great people, and grow recurring income.

The VFD Mastery Programme is ideal for:

Accountants in Practice who want to move beyond compliance and deliver ongoing strategic insight.
Fractional / Part-Time FDs & CFOs looking for a scalable, structured toolkit to serve multiple clients.
Accountants in Industry who want to strengthen financial management, planning, and reporting within their organisation.

Support Clients from Start-up, to Scale-up, to Successful Exit

What You’ll Learn

You’ll be guided through a step-by-step approach to:

Focus business owners on future growth & equity potential

Enhance business reviews with executive level insights

Implement a strategic financial plan and measure performance against it

Elevate your role as part-time FD / CFO

Deliver ‘Finance as a Service’, helping businesses prepare for a successful exit

Up to 28 Hours of Verifiable CPD

Fully mapped to ICAEW, ACCA, and CIMA frameworks.
Each session counts as structured, verifiable CPD, with certificates and defined learning outcomes.

Unlimited use of VFD Pro included at no extra cost for the duration of the training.

Reattend as often as you like at no additional cost*.

*Subject to signing up to a VFD Pro plan after your first Mastery course has been completed (click here to view VFD Pro plans)

Your Investment: £1,796 (+VAT), payable in four monthly instalments of £449 (+VAT) for the first delegate.

Additional Delegates: £1,196 (+VAT), payable in four monthly payments of £299 (+VAT) for each additional person.

How to Get Maximum ROI from Your Training

Attend sessions live or catch up on recordings.

Apply the tools with real clients between sessions.

Track progress and outcomes to evidence CPD and ROI.

Module 1: Compliance+

Module 1 covers everything you and your team need to know to deliver added value and execute your Compliance+ Strategy to increase fees, upskill your team and engage and upsell clients. The key topics covered include:

- Using the VFD Pro Portal to add clients and generate the core collateral you will need
- Using the Client Discussion Model to deliver a Future-Focused discussion with clients
- Introduction to FiMBO (Financial Management for Business Owner Training Programme)
- The Business Overview Report – So What Guides, VFD Academy, and the LMS
- Adding Qualitative information to augment pure financial information to add more value
- The client journey: Adding value, testing, and measuring to de-risk fee increases

Module 2: Management Reporting & Review Meetings

Module 2 is delivered in eight online sessions and builds on Compliance+ to give you everything you need to upsell and deliver comprehensive Management Reporting. This is typically delivered in conjunction with regular review meetings with clients. Key topics covered include:

- The role of the Accountant / Advisor
- Dissecting Revenue in 4 different ways: The Performance Analysis Report (PAR)
- Below the line: Cost of Sales, Overheads, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow (PAR part II)
- Trend analysis for Start-ups and volatile trading: The Performance Trend Report
- Opportunities in the Existing Client & Supplier Base: Customer and Supplier Analysis Reports
- Customer Exception Reporting and The Marketing ROI Reports
- Business Growth Opportunity Analysis and Scenario Planning: The Business Growth Model
- The Deep Dive – forensic financial analysis: The Business Intelligence Dashboard
- Monthly Management Reporting: The Board Summary Report &The Board Reporting Pack
- Agree on the value before discussing price to focus on Return on Investment
- Pricing and Options – Proposals – Setting Expectations – Resource Considerations

Module 3: Growth Planning, Forecasting, Part-Time FD/CFO:

Module 3 builds on Modules 1 and 2 to give you everything you need to upsell and deliver Business Growth Analysis and Planning, Forecasting, Generating Funding Proposals and reporting Performance vs Forecast as part of your Part-Time FD/CFO Service. The key topics covered include:

- The Role of the Accountant / Advisor – What it takes to provide Part-Time FD / CFO Services
- Growth Potential and Business Planning: The Customer Segmentation Model
- Building Your Clients Forecast (Profit &Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow – Years 1 to 5)
- Scenario Planning and Funding For Growth – The CAMPARI Compliant Funding Proposal
- Making the Extraordinary Ordinary – Identifying Issues and Reporting By Exception
- Reporting Performance vs Forecast – the Monthly Management Cycle
- The Finance Directors / CFO’s Business Planning Work Flow Process: What, When, How
- Establishing the Value of the Part-Time FD Service vs the alternative options
- Pricing – Proposals – Setting Expectations – Resource Considerations

Module 4: Exit Planning, Valuations, Financial Due Diligence

Module 4 builds on Modules 1 to 3 to go beyond financial management to provide everything needed to effectively help Business Owners plan for and prepare their business for exit. Regardless of the target exit date, running an Exit Ready Business makes good business sense. The key topics covered include:

- The role and the rewards of Exit Planning and Becoming Exit Ready for owners and advisors
- Establishing a Blended Business Valuation Using 7 Valuation Models and related assumptions
- Preparing a comprehensive Financial Due Diligence Pack for buyers and/or sellers
- Building Your Clients Exit Forecast (P&L, BS, Cash Flow, & Rolling Valuation – Years 1 to 5)
- Reporting Business Value vs Target Exit Value as part of the Monthly Management Cycle.
- Preparing the Owner and The Business for Exit – The Special Advisory Services (SAS) Team
- Establishing the Value of your Exit Planning and Support Services
- Pricing – Proposals – Setting -Expectations – Resource Considerations

What Results Can You Expect?

Delegates regularly achieve measurable wins, often before the programme ends:

Your Guarantee:

Your CPD and training investment should deliver a tangible return, and it does.

If having done all of the above, you decide you have not received outstanding value, simply let us know by email within 90 days of starting your VFD programme and we will refund the full cost of the training.

Ready to Build a Smarter Practice?

Schedule a short discovery call to explore how VFD Mastery can help you:

Is VFD Mastery accredited for CPD?

The VFD Mastery Programme is not formally accredited, but it provides 28 hours of verifiable CPD. Each session includes defined learning objectives, attendance records, and certificates suitable for submission to ICAEW, ACCA, and CIMA as part of your annual CPD declaration.

Can multiple team members attend?

Yes — many firms attend as teams to align client delivery and internal processes. Additional delegates receive a reduced rate and full access to all materials, recordings, and support.

What if I miss a session?

All sessions are recorded and available on demand. You’ll also complete short online assessments to support your CPD evidence and ensure you can catch up at your own pace.

Who delivers the training?

The programme is delivered live by the VFD Academy team. Sessions combine real-world experience from corporate and fractional CFO roles with practical application for accountants in practice and industry.

Do I need to use VFD Pro to attend?

No — VFD Mastery focuses on process, structure, and delivery, so it’s valuable regardless of the systems you use. However, full VFD Pro access is included for the duration of the course so you can apply what you learn in real client scenarios.

February 13, 2025

Enables us to deliver high value advisory services

So far it’s been brilliant – the team at VFD not only give access to extremely useful tools to help deliver CFO & advisory services, but also offer training on how best to deliver services using their technology, and also give us access to marketing material to promote our practice and even help on how to price the service. I almost want to keep them a secret!

Mark Sweetman - First Accounts

November 22, 2023

The hot seat is really good because we have the support – it’s like 5 or 6 people plus, in a big support group. Gaye goes over various reports and issues that we need to work on that we might not even be aware of. Steve and Gaye are great – I can’t fault how supportive they are.

Margot Clarke

June 27, 2023

As the director of Acumist, an award-winning cloud accounting firm and a Xero Gold Partner, I had the pleasure of attending the 12-week VFD Mastery Programme. With over 35 years of business experience, I was searching for a solution that would bring more structure to our methods, and VFD Pro exceeded all expectations.

The platform is truly exceptional, offering shortcuts that save time and enhance our work processes. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience and am confident in the positive impact it will have on our clients at Acumist. We pride ourselves on combining outstanding service with automated accounting to help businesses bring their future into focus.

The FIMBO programme is a valuable addition and will serve as an educational platform for our clients and prospects. Increased knowledge and awareness will undoubtedly lead to them seeking additional support.

Regular check-ins and the supportive VFD community will be invaluable assets as we continue to develop our client offering. With VFD Pro’s structured approach to financial management and business performance forecasting, I am certain our clients will achieve even greater success, enabling us to continue delivering top-notch accounting services. The approach VFD takes, along with the incredible people involved, has made this experience truly outstanding.

Chris Gascoyne - Acumist

April 12, 2023

As a client manager at Anthony Russel, I am constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance the value of our advice to clients. That’s why our investment in the VFD Mastery program has been an absolute game-changer for our team.

VFD Pro has not only exceeded our expectations but has also outperformed other tools we previously considered, thanks to its comprehensive guidance and unparalleled support. Utilizing the VFD reports, we have been able to increase our clients’ awareness of potential issues surrounding their breakeven position and overall cash flow. Moreover, the reporting suite comes in handy for exit planning when the timing is just right.

The mastery training provided by VFD Pro has been exceptional, and it was truly inspiring to collaborate with a group of like-minded peers, each at different stages in their advisory journey. This experience has further cemented VFD Pro’s place in our toolkit.

What sets VFD Pro apart from other applications is its ability to cover the entire business lifecycle, from start-up to exit. Many alternative solutions require significant configuration and only focus on standard management reporting. In contrast, VFD Pro offers a seamless, holistic approach that has greatly benefited our clients and empowered us as advisors.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend VFD Pro to any organization seeking to elevate their advisory services and deliver exceptional value to their clients.

Chris Metcalf - Anthony Russel

April 11, 2023

As a dedicated business advisor in the US, I work with ambitious business owners seeking to elevate their performance and ensure they are exit ready when the time comes. My clients typically have a turnover between $2 million and $20 million, and they recognize the crucial role that financial data analysis plays in making informed decisions for their businesses.

VFD Pro is an invaluable tool for business owners who want to truly understand and harness the power of financial data. Not only does it provide comprehensive, easy-to-understand, and actionable insights, but it also helps me work with the business to identify their key issues and establish the right KPIs to make progress toward their goals. This targeted approach allows the business to focus on the most critical aspects of their businesses and drive real results. VFD Pro’s key attribute is translating financial data into decision making information.

One of the standout benefits of VFD Pro is their ‘Mastery Programme,’ developed specifically to support accountants and advisors in achieving positive outcomes with clients and prospects. By equipping me with the knowledge and tools needed to deliver impactful advice, the Mastery Programme has truly set VFD Pro apart from other financial data solutions.

Using VFD Pro, my clients will be able to make better strategic decisions, improve their operational efficiency, and ultimately maximize their business value as they prepare for their eventual exit. The platform will empower them to take control of their financial data, enabling them to set and achieve milestones that are aligned with their long-term objectives.

In today’s competitive business landscape, gaining an edge is more important than ever. VFD Pro offers exactly that â€“ a competitive advantage for advisers working with business owners who are ready to take their performance to the next level. With its unique combination of data analysis, issue identification, KPI tracking, and the exceptional training provided through the Mastery Programme, VFD Pro is an indispensable asset for those serious about unlocking a business’s full potential and streamlining their exit process. I cannot recommend VFD Pro highly enough.

Steve Duke - Duke Business Advisors