Every organisation has to manage its financial resources. Understanding financial concepts such as cost, income, profit, loss, margins, break-even points and their relationships in the financial report can provide you with an advantage to advance your career within the company, the industry and equip you toward starting your own company.

“I supported a friend write a business plan for a grant competition by using data from the bureau of statistics to show growth in the industry. It included the financial performance of publicly quoted competitors and charts to show the projected income over the next three years.”

Follow on social media and visit the website of business-focused media sites such as Bloomberg, Financial Times, CNBC and BusinessDay. You can also subscribe to financial newsletters and podcasts and watch their programmes. Games such as Monopoly and  The Quadrant also teach financial concepts.

This skill is in high demand in industries and career disciplines that require number-crunching and an understanding of financial markets. Top among these industries and careers are:

• Banking
• Consulting
• Design & Engineering
• Fintech
• Finance
• Insurance
• Management & Business Administration
• Real Estate

Movies

• Margin Call
• The Banker
• The Man who knew Infinity
• Hidden Figures
• The Big Short

Books

• A Mind for Numbers by Babara Oakley
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Increase your Financial IQ by Robert Kiyosaki 
• The Millionaire Mind and The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley
• Freakonomics by Stephen Levitt and Stephen Durban
• The Economist Guide to Financial Markets by Marc Levinson

Podcasts

• The Economist Money Matters
• The Numberphile Podcast
• Mathematically Speaking
• Freakonomics and Economist Radio
• Nairametrics and BusinessDay Podcast
• Motley Fool Money