About us
Probably not words that first spring to mind when you think of financial acumen skills training!
FTA was established in 2011 to help address a gap in the Australian market. At that time, we perceived that those finance training programs being marketed appeared to be traditional and gave the impression of being quite dry. Yet people do not learn if they are bored or not engaged.
After years of international experience, FTA founder, Cherry Birch, introduced a new approach to finance training in Australia in 2005 – one that demystifies this subject, engages participants and gives them a practical hands-on experience which can be applied back in the workplace. This approach from our international partners, Bonanza, uses colour and graphics to visualise finance – helping participants quickly grasp concepts and be able to read financial statements.
The demand for this approach, and other totally customised finance training programs lead to the official launch of Financial Training Australia (FTA) in 2011 to showcase these services.
Since then, at FTA we have expanded our service offerings in response to requests from clients, including business partnering for finance teams, as they go through transformational programs due to digitisation, and financial wellness workshops to support employees experiencing financial stress in their personal lives.
Every program is tailored to meet the specific needs of the clients and uses their management reporting processes and procedures.
We use our instructional design expertise to ensure that no one loses face, everyone is engaged and we not only learn but have some fun in the process!
FTA trainers are hand-picked for their expertise in finance and training, as well as their bright personalities and passion for helping others. We guarantee participants will have fun, feel at ease and come away transformed in their financial confidence.
Our Partners – Bonanza
We’re the sole licensee and partner in Australia/New Zealand for Bonanza. Bonanza are recognized as one of the global leaders in finance training and are used by over 800,000 business leaders around the world.
This partnership enables us to supplement our Australian team with facilitators based in the US, Europe, China and SE Asia and use world-leading materials and state of the art blended learning platforms.
Our Team
FTA trainers are hand-picked for their expertise in finance and training, as well as their bright personalities and passion for helping others.
David Stillman
Senior Consultant
David Stillman has broad experience as a Board Director, Committee Member and as a Vice President with over 20 years of service with Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Neil Mackay
Senior Consultant
Neil Mackay is a senior executive with over 25 years experience who has worked across four different countries. His background and training is grounded firmly in finance, but also includes roles in General Management and Sales Channel Management.
Antony Elliott
Senior Consultant
As a Financial Training Australia (FTA) trainer Antony offers insights from 40 years of financial experience, having worked across many industries in various corporate finance roles.
Cherry Birch
Founding Partner
A Chartered Accountant and former Partner in a London firm, Cherry has over 25 year’s international experience in the financial services sector and in consulting.
Fulyana Orsborn
Senior Consultant
Fulyana Orsborn – Founder/Managing Director - Executive Mentoring and Coaching - Career Consultant and Business Development - Co Partner of Inside Exec Podcasting -https://inside-exec.com/
Graeme Skinner
Consultant Trainer
Graeme specialised in Risk and Collections management and has lead numerous projects and process flow reviews to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.
Khai Phan
Managing Director
Khai is currently the Managing Director of Financial Training Australia and General Manager of Tribel Advisory. He is also the investment advisor to the Aon Charitable Foundation which supports a range of charities and worthwhile causes.
Kim Baillie
Senior Consultant
"Everything I do is designed to encourage people to realise their potential. I get satisfaction by helping others decide on a path forward for themselves and their businesses."
Mark Huynh
Consultant Trainer
Mark is an experienced CPA and the former CFO of Spotlight Retail Group. He has a passion for improving the financial literacy skills of everyone - whatever their age!
Nathan Loudon
Software Developer
Nathan is a web developer with experience mainly in MERN, but also some previous LAMP stack experience. His interest lies mainly in backend/middleware and Dev Ops, but can also bring a designers ideas to life!
Serena Or
Head of Operations
Serena Or is Head of Operations at Financial Training Australia. She is an engaging people leader with a track record in leading virtual and cross-functional teams to deliver excellent customer service and improved client experience.
Financial Acumen Self-Assessment
So how do you rate your financial smarts? Let's put them to the test with this 3 minute quiz!
