Research commissioned by secure payments provider, Voca, has determined that up to half of a typical finance departments training budget may be wasted each year through lack of relevant initial training and inadequate follow-up.

Interviewing a sample of 500 finance, accounts and payroll personnel within medium to large organisations across all industry sectors, the research found that nearly half of respondents believed they were making mistakes as a result of receiving inadequate training. In addition, 80% believed more frequent and relevant training would transform the way their department operated.

Lack of follow-up, training courses with insufficiently relevant content, and training not related closely enough to business objectives were cited as the top reasons for general ineffectiveness. Commenting on the findings, Liz Cooper, head of training and consultancy at Voca, said: “…our research shows many feel that they – and indeed their employers – would benefit significantly from further in-job training, giving them the skills an knowledge required to deal with specific business issues and opportunities.”

Useful links for training opportunities:

www.dsc.org.uk/charitytraining.html

www.charitytimes.com/frames/pages/all-of-me.htm