Two new University of Nebraska-Lincoln Executive Education certificate programs offered through the College of Business Administration launch this spring. The Certificate of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Professionals program will be April 6-8, and the Certificate in Sales Excellence program will be May 4-6.

“These are the first of many Executive Education programs we plan to offer in order to bring the expertise of our faculty to the workplace in Nebraska,” said Donde Plowman, dean of the College of Business Administration. “Led by world-renowned faculty, these non-degree certificate programs immerse participants in action-oriented learning, where they will gain new insight and tools to add value to their organization.”

The programs allow working professionals to gain education needed for career advancement. The learning environment fosters extensive peer-to-peer interaction with a focus on practice-oriented learning.

“Participants won’t spend an enormous amount of time away from work,” Plowman said. “They will leave ready to handle organizational challenges and produce results.”

The Certificate of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Professionals is taught by four-time MBA Teaching Award recipient Emre Unlu, associate professor of finance at UNL and chartered financial analyst. His program, which is aimed at human resource directors, marketing executives, engineers, information technology professionals and others, focuses on how to create value in a business.

“No matter what the role is of non-financial managers, they need to understand how the business creates value and what their contributions are to the process of creating value for the company,” Unlu said. “Many firms turn out a profit, but may not create value.”

The Certificate of Sales Excellence program is taught by Ravi Sohi, professor and executive director of the Center for Sales Excellence in the business college. The program increases understanding of customers and clients to maximize sales, and improve reliability and consistency of sales forecasts.

“Participants will create a 12-month sales budget and plan for their businesses, and establish key performance indicators to help drive success,” Sohi said. “They will also learn to set targets that align with the explicit and implicate incentive structures.”

Dennis Lanham, director of executive education at UNL, said the business college can also offer custom programs targeted to a company’s strategies and objectives.

“We want to partner with businesses to provide custom programs specific to their needs,” he said. “We will work with companies of all sizes to build programs that support organizational strategy and leadership development.”

Discounts are available for military members and veterans; non-profits; and UNL, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney employees and alumni.

To register for the certificate programs or to learn more about custom programs, click here or call Lanham at 402-472-2723.