In November 2025, we ran a two-hour training for directors and managers of a human resources company. Based on the book Kaikei no Chizu (Map of Accounting), we lectured on how the three financial statements connect, then led work in which four questions tie each person's job to the numbers. Our CEO, Tetsuro Kondo, was the instructor.
Background
The aim was for managers to be able to read numbers as the structure of management. More than adding accounting knowledge, we aimed for participants to see the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement as one connected whole, and to have a shared language for talking about numbers inside the company.
What we made
- Lecture slides: slides explaining how to read the Map of Accounting and how the three financial statements connect. We reworked the structure and the look for this training
- Four questions: we designed the questions used in the work. (1) What you learned from today's talk, (2) which accounting terms relate to your current job, and how, (3) what state you want to be in after learning accounting, and (4) what you will do from now to get closer to that state
- Reference material: a document that compares the published financial figures of two listed companies in the same industry with rough industry benchmarks and reads the reasons behind the differences. We handed it over after the training
How we worked
In October 2025 we held an online meeting and submitted a proposal. The first plan was a three-hour session in which groups would analyze other companies' financial results. After discussing it with the client, we brought it down to two hours and focused on the lecture and on discussion around the four questions.
We asked participants to read Part 1 of Kaikei no Chizu beforehand, while making the session work for those who had not. On the day, participants had the book at hand.
The session ran as follows.
- Introduction and lecture (about 55 minutes): what the Map of Accounting is, and how the three financial statements connect
- Individual work and group discussion (about 40 minutes): for each question, writing on sticky notes alone first, then talking in groups
- Sharing with the whole room and wrap-up (about 20 minutes)
Overview
- When: November 2025
- For: directors and managers
- Our role: planning, creating the materials, instructing
- Deliverables: lecture slides, design of the work, reference material
- Published at: none (an in-house training)