Course overview
In today’s highly regulated and cost-sensitive pharmaceutical environment, financial literacy is no longer optional for business leaders - it’s a strategic necessity. Every decision, from R&D investment to market access and compliance, directly impacts the Profit & Loss (P&L) and long-term value creation.
This workshop-style training course is designed specifically for non-financial leaders across the UK and global pharmaceutical sector who need to understand how financial principles integrate with the unique regulatory, pricing and compliance frameworks shaping pharma performance.
Through a mix of hands-on case studies, financial modelling exercises and a capstone simulation, participants will gain practical insight into how financial decisions interact with VPAG pricing, HTA outcomes, IFRS reporting, and compliance obligations under GxP, ABPI, and global anti-bribery frameworks.
By the end of the training course, you’ll be able to confidently interpret and explain a pharma P&L, connect operational and regulatory realities to financial outcomes, and apply accounting and compliance standards to real-world business scenarios. You’ll also learn how to anticipate the financial impact of complex issues such as serialisation, managed entry agreements, transfer pricing and global tax reforms.
Whether you lead commercial, operational, or compliance teams, this training course will equip you with the financial fluency and strategic insight to contribute effectively to cross-functional decision-making and drive sustainable growth in a challenging global market.
During this highly interactive course, the expert trainer uses a practical, case-based learning approach that bridges technical finance with pharmaceutical operations, including:
- Interactive simulations: scenario-driven exercises where teams interpret real-life product P&Ls and cash-flow impacts
- Worked models: participants use tailored Excel tools (gross-to-net waterfall, rebate accrual engine, NPV calculator) to quantify and visualise financial outcomes
- Regulatory crosslinks: each finance topic is tied to live UK and global regulatory sources (KPMG, GOV.UK, EMA, OECD, ABPI)
- Capstone session: a group-based simulation integrating finance, compliance, and strategy to manage a hypothetical product through a complex pricing and supply chain challenge
Delegates will benefit from a toolkit for ongoing reference, including:
- Excel models: gross-to-net waterfall, rebate accrual engine, NPV scenario tool
- Checklists: VPAG forecasting checklist, ABPI/EFPIA disclosure template, BEPS Pillar Two readiness scan, GxP/GVP financial triggers, DSCSA/FMD compliance tracker
- Reference compendium: summaries of key regulatory and financial frameworks, including IFRS, OECD, MHRA, and ABPI updates.
Key references (standardised citations):
- GOV.UK - Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines (2024-2028)
- KPMG Pharma Accounting Updates (Revenue Recognition & IFRS Applications)
- EMA - Good Manufacturing Practice and Serialization Guidelines
- OECD - Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Pillar Two Framework)
- ABPI - Code of Practice (2024)
- MHRA - GxP Data Integrity Guidance
All financial and regulatory frameworks used in this training reflect the latest publicly available
guidance at the time of delivery. (VPAG rates, DSCSA/FMD timelines, OECD BEPS Pillar
Two thresholds, etc., are subject to periodic revision.)
CPD Hours: 12
Course Content
- Day 1
- Module 1: Revenue, Costs, Inventory & GxP
- Welcome & diagnostics
- Anatomy of a pharma P&L
- Costs, inventory & GMP realities
- Module 2: R&D, pricing access and global compliance
- R&D, intangibles & portfolio spend
- UK pricing & access: VPAG and NICE
- Global compliance that hits finance
- Day 2
- Module 3: Decisions, tax and supply chain risk
- Decision finance for leaders
- International tax & operating models
- Supply-Chain Integrity & Financial Risk
- Module 4: Revenue excellence, risk and capstone
- Revenue excellence in practice
- Risk, controls & governance
- Capstone simulation
- Action plans and 30/60/90-day commitments
Speakers
Gazi Arif
Gazi Arif is a consultant and corporate trainer and economist with over 15 years’ experience designing and delivering executive education for global organisations across finance, strategy, leadership and risk management. His programmes combine analytical rigour with actionable tools, enabling leaders to make faster, smarter, and ROI-driven business decisions.
He has worked across many industries including finance, healthcare, energy, law, and professional services. Having trained professionals from the NHS, DWP, ARAMCO and the European Central
Bank, amongst others, Gazi Arif is renowned for his interactive, case-based teaching style and his ability to translate complex financial and economic concepts into clear, results-oriented insights.
He holds a PhD in Economics and is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities
& Investment (CISI), a member of the Royal Economic Society (UK) and a Fellow of the HigherEducation Academy (FHEA). His teaching style bridges academia and industry, helping organisations build financial fluency, leadership capability and strategic agility in a changing global economy.
His selected publications & media include “Why Businesses Must Take Corporate Digital Responsibility” - Raconteur Magazine (2021), book chapter: “Constraints in Bank Interest Rates in DSGE Models” - Pilbeam (2021), and reviewer for the Journal of Banking and Finance and the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance.
