1 in 4 Spaniards (24%) believe that they have not received sufficient financial education to manage their finances, according to the latest edition of Intrum's European Consumer Payment Report. Despite the fact that the economy is one of the aspects that is most present in our day to day, areas such as accounting or finance remain largely unknown to a part of the population.
“Economy is the norm that governs all our commercial relations and therefore it is as necessary as mastering the language or mathematics. A population without financial education is a population that is uneducated in the face of the challenges of the market”, explains José Antonio Alguacil, CEO of Ilusion Labs. The expert assures that without this knowledge, basic decisions cannot be made and that financial education “should be one of the the pillars of education in the 21st century.
Financial education is the set of skills and knowledge that allow making sound financial decisions, making rational use of credit, guaranteeing savings and avoiding long-term debt. In this way, having this knowledge can become a fundamental element when making personal day-to-day decisions related to finances.
“We talked about having knowledge about simple matters, like how much tax we pay each month on our payroll and purchases, to having a clear idea about which policies might be nice in the short term, but hurt our children. In the same way when it comes to managing our savings, what do we sign when we buy shares, contracts, what are our obligations and rights”, explains Sheriff.
But in addition, knowledge about the operation of finances becomes essential for those who decide to start a business. “What is not said is that a company is and starts from the economy. If there are no funds, there is no product or service and without it there is no business”, recalls Sheriff.
In this way, financial education is essential to understand the limits of a company and to be able to carry out its activities and obligations prosperously. "While it is true that a businessman can rely on specialists to develop this performance, it is also true that the more and better an entrepreneur understands the economy, the better survival assets his company has," adds the CEO of Ilusion Labs.
In addition, financial education is an essential factor if we want to achieve a more solid business ecosystem. This is how Bailiff reports it: “The only thing that all companies have in common is that they are all governed by common economic rules. These norms are altered by the idiosyncrasies of the market and the laws, but the base is always economic. Having financially well-trained entrepreneurs helps them grow and with them the entire system”.
There are training courses aimed at getting to know the world of finance and the economy better. This is the case of the MBA Finance Specialty of the European Postgraduate Institute, aimed at acquiring skills and knowledge such as strategic management, management tools or financial accounting.
The Postgraduate in Corporate Finance taught by IEBS incorporates knowledge about international finance, the stock market and financial markets or the valuation of companies, among others. Other options offered by Emagister are the Master in Finance and Corporate Finance from EUDE and the FP in Administration and Finance from Campus Training.
