Finance is the Language of Business
Published Date
I think we’ve been saying it since 1996:
Finance is the language of business, and if you want to communicate effectively with others in your company, you need to be fluent in Finance.
(I used to advocate for finance training workshops titled ‘Finance as a Second Language’—the same business acumen workshops we offer now, but with a broader purpose.)
A few weeks ago, I was in Mexico, and I picked up a pamphlet that claimed:
"Golf – The Language of Business."
While I don’t play golf, I understand that it provides an atmosphere conducive to business conversation—but it is not the language.
A few years ago, I heard a certain entrepreneur say:
"PowerPoint is the language of Business."
It can be a great tool for one-way communication, but I wouldn’t count it as a language.
The more obvious choice might be:
"English is the language of business."
English is widely spoken in business worldwide, but it’s an inexact language—and business often requires precision.
I’ll stick with our original statement:
Finance is the language of business.
