Finance for Non-Financial Managers - 2 Day

Overview

This highly-participative course is offered in a “one day” or “two day” delivery format.

Course Outline

Finance for Non-Financial Managers gives participants the power to manage their business finances and hold confident discussions about them, without resorting to “accountant speak”. Management decisions rely heavily on a sound understanding of the financial implications to the business. As a result, modern business managers need to have an awareness of how financial systems work, basic accounting principles and company accounts.

This course will give participants the required level of financial awareness and practical application, by enabling them to:

• Analyse the profit and loss account (income statement), balance sheet, and cash flow statement, and use ratios to interpret financial statements and identify their limitations
• Appreciate the significant importance of cash flow (rather than profit) and discounted cash flow (DCF) in creating shareholder value
• Develop costing systems such as activity based costing (ABC) for optimal decision-making to maximise shareholder wealth
• Use Excel© spreadsheets for break-even analysis, budgetary control, capital investment and project appraisal.
• Effectively manage cash and working capital to reduce costs and improve cash flow.
• Understand of the commercial impact of their actions

Training methodology

This seminar provides the theoretical background to some key areas of financial management, which are put into a real-world context by providing a practical ‘toolkit’ of financial techniques. It includes many worked examples and case studies relating to each of the topics covered. Participants are therefore provided with an opportunity to apply financial techniques in practice and to discuss the various issues that may arise.

Many of the practical examples, for example investment appraisal, break-even analysis, and budgetary control, are illustrated using Excel© spreadsheets.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for:

Business Managers, Business Consultants and Analysts, Project Managers and all whose work involves an appreciation of finance, budgets, cash flow and accounting methods

Organisational impact

Participants in this seminar will be provided with knowledge that can be shared amongst their own staff and colleagues, and with other departments. The awareness and understanding of the various financial techniques available will enable delegates to communicate better with financial professionals, within and external to their organisation, and to become more effective managers.

This will be achieved through:

• Immediate use of the tools and techniques of financial analysis and financial management that will be acquired
• Becoming better informed and using new financial skills that will help improve management decision-making
• Communication of the various financial tools that are available to help the organisation enhance its competitive positioning and profitability and
• improve the all-important cash flow.

Personal impact

Participants will be able to further develop their personal management skills by being:

• Better informed financially, to enable improved management decision making
• Better able to contribute to the effective management of the business
• Able to evaluate alternative courses of action and identify the most effective
• choices with regard to performance improvement
• Able to liaise more effectively with other departments on financial matters.

Two Day Programme

A strategic view of the business environment

• The accounting environment
• The driving forces behind financial information

Reading and interpreting financial statements

• Measures of financial performance and financial position
• Risk measurement
• Limitations of ratio analysis

Costing – Essential Tools for Effective Management

• Fixed costs, variable costs, and overheads
• Overhead allocation, absorption, and the use of activity based costing (ABC)
• Contribution compared with profit

Financial decision-making

• Cost, volume, profit relationships
• Break-even analysis
• Limitations of break-even analysis
• Make versus buy decisions
• Shut-down or continuation decisions
• Product mix decisions and limiting factors

Budgeting & Budgetary Control

• Purposes of budgeting
• Activity based budgeting
• Organisational and accounting control systems

Working capital management and the importance of cash

• Working capital and the working capital requirement
• Managing working capital
• Sources of Short-Term Financing

Project Appraisal – the Investment Decision

• Methods for evaluating capital projects
• Fundamental tools of investment appraisal
• Ranking of investment projects

Duration:2 Day

Cost:£495 + Vat