FINANCE FOR NON FINANCIAL MANAGERS

Introduction

Financial skills have become an increasingly essential element of personal development for professionals in all disciplines. Whether in the recognition and understanding of organisational performance or in the interpretation of the actions of others. A grasp of the fundementals of finance will enable a confident and effective approach to these and other areas of corporate activity.

Course Aim

To give non-financial managers a knowledge of financial techniques and their role in an organisation that they can immediately apply in their workplace.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand and use the appropriate financial concepts in their decision making
• Interpret the meaning of Profit and Loss Accounts, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statements
• Manage the financial content of their job more effectively
• Understand key concepts of financial planning and performance
• Show greater confidence in the language of finance and financial concepts
• Communicate more effectively with financial executives and staff
• Gain recognisable certification of competence in completion of the course

Relevance of Finance in organisations

Figure 1 shows the data and information flows in a typical organisation where the application of finance skills plays an essential and major role in the company’s decision making emphasising the importance of this course for all professionals.


Figure 1

Course Content

Financial Statements
The Objective of Financial Statements
Basic accounting concepts
Get under the bonnet and see and understand how a profit and loss account and balance sheet is prepared – you will prepare one too!!

Profit and Loss Account
The definition and importance of profit.
The structure of the Profit & Loss Account
How to read a Profit & Loss Account

Balance Sheet
Content and layout of balance sheets
Managing Working Capital
Depreciation of Fixed Assets.

Cash Flow
The difference between profit and cash
Cash Flow forecasting.

Interpreting Accounts
Analysing profit and loss accounts and balance sheets
What are the accounts telling you?
What actions need to be taken?

Cost Control and Growth
Cost, Volume and Price
The importance of Breakeven
The importance of cost control
Determining a selling price

Debt and Equity
Key sources of financing a business
How to calculate the debt to equity ratio
Getting the balance right

Ratio analysis
Commonly used ratios

Capital appraisal
Determining which projects to invest in and which to dismiss as unacceptable
Managing risk

Financial Planning and Budgeting
Introduction to Financial Planning
Why Plan?
What is a budget?
What should we measure?
The business planning process

Creating the Financial Budget
Understanding the benefit of budgeting to an organisation
Budgets' forms and purposes; the master budget
The different types of budgets - fixed, flexible, zero based, & ABB
Preparing, coordinating and monitoring a budget
Should we budget for customer satisfaction?