I. COURSE OVERVIEW

Every manager needs to understand finance if they are to play an active role in helping their organization achieve its objectives. However, not every manager needs the same level of skill and understanding as specialist financial managers. The aim of this course is to help participants equip themselves with a good knowledge of the key concepts of prudent financial management and essential skills to analyze and improve the financial performance of their organization and their team.

II. BENEFITS FOR ATTENDEES

Completing this course will allow you to:

• Be familiar with key financial concepts and documents and understand how they can be used to manage performance.

• Assess the financial performance and health of your organization and your department.

• Understand the budgeting process and manage your own budget.

• Enhance your decision-making skills by integrating financial management concepts into your thinking.

• Understand and communicate better with finance specialists.

III. WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This course is suitable for:

• Executives and any non-financial managers who want to have a thorough understanding of the numbers side of business.
• Managers who may be given financial targets and budgets, but not provided the tools to manage the financial resources.
• People whose job includes significant financial content and would like to be more familiar with the concepts of financial management.

IV. COURSE CONTENT

1. Overview of Finance

• Why Finance matters

• Elements of Finance Reporting

• Financial Cycle - Basic

2. Interpreting Financial Statement

• Income statement, Balance sheet, and Cash flow statement

• Market value versus book value 

• Accounting income versus economic income

3. Evaluating Operating Performance

• Applying key ratios to test for liquidity, turnover, leverage and profitability of the firm

• Benchmarking and industry comparisons

4. Managing a Profit or Cost Center

• Selecting the best costing method for your situation

• The unique features of project costing

• Choosing projects that optimize shareholders' interests

5. Evaluating an Investment

• Estimating the cash flow from an investment 

• Evaluating investment alternative proposals 

• Setting the minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment

• The impact of inflation, taxes, allocated costs and other factors on an investment decision

6. Planning and Controlling a Budget

• The relationship between a well-designed budget and how others measure your performance

• Managing effectively within budget constraints

• Comparing budget approaches: Top-down and Bottom-up

• Types of budget

• Budgeting as a planning and control tool

7. Putting It All Together

• Applying financial tools and concepts in the real world

• Evaluating a company's health through its annual report

• Comparing public and private sector practices

• Learning from recent examples