Finance for Managers

Introduction :

The "Finance for Managers" course is designed to provide non-financial managers with a foundational understanding of financial concepts and tools essential for effective decision-making in their roles. In today's interconnected business environment, possessing financial literacy is crucial for managing resources, evaluating investment opportunities, and implementing strategic initiatives. This course aims to demystify finance, enabling managers to make informed financial decisions that align with organizational goals.

Target Audience :

• Mid-level and senior managers seeking to enhance their financial acumen.
• Professionals from non-financial backgrounds looking to understand financial principles.
• Team leaders and project managers involved in budgeting and financial planning.
• Entrepreneurs and business owners who want to grasp financial management basics.
• Anyone interested in improving their decision-making skills through financial knowledge.

Course Objectives:

•  Integrate financial concepts and policies into the management decision and budgeting process
•  Evaluate the financial performance of companies.
• Control business operations through effective budget management
• The relevance of finance to operational decision-making.
• The relationship between operational and financial measures.
•  Why a deeper understanding of cost and cost behaviour can help operational staff.
• The role of finance in project delivery.
•  The role of stakeholders and their impact on an organization’s financial performance.
• The processes involved in deciding prices.
• A practical perspective into contemporary work practices in your field.
• How to implement an Action Plan at your workplace using the knowledge and skills acquired through the course.

Course Modules:

Introduction to Accounting

• The two forms of accounting: financial accounting and management accounting
• The regulatory and conceptual framework
• Qualitative characteristics of useful financial information
• Types of business entity
• The annual report and financial statements

Accounting Concepts and Systems

• Statement of comprehensive income (income statement)
• Statement of financial position (balance sheet)
• Statement of cash flows
• Preparing a set of financial statements
• The income statement: cost of sales working
• Underlying concepts: measurement rules and fundamental accounting concepts
• Three further property, plant and equipment issues
• Recording accounting information

Financial Analysis: Part 1

• Financial statement analysis for investment purposes
• Other users and their needs
• Horizontal analysis and trend analysis
• Vertical analysis
• Ratio analysis
• Weaknesses and limitations

Financial Analysis: Part 2

• The drive for information
• Stakeholder management
• Corporate social responsibility reporting
• Earnings announcements, conference calls and investor presentations
• Media relations: press releases and newspaper coverage
• Social media and internet bulletins

Business Planning

• Business planning and control: the role of budgets
• The budget-setting process
• Basic steps of preparing a budget
• Budgeting in different types of organisation
• Limitations and problems with budgeting
• Improving business planning and budgeting

Budgets and Performance Management

• Responsibility centres
• The controllability principle
• Profit-related performance measurement
• Standard costing and variance analysis
• Performance management in investment centres
• Non-financial performance indicators
• The balanced scorecard
• Performance measurement in not-for-profit organisations
• External influences on performance

Cash Flow

• How much cash does a business need?
• Methods of establishing cash balances
• Cash forecasting: the cash budget
• Cash management: strategies for improving cash flow
• Interpreting and analysing a cash-flow forecast

Pricing Decisions

 The accountant’s perspective – costing and pricing

• Absorption costing and full-cost-plus pricing
• Marginal-cost-plus pricing
• Activity-based costing (ABC) pricing
• Life-cycle costing and pricing
• The economist’s perspective
• The marketer’s perspective
• Combining the three perspectives: establishing an appropriate pricing strategy
• Pricing strategies
• Target pricing and target costing

Investment Decisions

• Investment appraisal – the basics
• Traditional evaluation techniques
• Incorporating real-world complexities into investment appraisal
• Investment appraisal within context
• Taking a broader strategic view

Operational Decisions

• Operational decision making
• Cost-volume-profit analysis (CVP)
•  Relevant costing