Finance for Non Financial Managers
MasterClass in Finance for the Non-Financial Managers (3-5 Days)
MasterClass Background For Finance For Non Finance Managers
In today’s competitive business world firms are under unprecedented pressure to deliver value to their shareholders and other key stakeholders. Senior executives in all parts of the organisation are finding that they need some degree of financial know how to cope with the responsibility placed on them as business managers and key decision-makers; monitoring and improving business performance, investing in capital projects, mergers and acquisitions and budgets. All require some degree of financial knowledge.
The MasterClass is a highly interactive and participative workshop that is designed to give senior executives an understanding of, and the practical ability to use, the key business financial skills to improve their business decision making.
The MasterClass uses a combination of participative seminars, discussions, case studies and problem solving to ensure that delegates learn and develop the confidence to use the various principles and techniques.
Who Should Attend this MasterClass in Finance for the Non Financial Manager?
- Executive Management
- Strategy Directors / Heads
- Business Owners / Managing Directors
- Operations Directors
- Operations Managers / Supervisors
- Executive Assistants / Executive Personal Assistants
- Commercial Managers
- Team Leaders / Supervisors
- General Managers
- Functional Leads
- Project Mangers / Directors
- Business Analysts / Consultants
- Procurement Professionals
- Change Managers and Consultants
- Administration Managers
- Management Consultants
- Finance Support Staff
- Plus anyone who requires a fundamental understanding of business finance.
By Attending This Highly Interactive MasterClass You Will Be Equipped With The Skills To:
Understand fundamental business finance concepts; understand, analyse and interpret financial statements: Profit Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Statement
Understand the vital difference between profit and cashflow; identify the key components of working capital and how they can be managed to generate strong cashflow
Evaluate pricing decisions based on an understanding of the nature of business costs and their impact on gross margin and break-even sales; managing pricing, discounts and costs to generate strong business profits; understand how lean manufacturing methods improve profit
Use powerful analytical tools to measure and improve the performance of their own company and assess the effectiveness of their competitors
Apply and interpret techniques for assessing and comparing investment opportunities in capital projects, business acquisitions and other ventures; understand and apply common methods of business valuation
Understand the role of business finance in formulating and implementing competitive business strategy; the role of budgeting as part of the planning process and the various approaches to budgeting and performance measurement
Training Methods
The MasterClass is a highly interactive and participative workshop that is designed to give senior executives and understanding of and the practical ability to use the key business financial skills to improve their business decision making.
The MasterClass uses a combination of participative seminars, discussion, case studies and problem solving to ensure that delegates learn and develop the confidence to use the various principles and techniques.
MasterClass Outline
Business and finance fundamentals
Strategy and finance
The objectives of the firm: delivering value to shareholders and key stakeholders
The Principal-Agent dilemma: the shareholder – director relationship
Understanding shareholder returns – dividends and share price drivers
Disasters and developments in corporate governance – lessons from Enron
The role and scope of financial planning and management
Basic principles
Accounting concepts, GAAP and common terms
Understanding and using the balance sheet
Understanding and using the profit statement
Recognising the vital difference between profit and cashflow
Understanding and using the cashflow statement
What financial statements can and cannot tell us
Managing and improving cashflow
Sources of finance and their advantages and disadvantages
Cost of business capital
What is working capital and why is it so important?
Managing stocks, debtors and creditors
Understanding how working capital drives business growth
Understanding and avoiding the over-trading trap
Unlocking the funds tied up in fixed assets: asset backed loans, HP finance and leasing
Preparing cashflow forecasts
Managing and improving profit
Understanding how profits generate cashflow
The fundamental nature of costs: fixed and variable business costs
Understanding gross margin and break-even
How common pricing methods affect gross margin and profit
Effective strategies to improve gross margin
Using value chain analysis to reduce costs
Lean manufacturing methods – understanding Just-in-time, 6 Sigma and Kaizen methods
Improving profit – effective and defective strategies
Measuring and managing business performance
Reading and interpreting published financial statements
Measures of financial performance and strength
Investor behaviour: the risk and reward relationship
Return on investment (ROI): the ultimate measure of business performance
How profit margin and net asset turnover drive return on net assets
Why some companies are more profitable that others
Understanding competitive advantage: cost and differentiation advantage
Why great companies fail – what happened to Kodak?
Using a ‘Pyramid of Ratios’ to improve business performance
Using Critical Success Factors to develop Key Performance Indicators
Investment appraisal and business valuation
Common methods used for investment and project appraisal
Understanding the ‘time value’ of money
Using discounted cashflow techniques for investment appraisal
Project investment and capital budgeting decisions
Common business valuation techniquesKey financial issues in mergers and acquisitions
Using financial due diligence to assist in valuation and negotiation
Budgeting and forecasting methods
Using budgets to support strategy
Objectives and methods for effective budgets
Using budgets to monitor and manage business performance
Alternative approaches to budgeting
Developing and implementing Balanced Scorecards
Beyond Budgeting
Forecasting methods and techniques
Identifying key business drivers
Using rolling forecasts and ‘what-if’ models to aid decision-making
Finance for non finance managers will help organisations to build more competitive and powerful organisations.