finance for non financial managers

MasterClass in Finance for the Non-Financial Managers (3-5 Days)

Finance for Non Financial Managers

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 techniques
• Key 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.