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Training Course Summary:

Straight forward and no-nonsense, this course enables you to get straight to the heart of financial issues, demystifies financial information and gives you confidence and control when making financial decisions.

This two day overview course has won praise for the straightforward way in which it untangles the web of mystery that surrounds finance in the eyes of many non-financial managers. By so doing it enables them to interact more productively with their finance-based colleagues and exert greater influence on decision making in their organisation.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

Identify the main sources of financial information.
Understand and interpret key financial information.
Understand the differences between cash flow, revenue and capital.
Optimise your use of working capital.
Analyse variances in budgets and take remedial action.
Prepare break-even analyses for business plans, new projects and boardroom presentations.
Distinguish between short-term and long-term financial decisions.
Perform confidently in a financial environment.
What will it cover?

Who Should Attend:

Suitable for managers who want to gain a clear understanding of the fundamentals of business finance and the financial implications of decisions which they make.

Training Course Overview/Content:

The Nature and Purpose of Accounting

A simple model of an organisation’s accounting framework
Why do accountants have so much influence in business?
Who uses the accounts and what do they use them for?
What are the rules that accountants follow?
Where can I find out about my organisation’s/my competitors’ financial position
Profit and Loss and Balance Sheets

Their structure
Their terminolgy
What they tell us
Why they need to be reviewed together
Using financial information as a management tool
Managing Finance

Understanding working capital : What it is? How can we monitor it?
Why too much working capital is bad for you and too little may be disastrous
Optimising working capital for your organisation
The distinction between profit and cash flow
Why discrepancies between them occur
Undertaking a cash flow forecast (case study)
Considering sources of funding
Understanding Budgets

Putting together a robust budget
Assessing variances and flexing the budget
Apportioning overheads
The effects of depreciation
Differentiating between capital and revenue expenditure
Choosing between alternative capital projects when money is restricted
Working out and presenting the break even point
Personal Development

Formulating an action plan