Finance for Non-Finance Professionals transforms financial and accounting concepts into decision-making tools you can use successfully use every day.

Finance for Non-Finance Professionals training is the most in-demand program for all those professionals who want to get hands-on knowledge of crucial finance areas.

A strong foundation of finance is critical to succeed at any employment level and position.

You learn to apply the fundamentals of finance to improve budget management, increase potential profits, and assess the financial performance of business activities.

Participants will gain an understanding of critical financial statements and learn the practical application of the most important and widely used financial techniques.

The Finance for Non-Finance Professionals program provides you with a unique opportunity to improve your knowledge of finance, make better business decisions, and expand your expertise.

You will learn to apply the fundamentals of finance to improve budget management, increase potential profits, and assess the financial performance of business activities.

You will also understand the terminology used by accounting and finance staff and will feel more confident when being involved with them or using them.

This course will help you do a better job and prepare you for senior management positions where financial awareness is crucial.

This course is an introduction to finance, wherein an individual can read and understand financial statements, cash flows, analyze business performance and use different investment selection methods.

The course will also cover capital budgeting, calculating the cost of capital and estimating weight.

Delegates are encouraged to bring the financial statements and their management accounts for their organizations to the course to enable them to relate the concepts covered back to their own companies.

This course accredited by APMG.

You might be interested in other Financial programs as a next step.

Don’t be confused by financial jargon – help your business realize its objectives!

You will learn how to

This course will provide delegates with the fundamental building blocks to enable them to read and interpret the financial data relating to their organization.

Starting with how a company is financially structured, how it trades and how it is funded, the workshop will go on to look at the primary financial statements. We will then look at some of the key ratios that will allow delegates to read and interpret the financial information for their organizations.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Define the four key financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, cash flow and changes in owner equity as well as key financial terms such as profit, margins, and leverage used in organizations

Interpret the financial health and condition of a company, division or responsibility center and use financial information for management and evaluation

Distinguish between accounting and finance and explain the finance role in running businesses

Prepare a company’s operating budget and relate it to the organization’s strategic objectives

Apply capital budgeting techniques and cost-volume-profit analysis to enhance decision making

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

Participants who fully attend this course and complete the test on the last day will receive a Strategic Axis Professional Certificate (SAPC). SAPC certificates are regionally recognized and can be quite valuable when applying for more senior roles within the organization or outside.

International APMG Certificate

COURSE OUTLINE

Understanding the accounting cycle

External and internal auditors’ responsibilities
Understanding the accounting cycle

The five main accounts in financial statements

Income statement

Accrual basis versus cash basis

Balance sheet

The balanced status

Statement of owners’ equity

Statement of cash flows

Wrapping-up: the cycle of financial statements

External and internal auditors’ responsibilities

Module 2: Analysis of financial statements
Why are ratios useful?

Horizontal and trend analysis

Vertical analysis: common size statements

Common size financial statements

Building blocks analysis and reading through the numbers:

Liquidity ratios: ability to settle short-term dues

Solvency ratios: ability to pay long-term dues

Activity ratios: the ability to manage assets efficiently

Profitability ratios

Limitations of financial ratio analysis

Module 3: Working capital management
Definition of working capital and working capital management

Working capital management strategies for current assets

Balancing profitability and liquidity

Working capital management strategies for current liabilities trade-off between profitability and certainty

Module 4: Concept of financial management
Accounting versus finance: rules and responsibilities

Three pillars of finance

Financing decisions

Investing decisions

Operating decisions

Module 5: Break-even analysis and decision making
Defining fixed costs

Defining variable costs

Contribution margin formula

Computing breakeven point

Sensitivity analysis: changing assumptions

Module 6: Operating budget process and techniques
What is an operating budget?

Steps to budget development

Master budget components

Sales forecasting

Approaches to budgeting

Incremental budgeting

Zero-based budgeting

Budgetary control and correction

Module 7: Capital budgeting: the investing decisions
Examples of exercises involving capital budgeting exercise

Time value of money: a prerequisite for investing decisions

The required rate of return for investments

Examples of cash outflows for capital projects

Examples of cash inflows for projects

Net present value calculation

Internal rate of return