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

• Explain the functions of financial management and its role in running businesses.
• Communicate effectively with finance professionals by using common financial language.
• Define the four key financial statements: balance sheet, income, cash flow and changes in owners’ equity as well as key financial terms used in organizations (e.g. profit, margins, leverage, etc.)
• Interpret the financial health and condition of a company, division or responsibility center.
• Apply capital budgeting techniques and cost- volume-profit analysis to enhance decision making.
• Use financial information to manage and evaluate their company or department operations.

Concept of Financial Management

• Accounting versus Finance: Rules and Responsibilities
• The Three Pillars of Finance
• Financing Decisions
• Investing Decisions
• Operating Decisions

The Key Financial Statements

• Understanding the Accounting Cycle
• The Six Main Accounts in Financial Statements
• The Cycle of Financial Statements
• Income Statement
• Owners’ Equity
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow Statement and Cash Flow Rules
• Annual Reports, Auditors’ Opinion and Financial Disclosures
• Mapping the Three Pillars of Finance to Financial Statements

Analysis of Financial Statements

• Judging the Health of the Business
• Vertical, Horizontal, and Trend Analysis
• Income Statement Ratios
• Balance Sheet Ratios
• Analyzing and Interpreting Company Annual Reports
• Different Measures of Profitability
• Reading through the Numbers

Working Capital and the Financing Decision

• Why Manage Working Capital?
• Current Asset Classification
• The Trade-Off in Working Capital Management Strategies
• Sources of Short-Term Financing
• Balancing Profitability and Liquidity

Break-Even Analysis and Decision Making

• Understanding Break-Even Analysis
• Fixed and Variable Cost Behavior
• Decision-Making Using Contribution Margin

Budgeting Process and Techniques

• Importance of Budgeting
• Main Methods in Budgeting
• Incremental Budgets
• Zero-Based Budgeting
• Activity-Based Budgeting
• Participative Budgeting
• The Budgeting Process
• Budgetary Cost Control

Capital Projects

• Time Value of Money
• The Capital Budgeting Decision
• Methods in Evaluating Capital Projects
• Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return

Managers, supervisors and staff from any function including finance who need to improve understanding and use of financial information.