MasterClass in Finance for the Non-Financial Manager

MasterClass in Finance for the Non-Financial Manager

Duration:  3 – 4 Days

MasterClass Background

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. All require some degree of financial knowledge.

This three-day 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.

This 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 Managers / Supervisors
  • Executive Assistants / Executive Personal Assistants
  • Team Leaders / Supervisors
  • General Managers / Project Mangers
  • Business Analysts / Consultants
  • Procurement Professionals
  • 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 Cash flow Statement
  • Understand the vital difference between profit and cash flow; identify the key components of working capital and how they can be managed to generate strong cash flow
  • 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
  • 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

  • This three-day MasterClass is a highly interactive and participative workshop that is designed to give executives and managers improved command of 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

Day 1 – The Business context for Budgeting

  • What is budgeting?
  • Why do organizations budget?
  • Budgeting in large / small and medium companies
  • Role of budget in corporate governance
  • Case study – interpret financial performance with and without a budget

Planning and Organization

  • Who is involved and when
  • What do you need before you start
  • Delivering the budget required
  • Key milestones and owners
  • What information to gather
  • Case study – build  a project plan to manage your budget process, (who, when, what)

What are the Key elements in budgeting?

  • Marketing, Sales, R&D, Production , Finance
  • Sales, Costs, Profits, Cash ,Assumptions
  • Case study – build a profit budget, cash budget , add key changes

Sales Forecasting

  • Building a Sales Forecast
  • Identifying Sources of Sales
  • Predicting sales volumes
  • How reliable is your forecast?
  • Case study – build and  test a sales  budget

Building a Budget

  • Key Elements of a Budget
  • Documenting  assumptions
  • Cost of Sales / Operation
  • Fixed Costs
  • Variable Costs
  • Direct Costs / In-Direct Costs
  • Allowing for Capital Expenditure
  • Depreciation
  • Staff Costs
  • Loaded Staff Costs
  • Staff Bonuses
  • Sickness and Holidays
  • Staff to Management Ratio
  • Recruitment Requirements
  • Linking Forecast to Costs
  • Linking Related Costs
  • Case study – build and   test a cost  budget

Day 2 – Investment appraisal

  • Reasons for investing
  • A  project cost benefit analysis
  • Financial ratios Payback and NPV
  • Sensitivity & Risk
  • Case study – Assemble and stress test a Business Case

How important is cash?

  • Why would you do a cash budget
  • Deriving cash flow from your Profit and Loss
  • The risks of over trading
  • Managing your working capital
  • External sources of finance
  • Case study – Calculate and flex a cash flow

Running Scenarios

  • Forecast 3 year P&L (Profit and Loss)
  • Building and Including ‘Stretch Targets’
  • ‘What if’ Analysis
  • Increase in Costs & Efficiency
  • Changes in prices
  • Impacts of changing Business Volumes
  • Impacts of Losing / Gaining New Customers
  • Return on Investment
  • Case study – Calculating What If’s

Financial Reporting using your budget

  • Reporting Actuals Against Budget
  • Reporting Actuals Against ‘Stretch’ Target
  • Identifying Reasons for Variance
  • Building ‘Bridges’ to  graphically demonstrate Variances
  • Identifying Trends
  • Re-forecasting
  • Case study – Reporting using your budget

Day 3 – Case Study – Advanced complexity

  • Using data provided in the case study,
  • Construct a budget model
  • Populate key data
  • Calculate the Budgeted Profit & Loss
  • Calculate  cash flow for the Profit and loss
  • Present your answer for review

Stress test your Budget Model

  • Flex the volumes as per data provided
  • Change the costs as per data provided
  • Compile a cost benefit case for the capital case.
  • Overlay the capital case into your budget.
  • Revise prices to meet targeted returns
  • Implement the price increase  into your budget model

Interpret & Present your Conclusions

  • Graph key data and trends ,
  • Summarize the KPI’s of your budget for review
  • Compare your budget to other submissions
  • Discuss the key points in a simulated board meeting

Requirements

Delegates will need a basic understand of mathematics and should be familiar with the calculation of ratios, percentages and averages. Calculators will be required. Bring a laptop with Excel, this is a hands on co