Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

The module consists of four units

Unit 1: Financial reporting 

Considers the importance of financial reporting for managerial use and the role of accounting in how an organization's transactions are recorded and reported. You will learn about the importance of cash and how it differs from profit. You review accounting terms and terminology and the two main financial reporting statements: the income statement (often called the 'profit and loss account') and the balance sheet.

Topics to be covered:

Basics of financial accounting and understanding financial statements

• Balance sheet
• P&L account
• Cash flow statements
• Profit v/s cash flow analysis

Unit 2: Measuring financial performance 

Explains the use of financial ratios to measure financial performance. Most owners of businesses or managers in organizations want to assess their performance in a structured way and financial reports are an important mechanism to achieve this. Without financial reports, managers cannot make decisions about how to develop or change the activities that they manage in their organization. You will learn about and practice using some of the key financial ratios that help managers assess performance and identify some useful ratios for your own organization.

Topics to be covered:

Analysis of Financial Statements

• Financial ratios
• Return on operations (sales), profit margin
• Business activity (assets turnover, working capital management)
• Return on assets (ROA)
• Financial solvency and liquidity
• Return on equity (ROE)

Unit 3: Cost management

Explores a range of techniques and approaches that help managers assess the impact on costs of changing scenarios, as well as assess the implications of allocating overhead costs. Managerial planning and decision-making require knowledge of what might change when decisions are taken. Unit 3 has as its main focus organizational costs and cost management, in particular how costs might change as decisions are taken.

Topics to be covered:

Cost information for decision-making and budgeting

• Cost concepts including discussion on marginal costing
• Some important cost definitions
• Make or buy
• Shut down or continue
• Sell or process further
• Domestic versus export sales

Unit 4: Cash management and budgeting

Shows you how to use cash reporting in decision making. Cash is an essential organizational resource and managers need to know how and why cash has been used. Cash forecasts are useful for planning and decision making for the future. This unit will introduce you to budgets - what they are, what they record, what they are used for and how they can help you exercise financial control in your area of managerial ;

Topics to be covered:

Working capital management

• What is working capital?
• Kinds of working capital
• Operating cycle and components of working capital
• Working capital management and decision-making.
• Need and type of budgets
• Commonly used budgets
• Budgetary control process
• Case study and illustrations.