Finance For Non-Finance Professionals

During this greatly successful program, managers with small or no financial training or experience can learn to use the language, tools, and techniques of finance. You will be able to return to your organization with the confidence to analyze financial information and participate fully in making business decisions.

Course Objectives

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.

Who Should Attend?

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

Course Outline

Introduction to Finance, Accounting & Auditing

• What is accounting? What is finance?
• What is financial accounting?

Accounting Concept and Principles
Relevance, Reliability, Matching Concept, Timeliness, Neutrality, Faithful Representation, Prudence, Completeness, Single Economic Entity Concept, Money Measurement Concept, Comparability/Consistency, Understandability, Materiality, Going Concern, Accruals, Business Entity, Substance over Form, Realization Concept, Duality Concept

Accounting policies are the specific principles, bases, conventions, rules and practices applied by an entity in preparing and presenting financial statements.

• Published Annual Reports for stockholders
• The role of external Auditor in Holding/Subsidiaries establishments
• Distinguish between the different types of opinions given in audit reports
• Why the company needs Internal Auditor although it has external auditor

The Financial Statements

• The key elements of financial statements defined and explained
• Assets – current and non-current
• What is depreciation? – explanation of their impact on profit
• Liabilities – current and non-current
• Company net worth
• How is profit calculated?
• The difference between revenue and capital expenditure
• Profit or cash – what is the difference?

Basic Evaluation of Financial Statements

• Why do we need to evaluate financial statements?
• Who are the stakeholders and what are their information needs?
• Financial analysis tools:
  • Vertical Analysis
  • Horizontal Analysis
  • Trend Analysis
  • Ratio Analysis
• How to calculate accounting ratios
• How to use ratio analysis to assess performance
• Profitability ratios
• Related KPI for finance; profit margins, ROI, asset turnover, average number of days inventory held, etc.
• Liquidity ratios
• The meaning of working capital
• Operating efficiency ratio
• Gearing ratios
• The Cash Flow Cycle and Working Capital
• Valuing a company – Book Value versus Market Value

Introduction to Costing Systems

• What is management accounting?
• Collecting and analyzing costs
• Types of cost analysis: by type, by location, by behavior, by purpose
• What are overheads, and how should we analyze them?
• What is the Cost of Production -  Marginal and Total Costing explained
• What is inventory, and how does it affect the cost of production?
• Methods of valuing inventory – FIFO, LIFO, and AVCO explained
• How to measure the break-even point and the margin of safety

Budgets

• Why do we need budgets? – the link between corporate strategy and operations at all levels of the organization
• The benefits & limitations of budgets
• The key features of budgets
• Basic budget forecasting techniques
• How to prepare a departmental budget
• Comparing actual performance with the budget – Variance Analysis

Course Methodology

A variety of methodologies will be used during the course that includes:

• (30%) Based on Case Studies
• (30%) Techniques
• (30%) Role Play
• (10%) Concepts
• Pre-test and Post-test
• Variety of Learning Methods
• Lectures
• Case Studies and Self Questionaires
• Group Work
• Discussion
• Presentation

Course Fees

This rate includes participant’s manual, Hand-Outs, buffet lunch, coffee/tea on arrival, morning & afternoon of each day.

Course Timings

Daily Course Timings
08:00 - 08:20       Morning Coffee / Tea
08:20 - 10:00       First Session
10:00 - 10:20       Coffee / Tea / Snacks
10:20 - 12:20       Second Session
12:20 - 13:30       Lunch Break & Prayer Break
13:30 - 15:00       Last Session