Strategic Finance for Non-Financial Managers

Course Objectives

• Understand fully all the major financial statements
• Fully comprehend how financial statements illustrate business performance
• Recognise the key elements within a balance sheet and a profit and loss account
• Appreciate the vital impact of liquidity, cash flow and working capital
• Analyse financial information to assess business performance
• Identify the key elements in budgeting/forecasting, their importance and their impact
• Distinguish between the different cost systems
• Demonstrate break even analysis
• Apply financial skills to project management to assess viability and potential
• Understand the principles of strategic financial planning and decision making

Finance fundamentals

• Types of organisation, legal entities and limited liability;
• The finance and regulatory framework for business and not for profit organisations;
• Business finance and capital – sources, valuations, Angels and Dragons;
• Finance personnel in an organisation;
• Finance systems and source documents;
• System controls and audit;
• Accounting fundamentals, standards, concepts and conventions;
• Cash versus accruals accounting.

Introduction to financial statements

• The key financial statements: Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement;
• Revenue recognition;
• Opex and Capex;
• Tangible assets and depreciation;
• Goodwill, other intangibles and amortisation.

Financial performance and control

• Using ratios to read and interpret financial statements;
• Profitability performance measures;
• Operational gearing, working capital and liquidity management;
• Cash flow;
• Supply chain management and inventory;
• Corporate governance.

Strategic financial planning

• The principles of financial planning and budgets;
• Constraints, budgetary slack and padding;
• Methods of budgeting.

The cost structure and strategic profit management

• Understanding cost: types, behaviours;
• Contribution, breakeven and profit planning;
• Margin analysis and profitable pricing strategy;
• Benchmarking.

Strategic decision making

• Margin analysis;
• The time value of money and discounted cash flows;
• Decision making using the tools of Payback, Net Present Value and Return on Investment.