Course Overview
Finance for Non Finance Professionals is designed for today’s changing business conditions and intense competition, where all functional or business heads are required to grasp, understand, and apply fundamental financial accounting knowledge within their respective areas or business units in order to become well-rounded professional managers.
Moving forward, most functional and business managers are expected to act as “owners” of the profit and loss numbers. By acquiring these skills, participants will be able to better understand and analyse financial statements, contribute effectively to the budgeting process, and make informed decisions in investment and project selection. This programme will also highlight key methods used by the finance function that are relevant today for effective management decision support.
This Finance for Non Finance Professionals programme provides practical financial knowledge that helps managers and professionals understand accounting principles, financial statements, budgeting, and financial analysis without requiring a finance background. Participants will gain confidence in making better business and financial decisions within their organisations.
Course Objectives
On completion of this Finance for Non Finance Professionals programme, participants will be able to:-
- Master the interpretation of financial statements
- Identify key financial concerns via variance analysis for financial sector products.
- Know how to analyse and evaluate key financial indicators in view to contribute towards improving organisation’s performance
- Understand the concepts, language and basic rules of accounting & finance.
- Equip oneself with knowledge in order to effectively manage a business organization.
Training Approach
Where appropriate, activities will include the following:
- Lecture & Videos
- Faciliated Group Discussions & Quiz
- Practical exercises and case studies
Who Should Attend
Professionals, Senior Managers, Managers, Executives who had no formal training in accounting & finance but wish to understand and interpret financial statements and enhance financial management & budget setting process. This Finance for Non Finance Professionals course is also suitable for department heads, project managers, supervisors, business owners, and professionals who regularly work with budgets, financial reports, or operational performance data.
Course Content
Introduction to Finance Accounting & Finance Analysis
Building Financial Knowledge:
- Financial Terminology
- Practical understanding of practical finance and accounting concepts
Understanding Financial Statements
Types of financial statements: Profit & Loss, Cash Flow, Balance Sheet & its importance and usefulness
Evaluation business performance and viability through :
- Margin analysis
- Return of Investment (ROI), Gearing (leverage) & liquidity ratios
Learn the golden rule of financial management (personal & company finance)
- Working capital management
- Why rich companies get richer?
- Cash versus profit measures
Management Reporting: Variance Analysis
- Understanding essentials of variance analysis & how variances are calculated
- What causes budget variances?
Budget Process
- Overview of Top Down and Bottoms Up budgeting and forecasting process & methodologies with simple practical exercises
- Importance of assumptions and SWOT analysis for budget setting exercise
- Identify which cost element which are difficult to forecast
- Capital Expenditure and Revenue Expenditure Concepts
Understanding Budget via Understanding of Cost
- Cost element classification
- Value Costing
- Costing methods and structure
- Identify firm’s Cost drivers
- Different types of cost – fixed, variable
- Breakeven and contribution analysis
Cash Flow Statement & Management
- Ten Tips for Managing Cash Flow for Companies
- Understanding operating cash flow by work capital management
- Working Capital Management definition and its importance in cash flow management
- Managing company inventories for enhancing cash liquidity
- Understanding Cash Flow Statement Components for forecasting
- Sample CF format case study interpretation
