Every manager needs practical knowledge of financial management to make optimal decisions and contribute to the results. Gain this much-needed knowledge in just 2 days.

15 reasons why gaining this know-how is crucial.

1. Accounting is about past activities; finance knowledge teaches you to understand the position of your company and how to improve the results in the future.
2. Discover the business cycle and how it is reported by the finance and accounting department! The sales, the costs, the profits made, the value creation, the assets, the debt, the working capital, and the amount of cash available. With these concepts you will be able to make better decisions as a manager.
3. Understand that there are 5 different levels of profit and that profit for the financial year is only 1 of the types of profit. Also, which is most important, profit or value creation?  
4. Learn the terminology and the linkages between EBIT profit, EBITDA, profit for the financial year, gross profit, profit before tax and the importance of each.
5. Discover that a profitable company can go bankrupt due to a lack of liquidity.
6. Understand that the balance sheet under local GAAP often does not reflect the true value but the fiscal value.
7. Evaluate the relationship and the leverage between equity and debt resulting in the ability to raise further financing.
8. Understand the crucial importance of cash, cash flow forecasting and the cash flow statement and learn how to determine and derive it yourself.
9. Use KPIs and ratios to evaluate the performance, make competitor comparisons or use them to make internal evaluations among multiple divisions or subsidiaries.
10. Also use these KPIs and ratios to set objectives, use them to report the results to shareholders, finance companies or other interested parties.
11. Learn how to approach business costs in multiple ways, the direct and indirect costs, and the benefits of making them fixed or variable.
12. Improve your budgeting knowledge, understand the techniques to use. Build budgets in line with corporate strategy and achieve the set-out objectives.
13. Take the guesswork out of management decisions by building project/investment appraisals (CAPEX).  Determine whether the project meets the predefined expectations and value creation.
14. Understand that the "cost of capital" is the crucial benchmark that any project must meet to be profitable long term.
15. Be the driver and expert managers in your companies’ decision making with solid financial knowledge and understanding.

The course and the learning outcome

This 2-day course is designed to provide non-financial managers with a solid financial framework on where to develop.  Effective management depends on solid financial decisions and as a manager, or any other individual with budget responsibility, you have to be able to:

• Interpret financial data, the income, and cash flow statements, and the balance sheet.
• Understand the budgeting framework, the type of budgets, and the uses of budgeting.
• Develop the skills to analyse and develop capital expenditure projects
• Interpret key performance indicators and evaluate your contribution to your organisation.

This comprehensive, hands-on program gives non-financial managers the skills and confidence they need to analyse and interpret financial information, through key theory and practical exercises enabling them to make decisions that deliver shareholder value in your organisation.

You will have the skills to interpret your own organisation's financial statements and interpret its performance. Feel comfortable in designing and evaluating budgets or capital expenditure projects in the light of your own organisation's performance and argue the case for approval and acceptance. You will be able to prove shareholder value based on your managerial decisions showing the effects on the balance sheet, income, and cash flow statement.

Recommended background

This program is designed for managers from non-financial backgrounds who increasingly need to use financial information to appraise performance and make decisions. The program is suitable if you have little or no prior financial knowledge, as well as those looking for a refresher. Participants come from a diverse range of backgrounds, including technical, operations, marketing, and general management.

Course format (Residential or Online)

This course will be taught using a combination of formal instructions, combined with practical and interactive exercises and case studies used to reinforce the concepts taught in each section of the course.

Practice-based learning and critical engagement is a key theme through all our courses allowing delegates to acquire the needed skills and techniques to be applied as soon as they are learned and developed.

• One of the best courses I've ever attended. The trainer, Mrs Maureen, was extremely pedagogic and the structure of the course was very well planned with just the right mixture of theory versus practical examples and exercises.
• I have acquired as a manager the necessary financial skills now and do understand the importance of it! Managers are responsible for the results, not the finance department, therefore they should have a thorough understanding of the financial cycle. 
• A great way to learn about finance. The group was small which made it easier to be 100% involved. The exercises and case studies were absolutely great and necessary to put the theory into practice. A very knowledgeable teacher.
• I really appreciated the empathy and skills of the lecturer. Also, the size of the group was perfect to have the necessary interactivity throughout the course.