Finance For Non-Finance Managers

This two-day workshop will help delegates develop their financial understanding and understand how their decisions can have an impact on the overall performance of their business. We will demystify the financial jargon for you and help you really understand finance.

We start with the key finance cycle, how money moves around the business. Then we look at the key financial statements, so that you understand how they are developed and why they are important. We will then use ratio analysis to interpret these financial statements.
We will look at cash flow and why it is different from profit and will spend time developing budgets and using those budgets to help in making business decisions.

Additionally, we will look at costing methods and the impact of discounting, before finishing with a review of the different ways of evaluating investments and finally a case study to pull it all together.
At the end of the course, you will have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to better understand finance. You will also gain the crucial skill of being able to read and interpret the financial information and reports that you are regularly presented with.

Ultimately, this newfound appreciation of finance and what it means, will allow you to be more successful and influential in your managerial role.
Programme Objectives • understand the finance cycle of a business and how money flows through it • understand and be able to analyse and interpret key financial statements (Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Accounts) using ratio analysis • understand cash flow and why it is different from profit • be able to develop a budget and then flex it for “what if’s”. • be able to analyse actual performance against budget and take appropriate action • be aware of different costing methods • be clear on the impact of discounting • understand and be able to carry out investment appraisal techniques • feel more confident about understanding financial terms and jargon.

Course Content

Background to Finance in Business
• How finance interacts with the business functions
• Concept of assets and liabilities, and some key terminology using practical examples
• Background to the legal/compliance side of finance (company structure, audit requirements)

Balance Sheet
• Introduction to the idea of a balance sheet and what it can show to users of the accounts
• Group exercise to develop a balance sheet

Profit and Loss account
• Background and explanation for the rationale of a profit and loss. • Explanation of key terms (gross profit vs net profit, direct and indirect expenses etc) • Explanation of accruals, pre-payments and depreciation • Exercise to create a profit and loss for a business Costing and Pricing • Key elements of costing, including effect of discounts, margins vs mark ups, impact of VAT. • Fixed and variable pricing and breakeven analysis, together with absorption and variable costing. Balance Scorecard • The concept of a balanced scorecard and how finance links with other areas of the business • Review of a set of plc accounts to show what a “real” set of financial statements looks like. (This can be tailored for any business the participants are interested in)

Cashflow • Cashflow and why it is different from profit and loss. • Exercise to develop a cashflow for given circumstances • What can go wrong with cashflow.

Budgets and Forecasting • Different types of budgets and how to build a zero-based budget. • Exercise to develop a budget from key pieces of information. • Forecasting and budget exercise extended, delegates create a forecast from their budget.

How to analyse a set of financial statements • Ratios and how to calculate some key examples. • Exercise to review a set of financial statements using ratios.

Investment Appraisals • Three different methods of analysing investment decision: payback period, return on investment and discounted cashflow. • Exercise to analyse a business investment using all three methods.

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