By combining techniques, analysis, problems, and examples with real case studies the course provides delegates with key cost awareness and budgetary skills, which is essential in managing and controlling processes/projects in times of increasing global competition where the budgets are inextricably linked with both strategy formulation and cost analysis.

 . This course not only presents the key financial tools generally used, but also explains the broader context of how and where they are applied to obtain meaningful answers. It provides a conceptual backdrop both for the financial/economic dimensions of systematic business management and for understanding the nature of financial statements, analyzing data, planning and controlling.
The course is targeted at providing a university-quality ‘MBA’ overview of accounting, decision making, and financial communications. Participants are expected to be high-potential learners seeking the next level of learning. Additional bibliographies, readings, and spreadsheets will be provided as takeaways.

By the end of this course delegates will be able to:

• Understand the content of and relationships between financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows
• Understand how to use financial statements to evaluate the financial performance of an organization
• Understand discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques and their application to financial decision making
• Understand how profit margin, asset utilization, and financial leverage are used by managers to maximize the return to investors

• Understand the budgeting process, including performance evaluation
• Understand cost behavior and its impact on management decisions
• Understand the need for and the methods used to allocate overhead

Communicate and to question financial information effectively

• Finance Managers and Accounting Managers
• Financial Analysts
• Business and Operations Managers involved in financial decisions
• Department Heads responsible for budgeting and cost control
• Senior Accountants and Finance Supervisors
• Professionals who need to interpret and communicate financial information for decision-making.

This interactive Training will be highly interactive, with opportunities to advance your opinions and ideas and will include:
• Lectures
• Workshop & Work Presentation
• Case Studies and Exercise
• Videos and General Discussions

Day One

Accounting: An introduction

• What is accounting?
• What forms can accounting take
• Definition and importance of profit
• Decision scenarios explored
• Funding business operations
• Who is interested in profit?
• Cash vs. Accrual accounting
• Cash flow forecasting and improvement
• Accounting policies chosen by companies
• Accounting standards

Day Two

Financial Statements, Accounting Policies, and Reporting Standards

Income Statement – basic components

• Revenues & the questions
• Direct/variable/product costs
• Indirect/fixed/period costs
• Mixed costs
• Non-cash deductions: the what, the why & the how
  • Depreciation: various methods explored
  • Amortization: impairment test
  • Depletion: when & how
• The difference between profit and cash
• A closer look at costs and expenses
• Profit calculations
• Summarizing profit statements and extracting the key figures

Balance Sheet

• Assets – current & long term
• Liabilities – current & long term
• Equity – components
• Capital employed - options
• Managing the working capital cycle

Cash Flow Statement

• Operating sources/uses
• Investing sources/uses
• Financing sources/uses

Day Three

Making and Communicating Decisions using Budgets

• The master budget
• The budgeting as a planning tool, a control mechanism, a communications device & value creation
• Budgeting Sales to “drive” the correct budget
• Operating budget components
• Financial budget
• Pro Forma Financial Statements
• Cash Budgets
• Capital budget
• Interrelationship of Financial Projections
• Dynamics and Growth of the Business System – a model review
• Flexible vs. traditional budgets – the pros & cons
• Variance analysis as a tool for improvement & communications
• Price and volume effects within variance analysis: state of the art

Day Four

Financial vs. Management Accounting: differences and similarities

• Objectives of Managerial Accounting
• Managerial Versus Financial Accounting:
• Role of the Managerial Accountant
• Financial accounting: what we show to the public
• Objectives of financial accounting
• Role of financial accountant
• Cost terminology: variable, fixed, controllable, non-controllable, incremental, sunk, opportunity, and relevant
• Cost behaviors in Cost-Volume-Profit scenarios: contribution margin and fixed costs
• Breakeven and targeted net income scenarios
• Cost/Benefit analysis

Day Five

Ultimatum Goal of Planning – Valuation, Business Performance & Decision Making

• Definitions of Value
• Responsibility centers: cost, profit, and investment
• Measuring responsibility center performance
• Segment reporting internally and externally
• Business Valuation from multiple perspectives
• Managing for Shareholder Value
• Shareholder Value Creation in Perspective
• Evolution of Value-Based Methodologies in planning and budgeting Creating Value in Restructuring and Combinations beyond planning and reporting- the case for real change!

A RECTUS attendance certificate will be awarded to all participants who complete at least 80% of the total course duration.