Day 1
Session One- Introduction
The course is introduced by the trainer and includes: course objectives, timetable and approach, introduction by participants and summary of personal
objectives, domestic arrangements.
Ssession two- Balance sheet and profit and loss account
This session focuses on basic concepts and terminology. It sets the scene for understanding corporate finance and communicating with the finance team.
Topics covered include:
- Balance sheet; content and format
- Profit and loss account; what it measures and how it appears
- Funding: the sources of funds for a business
- Accounting terminology
Session Three- Accruals, Deferrals and provisions
Following the basic principles set out in the previous session, participants go on to see how basic concepts work in practice. In particular, the principle of
matching revenues and costs in the correct time period is introduced as key to understanding the numbers. Key content in this session includes:
- Accrued costs
- Prepaid expenses
- Deferred revenue
- Provisions
Participants apply the concepts to the start-up company to consolidate their understanding.
Session four- Fixed Assets and Depreciation
Participants discover how capital expenditure is dealt with and how the devaluation of an asset over time is shown in the books. A discussion of the issues and
what is involved follows. Topics in this session include:
- Concept of depreciation
- Useful life and depreciation rates
- Net book value
- Lease versus buy - a quick introduction
- Return on investment
Session Five- Costs
In this session, the nature of costs is examined. Participants differentiate between fixed and variable costs, direct and indirect costs. They will then look at how
this information can be applied to overhead recovery, break-even analysis and absorption costing. Using this information, they go on to examine the concept of
cost centres and profit centres, relating this to their own organisation. They will also consider what causes costs to move and how they can be controlled. This
session will cover:
- Fixed versus variable costs
- Cost of sales compared to overheads
- Overhead recovery
Session Six- The Importance of Cash Flow
Cash is the lifeblood of the business. The criticality of cash flow to the survival and success of the organisation is explored in this session. Participants create a
cash forecast to reveal where cash comes from and where it goes. Using a series of examples, the trainer demonstrates what happens if a company does not
manage its cash properly. The session also covers cash planning, underlining the impact of the operational team on cash. The session topics include:
- Where cash comes from and where it goes
- Creating a cash forecast
- What happens if a company does not manage its cash properly?
- Cash planning - underline the impact of the operational team on cash
Day 2
Session Seven- The Management of Working Capital
In this session, discussions focus on the use of funds within a business. Participants recognise the importance of utilising those funds efficiently. Topics
covered in this session include:
- A review of the constituent parts of working capital
- The control and management of stock
- Debtors - their control and their collection
- The management of creditors
Session Eight- Reading and Understanding Accounts
Those involved in managing finance need to be able to do more than simply know how the figures are recorded; they need to be able to understand what they
mean. This session covers both internal management accounts and reports, and the accounts of customers and suppliers. Participants will review financial
statements and apply key financial and performance ratios. They will also apply trend analysis to see how single snap-shots do not necessarily tell the true
story.
Session Nine- Budget: The Theory and the practice
Budgets serve both an operational and financial purpose. In this session, participants review the purpose of budgeting, practical uses of budgets and the
problems experienced in budget production. The trainer explains different budget cultures; top down, bottom up; last year plus, zero-based. They go on to
discover how budgets support the overall planning process and the importance of budgets as a management tool. Participants consider how different parts of
the organisation need different types of budgets.
They go on to review a number of different types including:
- Fixed budgets
- Zero-based budgets
- Activity-based budgets
- Flexed budgets
- Budgets for a specific purpose
Session 10- The Theory of pricing
This session provides a brief introduction to the subject, designed to make participants think about pricing in their own organisation, including the meaning of
cost plus and market pricing
Session 11- Team Exercise
A stimulating workshop designed to drive home the concepts and practicalities learned during the course.
Session 12 – Course Review
Each participant reviews the course content and creates a written action statement. This statement will contain the tasks and the issues that will be taken back
to the work environment for action, consultation or further exploration.
