Finance for Non-Finance Managers

Finance is a critical aspect of all venturing that every manager should understand. Regardless of profession or specialization, there is a greater need even much more now than before for every manager to understand important financial information such as the contents and meaning of records like the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and cash flow statement.

This course is designed to give delegates an introduction to business finance and enable them contribute to the process of creating value throughout each and every unit of their organizations. It will also give delegates an understanding of the language used by accountants and how financial statements fit together in predicting and controlling outcomes. It will explain, in a practical way, the financial statements of an organisation and how to read and understand them including the impacts of basic accounting concepts such as depreciation, cost behaviour, cash flow, working capital and budgeting.

Reliable decisions cannot be made without a good understanding of the financial implications of actions and reactions to internal and external business environments.

As many modern-day organizations strive to reach their goals and measure progresses along the way, financial information remains one of the best gauges of the status and health of both private and public companies. Reliable decisions cannot be made without a good understanding of the financial implications of actions and reactions to internal and external business environments.

By raising financial awareness of all persons involved in the decision-making process, managers are posed to better manage businesses’ revenues, costs, profits and cash. Students on this programme will also be able to use their new financial knowledge to make more effective decisions.

This course will cover basic financial principles and provide generic financial management tools necessary for decision making. Learning is achieved via examples, which reinforce the theory, and topic-related internationally acclaimed case studies which successfully simplify the financial topic for the non-financial person. Students will also go through a highly interactive board game, which allows them to experience how transactions affect the balance sheet and profit and loss account over two (2) financial years.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of the modules included in this course, students should be able to;

1. Read and analyze their firm’s financial statements: profit and loss accounts, cash flows and balance sheets
2. Identify the elements affecting their companies’ financial needs and how to forecast them
3. Grasp the theory and practice of capital budgeting crucial to making investment decisions
4. Recognize the drivers of valuation and the factors determining company value
5. Learn the uses and benefits of sensitivity and scenario analyses
6. Acquire a good understanding of financial concepts necessary for effective communications with the finance department, as well as with other stakeholders
7. Understand the meaning and relevance of important financial terms used in everyday business environment.
8. Read and interpret basic financial information and apply them as the bases of important decisions
9. Implement the required system changes to enable their organizations create more value for the owners.
10. Gain a multi-disciplinary understanding of the issues related to Finance for Non Finance Managers so that they can incorporate the needs and expectations of all
11. Build for themselves a knowledge framework in which job related experience can be caught and remembered as part of their overall business management experiences.