Understanding Business Finance

A superb course for owners, managers, administrators and support staff with a non-financial background.

How much do you understand about the financial network that runs throughout your whole business operation?

Do you know how to handle it?

Are you equipped to play your part?

This 3-day course will provide you with the insight, concepts and tools to understand business finance - and be more comfortable and confident at your job.

" ...an excellent and stimulating course .."

" ...very alive presentation .."

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This is a FETAC Level 6 course, code No L32494

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This course is for everyone who wants to get a working understanding of finance. It will be invaluable for managers and supervisors at all levels, for administrators and for those in supporting functions.

You should do this course because to make any real sense of business, or to contribute effectively, you do need to understand the basics of finance. To manage in business you need to understand how business finance works - and how you can make it work for you.

This course will leave you well equipped to understand the implications of your own and other's decisions. It will give you the confidence and ability to see your job from a much clearer perspective.

The course aims to take you through the main-stream of finance of a typical business, getting a thorough working knowledge of the principal issues along the way.

Whatever your background, this course will leave you well equipped to:

• Communicate confidently with accountants and other managers in your company
• Make better-based decisions on a variety of day-to-day and longer-term business issues
• Know how to manage and grow the profitability of your business
• Appreciate the financial implications of a whole range of non-financial issues that arise constantly
• Understand the reason behind, and the impact of, decisions made outside your department or company, that affect you
• Evaluate your decisions and the performance of your department or company from a financial perspective
• Be a lot more comfortable with 'the numbers' - and more effective at your job

On this course you will learn through a well-varied mixture of explanatory inputs, interactive discussion, guided work-outs and real-life illustrations.

Participation is at a premium! This is NOT a number crunching course but we might ask you to do a calculation or two .... so, do bring a calculator!

CONTENT

Introduction: Putting Finance in context

• The interdependent needs of customers, suppliers, financiers and managers.
• From barter to cash: accounting as a measuring tool

It's all about Cash

• ... but where is it?
• Understanding cash, different cash cycles.
• Conversion to other assets and squeezing the cash back out again. Attending to the plumbing!

The Fundamental Finance Triangle

• There's more to business than profit - but profit is vital.
• Maximising sales, minimising expenses and sound investment in assets lead to the high road of good profit.
• Being able to read and understand the signposts helps!

Financial Control and Reporting

• Information that managers need to lead and control.
• Information shareholders & financiers need to stay on board.
• The function of financial and management accounts.

Insights into the Balance Sheet...

• Get a handle on the meaning, structure, importance, use and power of the Balance Sheet.
• Turn this 'dull report' into an exciting tool.

....and the Profit & Loss Account

• When is a sale a sale?
• What expenses are chargeable?
• The impact of inventory, depreciation, amortisation.
• Differentiating profit and cash.

Risk and Reward - the problem and the prize!

• Who takes what risk?
• What's a worthwhile reward?
• Understanding and managing Return - on investment, assets, shareholders' funds.
• Understand the network of daily activities that impact on return.

Top-line focus: Sales

• The most direct impact on Profit.
• What's behind the selling price?

Minding the middle: Costs and Cost Management

• Understanding cost structure and behaviour.
• Costing Systems.
• Using cost information to make decisions and manage the business.
• Ways of managing costs.

Making 'Working Capital' work

• Understanding and managing the 'Working Capital Cycle'.
• Managing the constituents: the everyday manager's job that needs real teamwork!

Fixed Assets

• Critical strategic and financing issues.
• Evaluating investment proposals.
• Managing Fixed Assets.

Financing the Business

• How the financing needs grow: avoiding the 'success graveyard'!
• Different sources and structures of finance.
• Understanding the different approaches.

What's it all for? - assessing and managing financial performance

• Diagnosing financial problems.
• Analysing ratios.
• Measuring and managing profitability.

Understanding and evaluating Company Accounts

• .... through an analysis of the financial structure, development and performance of a major Irish company.

Planning and Budgeting to make the future

• Working through a complete budget building exercise gaining hands-on experience of the main issues encountered throughout the course

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Where does this course run?

Public Courses

This course is presented in Cork, and in Limerick & Waterford according to demand.

The next public course will be held on November 9, 10 and 17 2011. Please contact us to let us know your interest.

In-Company Courses

This is a powerful course to run for a group from the same company. The content can be adapted and tailored to suit in-company training at a variety of levels from senior management to junior accounts staff. For added relevance your own company data can be incorporated if required and discussions centred on your own issues.

The scheduling, timing and location can all be tailored exactly to your company requirements.

Talk to us if you have a particular interest or need ....

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