Course Objectives:

• Understand the financial and accounting terms used in business.
• Develop skills in financial literacy.
•  Understand the main financial statements and how to be used to monitor and control business performance.
•  Understand the financial language, asking relevant financial questions, and making business decisions using financial criteria.
•  Highlight the need for good budget construction and the basic techniques for budgetary control.
• Develop operating budgets
•  Understand how cash budgeting can affect motivation and control
• Understand the way in which financial information is collected, organized and classified within the financial systems of the organization
•  Learn a range of financial analysis skills for enhancing and interpreting the financial data of the organization
• Understand how planning and budgeting can assist managers in business, and appreciate why many organization are replacing budgeting with other management models

Course Outline:

• Finance and Accounting Overview
• The World of Finance and Accounting.
• Why Do We Have Accounting Systems?
• Needs Determine the Form of Accounting Data
• The Goal of Good Management is to Create Value
• The Three Management Functions
• Data Characteristics of Financial vs. Managerial Accounting
• New Management Trends to Create Value
• What is profit?
• Definition of Profit.
• Importance of Profit.
• How much profit can we make?
• Management by the Numbers
• Understanding Volume Based Cost Behavior Patterns
• Contribution Margin Based income Statements
• Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis
• Using CVP to Manage
• How does the CVP Chart Change to Reflect Cost Management
• What Questions Can we Answer?
• The Importance of Cash Flow
• How money works in business.
• Why profit and cash are not the same.
• How much cash can we take?
• The Cash Management Process
• Planning Motivates Control Through Evaluation
• Budgeting in an Uncertain Business World — Solvency Management
• Factors Influencing the Need for Budgeting & Planning
• What Makes the Budgeting Process Successful?
• Breaking Down The Financial Statements Barrier
• Assets and Liabilities.
• Working Capital Management.
• Key ratios to improve asset utilization and profitability.
• Expenditure Planning & Financial Decision Making
• Cost benefits analysis.
• Capital expenditure decisions.
• What is Capital Expenditure?
• Nature of Capital Investment Decisions
• What is Capital Budget?
• Stages of Capital Budgeting Process
• Relevant Cash Flows
• Methods of Evaluating Capital Investments
• Sensitivity analysis.
• Budgeting for Profit
• Definition of a budget.
• Purpose of a budget.
• How to construct a budget.
• How to use a budget for financial control.
• Motivation and Control Through Budgeting
• The Motivational Cycle
• The Control Environment
• How Much Accounting Control Do We Need?
• Types of Controls
• Centralized vs. Decentralized Controls
• Responsibility Centers used in Accounting Control Systems
• Limitations for ‘Management by the Numbers’ or Accounting Control
• Evaluation of Managers and Divisions
• Cost of Capital Employed
• Accounting Performance Measures
• Do Our Accounting Systems Encourage Good Judgment?