Finance for Non-Financial Managers

This course is designed to improve the financial and commercial knowledge of managers and help them meet financial objectives

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A two-day finance course for non finance managers

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Download: Course Outline

Day One

Session 1 – Fundamentals of Financial Reporting

Overview and objectives of the finance for non financial managers training course
The key components of accounts:
- Income
- Expenses
- Assets
- Liabilities
- Equity
An introduction to the primary financial reporting statements and the key financial performance indicators:
- Net income – measures of profit
- Balance sheet – capital employed and leverage
Fundamental financial management accounting concepts – accruals vs. cash-based accounting

Exercise – case study to identify the key measures of strong financial performance

Session 2 – Understanding Profit and Loss/Net Income

The financial reporting period and the importance of cut-off
Reporting revenue and key principles for revenue recognition
The difference between assets and expenses and borderline issues such as R&D
Expense categories; direct and overheads
Non-recurring exceptional items

Finance for non financial managers workshop – profit and loss appraisal exercise including calculation of gross and net margins and EBITDA

Session 3 – Cash Flow Vs. Profit and Loss

What is meant by ‘cash’? Plus the importance of positive operating cash flows
Accruals compared with cash accounting with examples including credit sales, purchases, accruals and prepayments
Other non-cash items such as provisions and depreciation

Exercise – Converting cash profit to accruals profit

Session 4 – An Introduction to the Balance Sheet

The purpose of the balance sheet; creditor protection and the impact on reporting assets and liabilities
Non-current assets and depreciation (amortisation)
The net current position; working capital and the assessment of liquidity
Management of working capital; the key issues to remember such as inventory holding periods
Financial leverage and the concept of ‘cost of capital’

Finance for non financial managers masterclass concludes session 4 with an:

Exercise – appraisal of a simple balance sheet – net current position, return on capital and gearing

Final Comments

An introduction to financial project appraisal techniques such as Net Present Values (NPV), Discounted Cash Flows (DCF) and Internal Rates of Return (IRR)
The role and use of Key Performance Indicators (including financial KPIs) and their use in business decision-making

Day Two

Session 5 – Management of Working Capital

Introduction and overview:
- What is meant by the working capital cycle?
Managing inventory:
- Stock holding periods and the concept of effective inventory reordering
Management of receivables:
- The impact of slow or non-payment
Management of supplier payment terms (as part of overall working capital management)

Finance for non financial managers workshop – case study including the calculation of the stock holding period, debtor and creditor days and the overall working capital obligation of the business.

Session 6 – Risk Management

Identifying and reacting to key business risks
Currency risk and financial management issues of foreign currency cash flows
Interest rate risk and the importance of considering the impact of delayed payment terms
Credit risk:
- How this should be reflected in the contract pricing

Exercise – appraisal of different customer types: which is the best for the business overall (this could include issues such as allocation of scarce resources)

Session 7 – Project Appraisal Techniques

This section of the finance course for non-financial managers introduces essential methods for evaluating investment projects. Comprehensive in scope, it provides:

An introduction to common appraisal techniques, including:
- Net present value and discounted cash flows (the time value of money impact)
- Return on investment, internal rates of return
- Payback periods
Additional considerations such as foreign currency cash flows and inflation

Exercise – case study involving basic project appraisal

Session 8 – Finance for Managers Course Concluding Thoughts

This finance for non financial managers masterclass also looks at other issues to consider:
- Long-term contracts and service agreements – how revenue, costs and profits are reported
- Leasing agreements – the impact of capital and operating leases on commercial performance
- Provisions and contingencies – when to recognise a liability
Synoptic exercise – review of an example draft contract or commercial agreement with a typical customer or client

Please note - this finance for non financial managers training course will allow for short breaks of about 15 minutes in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Redcliffe’s finance for non financial managers training course is delivered by a Chartered Accountant who qualified in 1987 with the six-partner firm, Gilberts. Following the completion of an accountancy foundation course, in the same year, he joined Binder Hamlyn to work in their Business Development Group.

In 1990, he joined a major training company as a trainer for financial and managerial accounting exam courses. Over the next four years, he taught auditing, financial reporting, and taxation for ACA, ACCA, CIMA, and AAT exams, as well as the ACA multi-disciplinary case study. He primarily taught full-time courses for firms like Deloitte, PWC, and EY, and was responsible for the ACA final-level auditing paper.

An educator of the highest calibre, our trainer for the finance course for non-financial managers became the Director of Post-Examination CPD Training for Accountants in 1993. In this role, he was responsible for developing financial training programmes for non-accountants, with a particular focus on solicitors. Around the same time, he began training in International Accounting Standards, initially for Ernst & Young’s non-UK-based professional staff across Europe. His expertise in these global standards allowed him to guide multinational teams through complex regulatory frameworks, enhancing their understanding and compliance.

Since 1998, he has been training on a freelance basis, concentrating on financial training for both accountants and non-accountants, including Redcliffe’s finance for non financial managers masterclass. He also specialises in training on IFRS and US accounting standards and for the past 20 years has presented throughout Europe on both of these subjects.

The trainer has considerable experience in presenting training on the following topics:

Accounting for financial instruments and insurance contracts
IFRS reporting issues for energy and pharmaceutical businesses
Completion accounts and the role of financial standards in corporate finance transactions
Accounting for business combinations – mergers, acquisitions and all joint and special purpose arrangements.

This finance for non financial managers training course is designed to improve the ability of commercial managers. It will help you make appropriate commercial decisions that will benefit the business you work for and help that business meet its financial and non-financial goals.
Attendees will be able to communicate more effectively with those who work in the accounts and finance teams within their organisation.
By taking this course, non-financial managers will gain a solid understanding of financial concepts and improve their ability to contribute to the financial health and strategic direction of their organisation.
Course participants will enhance their commercial and financial knowledge by gaining a solid understanding of the fundamentals of finance and accounting.

Our finance for non financial managers workshop is the gold standard for improving your ability to understand the financial needs of your customers and clients.
This course is highly practical and will use current real-life examples and illustrations so that it never becomes a dry, academic exercise.
The tutor is an accountant with over 20 years of experience explaining corporate financial accounting for business managers and financial terms to non-accountants. Even the most technical aspects of the topics covered will be explained in a way which is clear and understandable.
We encourage attendees to ask questions, no matter how specific they are. These will be answered and explained throughout our finance for non financial managers masterclass.

We have specifically designed our finance for non financial managers training course to cover all essential information needed to allow you to perform more effectively in a commercial environment.

The content will take you through all the key stages in business financial management from recording information, reporting financial information to management, understanding financial statements (P&L, cash flows etc.) to project appraisal techniques and risk management.

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