Introduction

This program is designed to strengthen the financial skills and understanding of managers in today’s competitive business environment. It helps participants gain confidence in interpreting financial information, managing budgets, and making informed business decisions. The course bridges the gap between operational management and financial awareness, enabling better performance, cost control, and improved financial outcomes across the organization.

Objectives

At the end of this program delegates will be able to:

• Read and interpret financial statements
• Analyze business performance
• Contribute to cash and working capital management
• Build budgets and Manage costs and budgets
• Present business cases and utilize financing techniques to improve decision making

Target Audience

This program is designed for:

• Managers at all levels across all functions
• Non-financial managers who need to understand finance
• Team leaders and supervisors involved in budgeting or decision-making
• Project managers responsible for costs and financial planning
• Professionals involved in business planning and performance evaluation
• Anyone required to interpret financial reports or support financial decisions

Outlines 

DAY 1

The Basics

• Accounting Terminology and Policies
• Accounting as an information system
• The accounting equation- what does it mean
• Generally accepted Accounting Principles
• Differentiating between cash and accrual basis accounting
• Basic cash flow statements
• Walking through an Annual Report
• The annual report package
• The role of an external auditor
• The accountant’s report and auditor’s opinion

DAY 2

How To Interpret Accounts and Financial Statement Analysis

• Preparing income statement & balance sheet
• Financial and liquidity ratios
• The cash conversion cycle
• Working capital management
• Profitability and gearing ratios
• Du Pont Formula
• Financial & Non-financial analysis
• Credit analysis
• Z- Scores and credit ratings
• Bank lending decisions

DAY 3

Planning for Profit

• Understanding and working with costs
• Plan for cost reduction and profit improvement
• Fixed and variable costs income statement
• Break-even analysis
• Contribution margin
• Costing approaches – Full Absorption, Marginal, ABC
• Standard Costing
• New ideas in cost management – lean principles

DAY 4

Budgeting in Today’s Competitive Business

• The Budgeting Process
• The role of budgeting
• Annual budgeting process
• Identifying and resolving budgeting variances
• Different budgeting systems in use today
• Budgeting tips and techniques
• Variance analysis

DAY 5

Cash Flow & Investment Decisions

• Capital budgeting
• Weighted Average Cost of Capital
• Present Value
• Internal Rate of Return – method
• Profitability Index
• Discounted cash flow