Objective: To give the non-financial manager the tool set needed to understand how funds flow into and out of the organization, how their accounting works and how to interpret the reports. Participants will learn how the Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet work and what they mean. Common financial terms such as ROI, EBIDTA, Pro Forma, Gross and Net profit, SG&A and many others will be discussed and presented with workshop examples to reinforce learning. Tools: written exercise, lecture, case study, financial game.
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Business Finance Modeling

Objective: To provide the manager with the tools to create predictive models of business activity and methods to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of such models. Problem formulation, model building and validation, “what-if” and sensitivity analysis will be discussed and demonstrated in a workshop environment using case studies. Management presentation methodologies and model pitfalls and success stories will support the learning process. Tools: Business Model game, case study, practice exercises, lecture.
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Decision Support with Analysis

Objective: Managers are introduced to quantitative analysis and decision-making skills presented in the context of “the right model for the right problem”. Topics will include statistical analysis, linear programming, Pert and GANTT analysis, regression and correlation, exponential and other smoothing techniques and other forecasting techniques such as adjustment for seasonality. A manual on statistical techniques will be provided. Excel worksheets will be used for hands-on team problem solving. Tools: lecture, case study, practice exercises.
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Cash Flow Planning and Forecasting:

Objective: To provide the manager who bears P&L responsibility with a systematic methodology for forecasting when cash will be available and when it will be needed. This tool set focuses on how to increase profits through better forecasting and will explore a variety of tools ranging from rolling average through regression and other forecasting methods. Familiarity with Excel and is very useful, and in addition to a participant’s manual, Excel examples and a handbook discussing the statistical procedures needed will be provided and presented. Participants work on real-world examples in workshop situations to enhance topic retention. Tools: written exercises, case study, lecture, Cash Flow game.

The Controller: Management Accountant

Objective: To provide controllers with the insights needed for effective functioning in a business world where not only must the numbers be presented to senior and operating management, but forecasting and interpretation is required. Topics will include operational reporting tools, performance cost accounting, departmental management for results and operational analysis. Focus will be on open discussion of current business needs and will be presented with workshop examples. Tools: written exercises, Accountant Management game, lecture, case study.

Financial Planning, Budgeting and Control

Objective: To provide the manager with the insights to take a leadership role in strategic planning, key concepts and approaches with focus on the end-to-end planning, budgeting and control processes. Topics include competitive strategy identification, techniques to develop an effective strategic plan, implementing plans and tools for organizational self-control. Emphasis will be placed on the roles, relationships and functioning of strategic planning. Participants work on real-world examples in workshop situations. Tools: case study, lecture, Strategic Management game, written exercises.

Due Diligence

Objective: To provide the manager who bears M&A responsibility either as in a leadership or team-participant role a basic understanding of the methodologies and metrics that can provide guidance on determining the fair price for an acquisition and to watch out for pitfalls that will destroy shareholder value in acquisition. Participants work with case studies in team situations to internalize the issues and tools. Tools: lecture, case study, practice exercises.

Techniques for Measuring Profitability

Objective: To provide the manager who bears P&L responsibility with a systematic methodology for determining the actual profitability of a product, product line, service or customer. This course highlights the progressive failure of modern cost accounting to provide real cost information and the sometimes disastrous consequences that follow from such errors. The fallacy of overhead cost allocation will be explored and a more effective measurement toolset will be provided. Course prerequisites include understanding of the basic financial mechanisms and metrics and familiarity with the operational aspects of the business in which attendees work. Participants work on examples drawn from their own experience in workshop situations. Tools: Profit & Loss game, case study, lecture, practice exercises.

Merger and Acquisition Strategy

Objective: This is a companion course to Due Diligence. Requires some experience with use of the tools for assessing value and the application to both private and public companies. Topics include determining a reasonable offering price, methods of justifying an offer to the seller, detection of “deal busters” , and methods of keeping track of negotiating progress so as to reserve the option of breaking off the analysis of a specific target company when the financial objective of the acquisition becomes infeasible. Participants will work on real-world examples from their own experience in workshop situations. Tools: Merger and Acquisition game, lecture, practice exercises.

Financial Statement Analysis

Objective: This course focuses on the use of ratio analysis to evaluate the performance of public companies in areas of debt, profitability and management value creation. Determining financial strength, assessing potential for bankruptcy, financial trend and variance analysis and other measures will be presented, with guidelines for interpreting the results of an analysis. Participants work on real-world examples in workshop situations. Tools: Value Creation Finance game, lecture, profitability exercises.

Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures

Objective: To provide the manager with the shareholder value insights and potential pitfalls that JV and alliance activity can create. Topics include JV and alliance design, feasibility analysis and compliance monitoring. Alternatives such as acquisition, spin-offs and minority investments will be explored. This course is supported by case studies that reveal both the opportunities and the risks. Tools: lecture, case study, practice exercises.