By attending this training course:

• Delegates will develop a set of transferable skills which will improve their powers of financial planning helping the company to increase profit, improve cash flow whilst minimizing costs and risk
• The new skills will help them to make more informed and hence better management decisions
• Delegates will not only be able to analyse various business problems but will also be able to evaluate various courses of action and make sound recommendations for action using leading software
• They will become more aware of the importance of effective planning, budgeting and forecasting making the capital budgeting process more cost effective
• The use of practical case studies and illustrations of real companies will help delegates understand how to apply different planning, forecasting and analysis techniques in a work situation
• The knowledge gained can be shared amongst other departments of the company to improve the financial culture of the entire organisation

As a delegate, you will:

• Develop an understanding of today’s major issues in international corporate finance and budgeting
• Develop your professional skills, powers of analysis, evaluation and decision-making
• Be able to make more informed and hence better planning, budgeting and forecasting decisions using various models and software
• Make improved finance and capital budgeting decisions, which will increase your importance to your organization
• Be better placed to liaise effectively with other departments on matters of finance and budgeting
• Be able to identify areas in which they may be able to contribute to improvements in the financial performance of your company which will help improve your career development

DAY 1

Corporate Financial Planning      

• Strategic Planning
• The Objective of the Firm – Meeting Shareholder & Stakeholder Objectives
• Agency Theory – The Relationship between Shareholders & Management
• Creative Accounting and the Case of Enron
• Financial Management & Financial Planning – The Scope, Role & Responsibilities of Financial Management
• Preparing a Financial Plan – The Master Budget
• Forecasting Future Cash-flows and Financial Modelling
• Time Series Analysis, Correlation & Regression

DAY 2

Financing the Plan

• Sources of Finance – Long Term & Short Term
• Evaluation of the Types of Finance - Equity vs. Debt Finance
• Hybrid Finance & Financial Engineering
• The Dividend Decision
• The Cost of Capital and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
• Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
• Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)
• Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Capital Rationing & Payback

DAY 3

Preparing & Managing Budgets to Support the Financial Plans

• Definition of Budgets, the Budgetary Process and Budgetary Control
• Types of Budgets-Fixed, Flexible, Incremental and Zero Based
• The Purpose / Benefits & Problems / Limitations of Budgets
• Setting / Implementing Effective Budgets - Eliminating the Problems
• Responsibility Accounting and Absorption Costing
• Activity-Based Budgeting / Costing (ABB, ABC)
• Variance Analysis, Cost Behaviour, Break Even Analysis & Sensitivity / What If Analysis
• What-If Analysis combined with Du-Pont Analysis

DAY 4

Managing and Controlling Cash Flow to Support the Financial Plan

• Cash vs. Profit & The Cash Conversion Cycle
• Calculating and Managing the Cash flow Cycle
• Cash Flow Ratios
• Working Capital
• The Cost of Maintaining Working Capital
• Maintaining the Optimum Level of Working Capital
• Working Investment Ratios
• Preparing a Monthly Cash Flow Forecast

DAY 5

Managing Financial Risk     

• Risk Management & Types of Risk
• Identifying Risk – SWOT Analysis
• The Major Quantitative & Qualitative Risks Facing Companies
• Establishing a Risk Management Strategy
• Financial Risk Management & Hedging Techniques
• Managing Exchange Rate & Interest Rate Risk
• Derivatives-Forwards, Futures, Options & Swaps
• Risk Management Glossary of Terms