COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of this IRES training seminar, you will learn to:

• Gain a better understanding of Financial Principles and Terminology
• Understand how information provided by the finance department can assist you in improving profits for the company
• Be able to read and understand financial reports and what they are telling you about your business or division
• Identify how to spot cost trends and overspending so that these can be focused on and controlled
• Calculate the estimated profit that will be added by a Sale, Promotion, Marketing Plan or Divisional Initiative.
• Conduct your own Break Even Analysis to be able to set your own targets and budgets
• Understand the actual effect of discounts and price increases
• Use an easy to use framework to prepare your budgets, and justify them so that they are quickly approved
• Understand and avoid the dangers and pitfalls that are commonly made during budget preparation
• Implement budgetary control systems such as variance reports and future projections to highlight budget problems as early as possible.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

Module 1

Who is Responsible for Finance?

• What is Financial Management?
• The role of the accounting division to the aim of making a profit for the business.
• The role of operational management in finance The Key Elements of Finance and Accounts

 What are weekly, monthly and annual statements?

• The 5 key accounting principles
• The functions and responsibilities of auditors

Module 2

 Accounting Jargon and Terminology

• Why accountants group things into assets, liabilities, costs and revenues
• The meaning and use of terms such as accruals, provisions, depreciation etc.
• Methods of depreciating assets, and providing for bad debts explained

 The Costing Process

• The accounting method of measuring and attributing costs
• Methods of costing services vs. products
• Differentiating between direct costs, indirect costs, fixed costs and variable costs
• Relating costs to gross profit and net profit

 Module 3

Understanding and Analyzing the Income Statement

• Identifying different elements in the income statement
• Spotting problem areas and trends
• Variable vs. fixed costs and how these influence decisions

Working with the Balance Sheet

• Identifying different elements in the balance sheet
• Understanding the meaning of provisions, accruals and prepaid accounts
• Spotting problem areas and trends

Module 4

 Investigating Cash flow and Working Capital

• The importance of managing cash flow
• Calculating and analyzing cash flow
• Working with cash flow statements

Using Financial Information

• How to tell how well you are doing
• Checking information with some basic ratios
• Spotting problem trends before they become unmanageable
• Using future projections

Module 5

Painlessly Preparing Budgets

• Setting the objectives for your budget
• Top-down and bottom-up budgeting
• The budgeting process outlined
• Justifying your budget

Managing and Staying within a Budget

• Compiling a budget variance report
• Updating your actual spend / achievements