Introduction

• Can you read and interpret financial statements? Can you unveil the reality hidden behind the numbers?

• How does a company ensure that it has enough cash to operate and grow?

• Am I incorporating financial considerations into my decision-making process?

• How can I distinguish between good and bad investments?

Regardless of your responsibilities within a company, sooner or later in your  career you will be faced with financial data and concepts that you must not only  understand, but also manage and communicate to others.

Finance and Accounting for Non-financial Managers starts with a review of the information contained in a company’s financial statements. Here participants gain a comprehensive understanding of the basic principles of accounting and finance. The course then addresses the management of working capital requirements and how this relates to the firm’s liquidity, sustainability in terms of growth and competitiveness. Participants will learn our 10-step approach, which incorporates a holistic view of the company for accurate diagnosis and comprehensive decision making. The course also aims to show how financial decisions themselves can
create value.

The course is specifically designed to be as relevant and impactful to your own real-life situation as possible. We have therefore incorporated a forum where participants can have one-on-one sessions with professors to address a key problem area that has been identified. This is an ideal opportunity to truly put into practice what you have learned in the course.

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Key Take-Aways

• Read, analyze and interpret financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement).

• Communicate effectively with financial professionals such as financial directors, auditors and accountants.

• Make a realistic analysis of the financial position of the company to establish appropriate action plans.

• Incorporate financial criteria into the decision-making process: understand the impact of commercial, production and organizational decisions on resources, profits, liquidity and value creation of the company.

• Diagnose the financial health of your company accurately with our 10-step approach, which incorporates a holistic view of the company.

• Identify sources of finance in times of uncertainty.

• Analyze new investment projects properly.

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Approach

The program combines lectures, case studies and technical notes written by teachers with extensive financial experience both nationally and internationally. During the program, participants are divided into small teams to give them the opportunity to contrast and discuss their ideas and conclusions. In addition and prior to the program start, we will invite participants to identify a key problem area they wish to address in the program. They will then have the opportunity to address this problem in one-on-one sessions with professors.
Widely used in executive education, the case study method is an intense, challenging approach that demands that participants make business decisions and take action by analyzing, arguing and defending their recommendations against a multitude of equally plausible solutions.

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Who Should Attend

• Non-financial managers and directors who wish to familiarize themselves with basic economic concepts.
• Senior executives with extensive management experience who want to review and/or increase their knowledge of finance analysis and decision making based on financial statements.
• Investors who need to understand the financial information associated with their investments.
• Members of family businesses within corporate governance bodies.

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Program Structure

Introduction to Financial Accounting
• Basic concepts: balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.
• Preparation of financial statements: understand, analyze, discuss their relationship and interpret the information  they contain.
• Accounting policies: describe and illustrate the key accounting policy choices managers must make and examine the potential impact of those choices on the firm’s accounts.

Basic Concepts of Cost
• Understanding what the relevant costs are for short- and long-term decisions.
• Business unit profitability.
• Cost systems as a tool for decision making.

Financial Statement Analysis and Diagnosis
• Cash flow forecasts.
• Balance sheet and income statement forecasting.
• Financial diagnosis.

Long-Term Valuation of Investment Projects
• Expectations in cash flow generation.
• Operational and financial risk.
• Sources of finance.

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Faculty

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