This course offers insights into the world of corporate finance. The focus is on every responsibility area of the firm & how finance impacts what they do. To that end, this course offers an overview of the interaction between finance, management and all other stakeholders. Because stakeholders’ demands are best met by an efficient allocation of resources, this course looks to that purpose.

Corporate Finance not only presents the key financial terms & tools as they are used in the real world, but also explains the broader context of how and where they are applied to every area of the firm. Delegates attending this program will gain an understanding of the inter-relationship of financial decisions to the firm’s strategy. Additionally, an understanding of how decisions are made using the firm’s financial statements will tremendously help everyone manage the organization better

Key points include:

• Accounting vs. finance: the fundamentals
• How the 3 financial statements are inter-related & why we care
• The need to manage Working Capital
• Why Capital Structure can make or break a firm
• Capital budgeting that makes a difference

This course will help you learn how to:

• Relate accounting & finance
• Analyze financial statements
• Make better capital budgeting decisions
• Use working capital more wisely
• Structure the firm’s leverage to optimize the shareholder return

This workshop will be highly interactive & participatory. Your seminar leader will present, guide and facilitate learning, using a range of methods including discussions, real world examples and case studies. Where appropriate, these will include real issues brought to the workshop by delegates. Lessons learned from the seminar can be applied to your own organization immediately.

• An improved appreciation for the use of finance to make better operating decisions
• Reduced inter-functional battles over budget allocation
• The ability to speak directly with Finance to obtain the resources need to hit targets
• Increased skill set in all phases of finance
• Greater ability to use financial information to control positive outcomes

By successfully completing this course, delegates will be able to:

• Use financial statements to make a more positive impact on the organization
• Make better decisions with Finance
• Maintain better control of resource use
• Build superior budgets that get approved
• Be able to analyze variances from goals accurately & quickly

Delegates will gain in the following competencies as a result of the program:

• Understanding financial statements
• Understand how to optimize decisions through analysis
• Use leverage to optimize growth
• Analyze capital projects using multiple tools for better results
• Become comfortable conversing on all finance subjects

Day One

Introduction to Accounting & Finance

• What is Accounting
• What is Finance
• How does Finance differ from Accounting
• What are the differences between Financial Accounting and Management Accounting?
• Your impact on financial statements
• Planning, forecasting and budgeting

Day Two

Financial statements & their critical elements

• Balance Sheet
• Income Statement
• Cash Flow Statement
• Non Cash Deductions & its Impact
• Depreciation vs. Amortization vs. Depletion
• Book Value vs. Market Value
• Understanding the shareholders expectation

Day Three

What is Working Capital – liquidity or bankruptcy

• Working capital (WC) defined
• Components of WC
• Cash
• Accounts receivable
• Inventory
• Accounts payable
• What is the right amount of WC & why
• The critical ratios to compute
• Other WC tools like accounts receivable & payable agings
• Why credit policies & collection procedures matter

Day Four

Capital Structure – what it is & why it is important

• Equity capital - what it is & why it impacts our decisions
• Debt capital – what is it really & how it impacts the required rate of return
• Weighted Cost of Capital (WACC) – why it is so important
• Calculating your WACC: when & how to use it
• Leverage: two-edged sword - defined
• Operating vs. financial vs. combined leverage – calculated

Day Five

CAPEX -Analysis of Investment Decisions with What-if Risks

• Cash Flows and the Time Value of Money
• Discuss the capital project evaluation process
• Estimating cash flows over the useful life of the project
• Net present value (NPV) & Internal Rate of Return (IRR) as preferred methods
• Profitability Index (PI) & Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) as reasonable alternatives
• Defining the approval criteria and review process