Training on Financial Management for Non-Financial Profession

Financial awareness is critical for effective decision-making in any organization. Non-financial professionals increasingly need to understand financial principles, interpret accounting data, and communicate effectively with finance teams to support organizational objectives.

This 5-day course equips participants with practical knowledge of financial management concepts, enabling them to understand budgets, financial reports, and key performance indicators. Participants will learn to interpret financial statements, apply basic financial techniques, and communicate confidently with finance professionals both internally and externally.

Key topics include financial terminology, budgeting and forecasting, reading and analyzing financial statements, cost management, and linking financial data to organizational performance. Through hands-on exercises, case studies, and interactive discussions, participants gain the skills to make informed decisions and improve cross-functional collaboration.

By the end of the program, participants will be able to interpret financial information, communicate effectively with finance teams, and apply financial insights to enhance organizational performance.

Duration

5 Days

Who Should Attend

• Non-financial professionals across all functional areas in any industry
• Personnel from any department, including finance, seeking to improve understanding and application of financial information

Organizational Impact

• Strengthens decision-making and efficiency through financial literacy

• Improves budget management for higher profitability and reduced waste

• Fosters a culture of financial awareness to enhance competitiveness and long-term success

Personal Impact

• Builds in-demand financial skills for career progression into leadership roles

• Equips participants to guide profitability and support strategic decisions

• Provides confidence to champion effective financial management

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Analyse the profit and loss account (income statement), balance sheet, and cash flow statement, and use ratios to interpret financial statements and identify their limitations.
• Appreciate the significant importance of cash flow (rather than profit) and discounted cash flow (DCF) in creating shareholder value.
• Develop costing systems such as activity-based costing (ABC) for optimal decision-making to maximize shareholder wealth.
• Appreciate the role of managers in the budget process and the use of activity-based budgeting (ABB).
• Determine the cost of capital in order to evaluate alternative sources of financing and optimal financial structure (gearing).
• Effectively manage cash and working capital to reduce costs and improve cash flow

Module 1:Company Objectives, Accounting Standards and Financial Statements

• Measuring company performance

• Value creation and the primary objective of maximization of wealth

• Profit and loss account (income statement)

• Balance sheet

• Cash flow statement

• Reading and Interpreting Financial Statements

• Measurement of operating performance

• Measures of financial performance and financial position

• Risk measurement

• Limitations of ratio analysis

• Cost/Volume/Profit (CVP) Analysis:

  • Cost, volume, profit relationships

  • Break-even analysis

  • Profit modeling

  • Limitations of break-even analysis

• Case Study: Analyze the financial statements of a company to identify operating performance, risk, and profitability

• Practical Exercise: Prepare a CVP and break-even analysis for a sample business

Module 2:Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)

• The importance of the timing of cash flows

• Future values

• Present values

• Loan payments and valuation of annuities

• Capital Investment Appraisal:

  • Methods for evaluating capital projects

  • Payback

  • Net Present Value

  • Internal Rate of Return

  • Discounted Payback

• Capital Budgeting:

  • Capital rationing

  • Ranking investment projects

  • Inflation and investment

  • Using expected values and standard deviations to make decisions

• Case Study: Evaluate multiple capital investment projects using NPV, IRR, and discounted payback

• Practical Exercise: Calculate present and future values and perform DCF analysis for a sample investment

Module 3:Financial Structure

• Cost of debt

• Cost of equity

• Weighted average cost of capital (WACC)

• Optimal capital structure

• Costing:

  • Fixed costs, variable costs, and overheads

  • Overhead allocation, absorption, and the use of activity-based costing (ABC)

  • Expenses versus inventory (stock valuation)

  • Contribution compared with profit

• Decision-Making:

  • Make versus buy decisions

  • Shut-down or contribution decisions

  • Product mix decisions and limiting factors

  • Decision trees

• Case Study: Determine the optimal capital structure and evaluate financial decisions using contribution and ABC costing

• Practical Exercise: Solve a make-or-buy and product mix decision problem with decision tree analysis

Module 4:Budgeting

• Purposes of budgeting

• The budget process

• Activity-based budgeting

• Uncertainty and risk – worst and best outcomes

• Maximin and minimax regret rules

• Motivation and behavioral aspects of budgeting

• Problems in budgeting

• Budgetary Control:

  • Organisational and accounting control systems

  • Standard costing

  • Flexed budgets

  • Variance analysis

  • Types of variances and the reasons they occur

  • Planning and operational variances

• Case Study: Evaluate a company’s budget variances and recommend corrective actions

• Practical Exercise: Prepare a flexed budget and variance analysis for a sample organization

Module 5 :Working Capital Management and Cash Improvement

• Working capital and working capital requirement

• Managing working capital

• Cash improvement techniques

• Cash management and banking facilities

• Business Valuation:

  • Types of valuation methods

  • Stock market valuation

  • Net assets valuation

  • Capitalised earnings valuation

  • P/E ratio valuation

  • Gordon growth model valuation

  • DCF valuation

• Case Study: Analyze a company’s working capital and propose cash improvement measures; perform valuation using multiple methods

• Practical Exercise: Calculate working capital ratios and estimate the company’s valuation using DCF and P/E methods