Financial Skills: Finance for Non-financial Staff

Course Overview

This course will enable delegates to understand profit & loss accounts, balance sheets, cash flow statements and operating budgets. It will also help them to read, understand and interpret financial information and remove the myths and fears that surround finance. It will give an understanding of the financial implications of your plans and decisions.

Audience

Anyone who requires knowledge of business finance.

Skills Gained

On completion of this course, delegates will:

• Understand the meaning of key financial and accounting terms
• Be able to discuss financial matters with confidence
• Be able to interpret and use key financial information
• Understand the implications that your financial decisions have on the organisation's bottom line
• Construct and manage a departmental budget.

Prerequisites

None

Course Outline

Accounting and the Law

• business entities
• accounting principles
• accounting policies
• terminology.

Profit & Loss Account

• types of profit
• layout of the profit & loss account
• use of the profit & loss account
• terminology.

The Balance Sheet

• what capital and liabilities are
• what fixed and current assets are
• layout of a balance sheet
• use of a balance sheet
• terminology.

Cash Flow Statements

• importance of cash flow
• impact of credit and credit control
• problems affecting cash flow
• factoring
• layout of cash flow statement.

Interpreting Reports and Accounts

• types of report
• layout of reports
• legal requirements
• how to use profit & loss accounts and balance sheets to interpret accounts
• use of accounting ratios to assess a company's performance
• stock market indexes and reports.

Costs:

• cost types
• cost behaviours
• impact of decisions.

Budgetary Construction

• types of budget
• terminology
• budget guidelines
• budget periods
• budget manuals
• formats.

Budgetary Control

• use as a management tool
• variance analysis
• forecasting.

Action Plan

Participants plan and discuss what they will do on return to work.

Financial Skills: Finance for Non-financial Staff / F-NFS2