Advanced Financial Analysis & Decision Making
Core Business Skills for managers, executives and professionals
Duration
5 Days
Format
Classroom &Online
Fee From
$2,950
Scheduled Dates
No sessions of this type are scheduled.
Introduction
- Advanced financial statement and ratio analysis
- Performance measurement and value drivers
- Capital investment appraisal and capital budgeting
- Business valuation and cost of capital
- Risk, uncertainty and decision-making frameworks
Objectives
- Analyse financial statements in depth to assess performance, position and cash flow
- Apply advanced ratio, trend and peer analysis to identify strengths and warning signs
- Measure performance using value-based metrics such as EVA and ROIC
- Evaluate investments using NPV, IRR, payback and real options thinking
- Estimate the cost of capital and value a business using DCF and multiples
- Use scenario, sensitivity and Monte Carlo analysis to manage uncertainty
- Present clear financial recommendations to support strategic decisions
Training Methodology
Organisational Impact
- Better investment decisions based on rigorous financial appraisal
- Capital allocated to projects that create the most value
- Earlier identification of financial risks and performance issues
- A shared financial language between finance and business leaders
- Stronger business cases and more credible board submissions
- A culture of data-driven, value-focused decision making
Personal Impact
- Analyse financial information with greater depth and confidence
- Build and interpret investment appraisal and valuation models
- Assess risk and uncertainty in financial decisions
- Challenge assumptions and ask the right questions of financial proposals
- Present financial analysis clearly to senior stakeholders
- Strengthen your profile for senior finance and leadership roles
Who Should Attend?
- CFOs, finance directors and financial controllers
- Financial analysts and FP&A professionals
- Accountants and finance managers moving into strategic roles
- Investment, treasury and corporate development professionals
- Business unit heads and general managers responsible for budgets
- Project and programme managers preparing business cases
- Bankers, credit analysts and internal auditors
- Professionals who need advanced financial skills to support strategy
Course Outline
- Reading the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement as one story
- Quality of earnings and common accounting adjustments
- Advanced ratio analysis: profitability, efficiency, liquidity and solvency
- Trend, common-size and peer benchmarking
- Cash flow analysis and working capital management
- Spotting warning signs and creative accounting
- Value drivers and the link between strategy and financial results
- DuPont analysis and return on capital
- Value-based metrics: EVA, ROIC and economic profit
- Designing balanced KPIs and performance dashboards
- Cost behaviour, contribution and break-even analysis
- Pricing and product profitability decisions
- Relevant cash flows and building a capital project model
- NPV, IRR, MIRR, payback and profitability index
- Capital rationing and ranking competing projects
- Lease vs buy and replacement decisions
- Real options and strategic flexibility
- Post-investment review and benefits tracking
- Capital structure and the weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
- Estimating the cost of equity with CAPM
- Discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation
- Valuation using market multiples and comparables
- Valuation in mergers, acquisitions and divestments
- Hands-on exercise: valuing a company in Excel
- Scenario and sensitivity analysis
- Introduction to Monte Carlo simulation
- Decision trees and expected value
- Financial risk: currency, interest rate and liquidity
- Behavioural biases in financial decisions
- Presenting your investment recommendation
Certificates
CLASSROOM
Delegates who complete the classroom course receive the Thinkcloudly Certificate of Completion, with one Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit for every 50 minutes of attendance.
ONLINE
Delegates who complete the live online course receive the Thinkcloudly Certificate of Completion, with one Guided Learning Hour awarded for every 60 minutes of attendance.
Providers and Associations
Original price was: $6,499.00.$5,950.00Current price is: $5,950.00.
Our Learners Work At
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn on this course?
Advanced financial statement analysis, performance measurement, investment appraisal, valuation, cost of capital and risk analysis, applied to real business decisions.
What level of finance knowledge do I need?
You should be comfortable with basic financial statements and ratios. The course builds quickly from there to advanced techniques.
Will we use Excel?
Yes. Each day includes hands-on Excel exercises. Please bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed for classroom sessions.
Is this course suitable for non-finance managers?
It suits managers who already have a foundation in finance. If you are new to finance, we recommend starting with Finance for Non-Finance Managers.
Does the course cover business valuation?
Yes. Day 4 covers WACC, DCF valuation, market multiples and valuation in mergers and acquisitions.
What will I take back to my organisation?
Reusable Excel templates for ratio analysis, investment appraisal and valuation, plus a framework for presenting financial recommendations.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. All delegates who complete the course receive the Thinkcloudly Certificate of Completion, with CPE credits for classroom attendance or Guided Learning Hours for online attendance.
Can this course be delivered in-house?
Yes. We can tailor the content and case studies to your industry and deliver it at your premises, a venue of your choice or online. Contact [email protected] to discuss your requirements.
