Finance for Non-Finance Managers
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
Every manager makes decisions that affect costs, revenue and cash, yet many have never been trained to read financial information. This creates a gap between operational teams and finance, and leads to decisions that look right operationally but weaken financial results. Over five days, this Thinkcloudly programme explains the essentials of finance in plain language. Participants learn to read financial statements, understand key ratios, prepare and control budgets, manage costs and evaluate business cases, so they can work confidently with finance colleagues and make better decisions for their teams.
- The language of finance and key financial terms
- Reading the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement
- Using financial ratios to assess performance
- Budgeting, forecasting and cost control
- Evaluating business cases and investment decisions
Objectives
- Understand common financial terms and concepts used in business
- Read and interpret the three main financial statements
- Use key ratios to assess profitability, liquidity and efficiency
- Understand the difference between profit and cash, and why cash matters
- Prepare, monitor and control a departmental budget
- Analyse costs and use break-even analysis to support decisions
- Evaluate business cases using simple investment appraisal techniques
Training Methodology
Organisational Impact
- Managers who understand the financial impact of their decisions
- Better budget preparation, monitoring and control
- Improved cost awareness and cash management across departments
- Improved cost awareness and cash management across departments
- Improved cost awareness and cash management across departments
- Improved cost awareness and cash management across departments
Personal Impact
- Read and understand financial reports with confidence
- Speak the language of finance with colleagues and senior management
- Prepare and manage your department's budget more effectively
- Make decisions that support profit and cash flow
- Build a stronger case for resources and investment
- Strengthen your readiness for broader management responsibilities
Who Should Attend?
- Managers and supervisors with budget responsibility
- Department heads and team leaders
- Engineers and technical professionals moving into management
- Engineers and technical professionals moving into management
- Engineers and technical professionals moving into management
- Project and programme managers
- Project and programme managers
- Any professional who works with financial information but has no finance background
Course Outline
- Why finance matters for every manager
- Key financial terms explained in plain language
- How business transactions flow into the accounts
- Revenue, costs, profit and cash: what is the difference?
- Accounting principles and the annual reporting cycle
- Working effectively with the finance team
- The income statement: revenue, costs and profit
- The balance sheet: assets, liabilities and equity
- The cash flow statement and why cash is king
- How the three statements link together
- Reading an annual report
- Hands-on exercise: reading a real set of accounts
- Profitability ratios: margins and return on capital
- Liquidity ratios: can the business pay its bills?
- Efficiency ratios: inventory, receivables and payables
- Gearing and financial risk
- Working capital and cash management
- Hands-on exercise: ratio analysis of a company
- The purpose of budgets and the budgeting process
- Preparing a departmental budget
- Fixed, variable and semi-variable costs
- Break-even and contribution analysis
- Variance analysis and taking corrective action
- Hands-on exercise: building and monitoring a budget
- Building a business case
- Capital vs operating expenditure
- Simple investment appraisal: payback, ROI and NPV
- Pricing and make-or-buy decisions
- Assessing financial risk in decisions
- Presenting a business case to senior management
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?
How to read financial statements, use key ratios, prepare and control budgets, analyse costs and evaluate business cases.
Do I need any finance background?
No. The course is designed for managers with little or no finance knowledge. All concepts are explained in plain, jargon-free language.
Will we use Excel?
Yes, at a simple level. Exercises use ready-made Excel templates, so you only need basic Excel skills. Please bring a laptop for classroom sessions.
Is this course suitable for non-finance managers?
Yes, it is specifically designed for managers and professionals without a finance background who need to understand and use financial information.
Does the course cover budgeting?
Yes. Day 4 covers the budgeting process, preparing a departmental budget, cost behaviour, break-even analysis and variance analysis.
What will I take back to my organisation?
Practical Excel templates for budgeting and ratio analysis, plus a framework for building and presenting a business case.
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.
