Advanced Strategic Finance Management

Introduction:

Because, over and above operating profit, a financial strategy is concerned with how organizations may create corporate value and reflect the increased shareholder value with the primary aim of maximisation of shareholder wealth. All organisations aim to optimise operating profit by increasing revenue streams and reducing operating costs. An understanding of financial strategy and the development of its associated financial skills further builds on that through evaluation and adoption of the appropriate financial strategies necessary for an organisation to survive and grow and achieve its long-term objectives.

This training course provides the participants with the essential skills and tools of financial strategy, and corporate finance, which is concerned with the effective use of financial resources to create corporate value. These skills are vital in today’s global consumer and capital markets where competition is fierce for both investors and customers. This leading edge training course combines up-to-date theory with hands-on experience of developing powerful financial models and tools to equip the participants to take an active role the development and application of financial and business strategy.

Targeted Groups:

• Top Management Team Members
• Finance Directors.
• Head of Finance departments.
• Strategy, Budgeting, and Planning Managers
• Finance and Treasury Managers
• Capital Investment Managers and Analysts
• Investment Analysts and Advisers

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Actively partake in strategic analysis and formulation
• Develop vital measures of financial performance and strength
• Design funding and capital structure strategies
• Build financial models to manage cash flow, risk, and investment decisions
• Advice on capital investment decision-making
• Provide insights into long-term business growth strategies

Targeted Competencies:

• The vital link between competitive strategy and financial strategy
• Designing a funding strategy and optimum capital structure
• Using practical tools for capital investment decision-making
• Applying an integrated approach to financial risk management
• Key strategies for the long-term growth and defense of the business

Course Content:
Unit 1: Business and Financial Strategy – The Vital Link:

• The Purpose and Goals of the Firm
• The Aims and Principles of Competitive Strategy
• The Role of Financial Strategy in Business Success
• Tools for Strategic Analysis and Strategy Development
• Building a Winning Business Model
• Implementing an Effective Performance Management System
• Financial Planning: Budgeting and Beyond

Unit 2: Financial Performance Management:

• Understanding, Analysing and Interpreting Financial Statements
• Agency Theory and its Impact on the Business’s Goals
• Investor and Stock Market Behaviour: Share Price Drivers
• Key Concepts in Measuring Shareholder Value
• Understanding Cost Behaviour and Profit
• Measuring and Improving Return on Investment
• A Strategic Approach to Cost Reduction
• Managing and Enhancing Shareholder Value

Unit 3: Funding Strategy and Liquidity Management:

• Sources of Business Finance: Equity and Debt
• Financial Gearing – Risk and Impact on Profitability
• Calculating Company Cost of Capital and its Implications
• Optimum Capital Structure: Theory and Practice
• Cash Flow and Liquidity Management
• Designing and Building Financial Models in Excel
• Financial Model Application: Cash Flow Forecasting
• Predicting Corporate Distress and Failure

Unit 4: Capital Investment Strategy and Risk Management Strategy:

• Capital Investment Management
• Using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Tools in Excel
• Tools for Capital Investment Appraisal and Decision-making
• Financial Model Application: Capital Investment Appraisal Analysis
• An Integrated Approach to Risk Management
• Tools for Identifying and Analysing Business Risk
• Using Financial Instruments to Manage Financial Risk
• Decision-making under Conditions of Risk

Unit 5: Corporate Governance: Defending and Growing the Business:

• Purpose and Principles of Corporate Governance
• Long-term Business Growth Strategies
• Why even great companies can fail?
• Understanding Business Model Disruption
• Innovation Killers
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Business Restructuring and Reorganisation

Unit 6: Evaluating Investment Opportunities:

• The Markowitz Model of Portfolio Risk
• The Capital Asset Pricing Model
• A Practical Application of the CAPM to a range of companies
• The Time Value of Money and Discounted Cash Flow Techniques
• The Gordon Growth Model
• A Practical Application of Forecasting Dividends
• Determining the Cost of Debt
• The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
• The Ameritrade Case
• Investment Appraisal using the Net Present Value Approach
• The Importance of the Cost of Capital
• Scenario Analysis
• Payback and Adjusted Payback
• The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) approach
• A Practical Application of the IRR Approach
• Pitfalls in using the IRR Approach
• Real Options

Unit 7: The Corporate Financing Decision:

• Financial Leverage
• Modiglianni and Millers Theory of Capital Structure
• The Risk of Bankruptcy
• The Optimal Capital Structure
• The Dividend Decision
• The Clientele Effect
• The Taxation Effect
• The Principal Agent Problem
• The Market for Corporate Control

Unit 8: Financial Analysis of Public Sector Accounts

• Understanding and Analysing Cost Behaviour
• The Cost-Volume-Profit Relationship
• Why analyse financial statements?
• The Financial Analyst’s Toolkit
• Interpreting Financial Ratio Analysis of Public Sector Reports
• Managing and Improving Spending Deficits

Unit 9: Risk Management

• Hedging Exchange Rate Risk using
• The Forward Market
• The Options Market
• Zero Cost Collars
• Hedging Commodity Price Risk using
• Options
• Futures

Unit 10: Capital Investment Decision-making:

• Characteristics and Decision-making Process
• Investment Appraisal Techniques
• Principles of Discounted Cashflow Analysis
• Understanding Net Present Value (NPV)
• Outsourcing Services: Objectives and Decision Criteria
• PPI and PFI: Objectives and Decision Criteria