Mini-Master in Accounting & Finance Training

Introduction:

This Mini-Master in Accounting and Finance course provides a comprehensive exploration of the field of accounting and finance. It highlights the intricate dynamics within the financial sphere and the vital role of finance and accounting in effective decision-making under uncertainty.

By fusing practical techniques with analytical rigor, case studies, and foundational theories, this Mini-Master in accounting and finance program aims to equip participants with essential finance terminologies and practices and offer a profound understanding of various financial processes, including corporate reporting, risk management, and governance.

Throughout the Mini-Master in accounting and finance program, learners will engage with the vital context in which financial tools are employed, enabling them to derive meaningful insights for strategic decision-making, appreciate the interplay between financial statements, data analysis, planning, and control, and foster a deeper appreciation of the finance/accounting/governance nexus within organizations' strategic and operational frameworks.

Targeted Groups:

• Financial Analysts.
• Financial Controllers.
• Accountants.
• Treasurers.
• Corporate Planning Professionals.
• Operational Management Team Members.
• Consultants advising on operations or strategy.
• Risk Control Managers.
• Performance Management Managers.
• Senior Staff members from various departments.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this Mini-Master in accounting and finance certificate course, participants will be able to:

• Critique the principles of accounting and finance driving corporate reporting.
• Seamlessly integrate risk management with corporate governance frameworks.
• Grasp the detailed content and relationships between financial statements.
• Evaluate organizational financial performance via financial statement analysis.
• Comprehend the comprehensive budgeting process and its implications for performance evaluation.
• Understand cost behavior and its substantial impact on management decisions.
• Effectively communicate and question financial information.
• Enhance appreciation for the cross-functional roles of finance, accounting, and governance.
• Integrate the overarching business plans with strategic intent for robust decision-making.
• Boost productivity and professionalism in tackling current and future finance-related challenges.
• Elevate recognition within the organization for ongoing learning and professional development.

Targeted Competencies:

Upon the end of this Mini-Master in accounting and finance certificate training, participants' competencies will:

• Guide decisions with financial information.
• Incorporating strategic thinking and implementation in professional roles.
• Innovate within finance, accounting, budgeting, and decision-making practices.
• Valu external standards, governance requirements, and qualitative measurement.
• Emphasize Value Creation as central to decision-making.
• Effective financial risk management.

Course Content:

Unit 1: Financial Statement Analysis:

• Warm welcome and course objectives overview.
• Intro to key financial statement analysis concepts.
• Discuss the external and internal utilization of statement analysis.
• Explore primary types of financial statements with the Basket Wonders CO. case study.
• Structure a framework for robust financial analysis.
• Analysis of Liquidity Ratios, including comparisons and trend reporting.
• Delve into Financial Leverage Ratios and Implications.
• Examine Coverage ratios.
• Investigate Activity Ratios and profitability metrics, including ROI and Du Pont Analysis.
• Synthesize ratio analyses outcomes.
• Approach financial statements through Common-size and Index Analyses.
• Predict financial risk leveraging DuPont, Altman Z-score, and Basel methods.
• Engage in a Q&A session and conclude day one of housekeeping.

Unit 2: Cost Control (Cost Behavior):

• A brief recap of the prior session.
• Address housekeeping questions.
• Classify the three core manufacturing cost categories with examples.
• Distinguish between product and period costs with illustrations.
• Comprehend patterns of cost behavior: variable, fixed, and mixed costs.
• Employ scatter graph plots and high-low methods for analyzing mixed costs.
• Structure income statements for merchandising companies using different formats.
• Differentiate between direct and indirect costs.
• Assimilate decision-influencing cost classifications: differential, opportunity, and sunk costs.
• Basic Principles of Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis.
• Engage in practical exercises and Q&A before concluding with housekeeping notes.

Unit 3: Cost Control (Inventory):

• Quick overview of the previous discussions.
• Solve pending housekeeping queries.
• Define the scope and management of Inventory.
• Accounting principles for Inventory: purchases, sales, and reporting insights.
• Delineate Inventory Systems: Perpetual & Periodic Distinctions.
• Deep dive into Cost Flow Assumptions with hands-on exercises.
• Evaluate the FIFO vs. LIFO approaches with a comparative lens.
• Record crucial cost entries related to materials, labor, and overhead.
• Emphasize cost center accounting principles and practice.
• A comprehensive exercise session will be followed by insightful Q&A and a housekeeping roundup.

Unit 4: Budgeting:

• Summarize prior key learnings.
• Housekeeping clarifications.
• Understand the imperative nature and processes of organizational budgeting.
• Practical budgeting exercises: sales, production, materials, labor, overhead, and more.
• Dive into budgeted financial statements: income statements and balance sheets.
• Address queries and conclude day four with administrative notes.

Unit 5: Flexible Budgets and Variances Analysis

• A concise review of the preceding session.
• Resolve housekeeping matters.
• Explore standard costs and the variance analysis cycle.
• Set standard costs for materials, labor, and variable manufacturing overhead.
• The mutability of standards in flexible budgets and variance analysis modeling.
• Calculate and interpret material and labor variances and their organizational impact.
• Delve into variable manufacturing overhead variances and their significance.
• Analysis of the nuances in materials variances reporting.
• Understand the concept of management by exception with statistical control chart insights.
• Reap the benefits and acknowledge the limitations of standard costs.
• Execute budget variance analysis with practical exercises.
• Final comprehensive review, Q&A session, certificate granting ceremony, and celebratory closure.

Conclusion:

After completing the Mini-Master in Accounting and Finance program, participants will have developed robust accounting and finance skills required for the profession and attained a prestigious accreditation, signaling their expertise and dedication to continuous professional development.