Financial Analysis, Planning & Control

Introduction:

Financial analysis, planning, and control provides an understanding of the various aspects of an organization from a calculative aspect to other related practices in the organization. The key element of the course is the focus on the practical application of financial models and analysis, which are used to assess the strategic and operational positions of the organization.

By attending the course, you will feel more confident in planning, commenting on the performance and financial health of the organization. The ability to analyze the financial and risk aspects of the organizations requires technical knowledge and expertise

Targeted Groups:

• Finance Managers
• Financial Officers, Controllers, and Accountants
• Treasurers, Corporate Planning and Business Development Professionals
• Managers and Professionals from any other non-financial areas willing to understand the financial aspects of Analysis, Planning, and Control

Course Objectives:

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

• Plan more effectively for the future
• Use the financial techniques of planning and control
• Improve performance from the use of the tools of financial analysis
• Link planning and budgeting with costing and performance measurement
• Broaden their financial knowledge, develop and manage the financial aspects of their role more effectively, and enhance their performance
• Increase their self-confidence in dealing with financial issues and financial professionals.
• Understand how financial considerations help to support an organisations’ strategic decisions
• Acquire the ability, when involved in decisions about investment, operations, or financing, to choose the most appropriate tools from the wide variety of financial techniques available to provide a quantitative analysis
• Understand strategic planning and budgeting.
• Learn costing and budgeting terminology used in business
• Understand the importance of a well-defined costing and budgeting process
• Understand cost behavior more accurately

Targeted Competencies:

• Understanding financial statements
• Processing financial data
• Financial analysis
• Risk management
• Financial forecasting 

Course Content:

Unit 1: The Challenge of Financial Economic Decision-Making:

• The practice of financial-economic analysis
• Corporate value and shareholder value
• A dynamic perspective of business Benchmarking your own strategic position/competitor analysis
• The agency problem and corporate governance
• What information and data to use?
• The nature of financial statements
• The context of financial analysis and decision-making

Unit 2: Assessment of Business Performance:

• Ratio analysis and business performance
• Management’s point of view
• Owners’ point of view
• Lenders’ point of view
• Ratios as a system – pyramids of ratios
• Integration of financial performance analysis – the Dupont system
• Economic value added (EVA)
• Predicting financial distress

Unit 3: Projection of Financial Requirements:

• Interrelationship of financial projections
• Operating budgets
• Standard costing and variance analysis
• Cash forecasts and cash budgets
• Sensitivity analysis
• Dynamics and growth of the business system
• Operating leverage
• Financial growth plans
• Financial modeling

Unit 4: Analysis of Investment Decisions:

• Applying time-adjusted measures
• Net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR)
• Strategic perspective
• EVA and NPV
• Refinements of investment analysis
• Equivalent annual cost (EAC)
• Modified internal rate of return (MIRR)
• Sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, simulation, and NPV break-even
• Dealing with risk and changing circumstances

Unit 5: Valuation and Business Performance:

• Managing for shareholder value
• Shareholder value creation in perspective
• Evolution of value-based methodologies
• Creating value in restructuring and combinations
• Financial strategy in acquisitions
• Business valuation
• Business restructuring and reorganizations
• Management buyouts (MBOs) and management buy-ins (MBIs)

Unit 6: Strategic and Financial Planning:

• Financial VS managerial accounting
• Exploring the linkages between strategy, budgeting, costing and performance measurement
• Understanding what strategic planning is and why it is important
• Mission; Vision; Strategy; Goals and Objectives
• The outside environment and the internal context: SWOT and PESTEL analysis
• What is happening in your company
• Looking for the drivers of value creation