Strategic Financial Management

The Strategic Financial Management intensive one week course picks up on the more advanced aspects of financial management to further develop the skills and confidence to manage the strategic aspects of finance.

Course Content:

• Introduction to Accounts  
  • Why are accounts needed?
  • Key conventions and rules
  • Financial accounts
  • Management accounts
  • Analysing key financial statements
• Strategic analysis of financial performance
  • Ratio analysis
  • The “Weinstock” performance ratios
  • Competitor analysis
  • Benchmarking
• Analysing the cost structure
  • Different types of cost – fixed, variable
  • Marginal costing
• Full costing
  • Cost drivers and activity based costing
  • Breakeven and contribution analysis
  • Margin analysis
  • Cash flow and working capital control
  • The cash flow cycle-Measures of solvency
  • Capital investment budgeting
• Financial control of the business
  • The whole company budget process
  • Integrating forecasting planning and budgeting
  • Driving performance improvement through the budget
  • Setting appropriate KPI’s-Performance review process
  • Multi year budgeting
• Pricing issues
  • Price differentiation
  • The supply and demand relationship
  • The significance of volume and the experience curve
  • Continuous improvement
  • Dealing with competition
  • Investment appraisal
  • Cash versus profit measures
  • Forms of appraisal
  • payback, DCF, IRR-Allocating scarce funds
• Funding growth
  • Sources of additional funds
  • The significance of gearing
• Financial risk assessment and management

Learning Outcome:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the limitations of traditional accounting models in an increasingly dynamic and fast changing world
• Contribute more effectively to corporate strategy by taking a more proactive and forward looking approach
• React to conditions of rapid change through enhanced awareness, anticipation and adaptation
• Understand and use alternative expressions of profit that start with a recognition of the impact on cash flow of the various stakeholders in a company
• Monitor the success of projects, strategies and even total businesses by articulating NPVs over time
• Be more confident in decision making and dealing with accountants and other specialists
• Assess the strategic financial performance of the company and compare it with that of competitors
• Understand the significance of cash flow and working capital management
• Understand the concepts of strategic price setting
• Understand how strategic financial management fits together in an integrative model