Finance basics

OBJECTIVES OF THE SEMINAR
  • Understand the basics of finance and its importance for the definition and implementation of company strategies
  • Get familiar with basic financial concepts (treasury, cash-flow, balance sheet, profit & loss account, depreciation, cost of capital…)
  • Analyse a financial report and understand its implications
  • Uncover the importance of financial results and their link with the objectives of the company and its continuity
  • Interpret the most important financial indicators
  • Identify the necessary elements to establish a financial report
  • Foresee and establish a budget and align the budgetary process with the plan
  • Speak the same language as the financial people in the company
  • Evaluate the impact of management decisions on profitability, solvency and company liquidity
  • Plan and anticipate demand, expenses, profits and cash-flow
  • Allocate resources so that they meet the strategic objectives of the company
  • Manage liquidity
  • Seek equilibrium between company growth, profitability, cost reduction and debt
PROGRAM OF THE SEMINAR
  • Introduction to the base concepts of finance
    • The balance sheet
    • The profit and loss account
    • Cash-flow / treasury
    • How to combine the three concepts
  • Utilising financial numbers in order to take efficient strategic and operational decisions
    • Produce financial reports with forecasts
    • Compare results with previsions
    • Evaluate proposals brought forward by other group members
    • Manage liquidities
  • Thinking in terms of strategy
    • Putting into practice the strategic concept and tools
    • Optimising a portfolio of 4 products
    • Creating significant competitive advantages
    • Optimising product differenciation
    • Understanding price decisions
  • Implementing strategy
    • Equilibrating offer and demand
    • Analysis of the financial plan and its alignment with company objectives
  • Identifying sources of profit and decision-making
  • The obsession of efficiency : budget demand, profit and cash-flow
    • Results versus objectives
    • Demand versus capacitity
    • Profit and cash-flow
  • Analysis and interpretation of financial reports
    • Financial ratios : profitability, performance & capital turnover, rollover funds, solvency and liquidity
    • Limits of these ratios
  • Why is cash so important ?
  • Investing in capital (Capex)
  • The cost structure  : fixed and variable
  • Exercise of analysis of annual year-end accounts
  • Conclusions
METHODOLOGY

Our method features a combination of theoretical presentations, brainstorming, financial exercises and practical company simulations we have created.

The simulation «The competitive edge » targets non-financial managers. During the course of the training, participants constitute themselves accounting and financial elements and means of a company, that subsequently they will have to manage during a simulation. They are divided in different management teams responsible to develop both a strategy and its implementation. Each company enters into competition against the other teams.

Learning about finance will thus be far more motivating, always keeping as objective that decision making should be done in a strategic perspective.