Introduction to Accounting

• The importance of accounting information
• The role of the Finance Function
• The accounting equation and financial accounting systems
• Recording facts and applying judgement
• Preparing the Income Statement and Balance Sheet
• Accounting principles and accounting standards                  

Accounting Reports

• The format and contents of the Income Statement
• The format and contents of the Balance Sheet
• The effect of depreciation and impairment on profit
• Identifying and valuing inventory
• Preparing the Cash flow Statement
• The importance of cash flow in business

Management Accounting for Control and Decision-Making

• Collecting and analyzing costs
• The structure of direct and indirect costs
• Dealing with overheads – absorption costing or ABC?
• Cost-Volume-Profit and break even analysis
• Decision making – make or buy
• Decision making – the effect of limiting factors

Communicating the Plan Through Budgeting

• Corporate planning and corporate objectives implemented through budgeting
• The budgeting process and timescale
• Sales budget forecasting techniques
• Cascading the budgets across the whole business
• Preparing functional budgets and the cash budget
• Budgeting principles, methodologies and applications

Measuring Performance to Inform Decision Making

• Monthly management reporting
• Setting and using standards
• Identifying and calculating variances
• Operating and planning variances – who is responsible?
• Measuring responsibility centre performance, ROI, RI, and EVA
• Non-financial performance – the Balanced Scorecard

Finance and Financial Information

• The meaning and importance of finance in business
• The importance of financial information – internal and external
• The corporate annual report and the financial statements                              
• Capital employed: long – term assets and working capital
• Analysing financial statements for profitability, liquidity, efficiency & financial structure
• Investment ratios and market data sources              

Financing the Business and Capital Structure

• Sources and types of long term finance
• Sources and types of short term finance
• Calculating the Cost of Equity – what your shareholders expect
• Calculating the Cost of Debt – it depends on your credit rating
• The weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
• Choosing the best mix of equity and debt

 Analysis of Investment Decisions

• Growing your business with new investment projects
• Preparing spreadsheet forecasts for investment appraisal
• Basic appraisal techniques: Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) and Payback
• Discounted cash flow appraisal techniques:  NPV and IRR
• Capital Rationing and the Profitability Index (PI)
• Dealing with risk in investment appraisal

Financial Risk Management

• Risk and uncertainty in business
• How to manage risk – the four Ts
• Financing risk and operating risk
• Foreign currency risk management
• Interest rate risk management
• Role of Internal Audit, Audit Committee, and Chief Risk Officer

Corporate Governance

• Recognising the needs of stakeholders
• The origins and development of corporate governance
• Corporate governance codes and regulation
• The role of the Board of Directors
• International corporate governance and the OECD
• Emerging trends in corporate governance