Corporate Financial Planning, Budgeting & Control

Introduction

This highly participative seminar is aimed to provide a good understanding of the essentials of the measurement and successful management of financial performance in modern companies. It combines a theoretical framework with a focus on benchmarking of competitive position, and real-life practical examples, exercises and case studies.

Seminar Objectives

• To create opportunities for your personal development and increased financial awareness
• To enable you to increase your understanding of how businesses create value, develop successful plans and budgets, measure performance, and implement effective control systems
• To enable you to develop your knowledge of financial management in order to improve corporate financial performance

Who Should Attend?

This seminar is suitable for both non-financial and financial personnel. They may be experienced management and staff who wish to refresh and improve their knowledge of financial management, and understand how successful companies are able to continually improve their financial performance. Or they may be individuals who have recently joined the company and need to update their knowledge about modern corporate financial performance management processes, and develop their skills in this area.

Competencies Emphasised

• How to create value for the company and its shareholders
• How to interpret and analyse the financial statements of a business: balance sheet; income statement; cash flow statement
• How to benchmark financial and operational performance in order to identify areas for improvement
• How to identify the various types of cost and their behaviour and effect on business performance
• How to prepare budgets for planning and control
• How to develop activity based budgeting systems
• How to budget for investments in new projects
• How to identify and manage the financial risks that impact on a company’s cost of capital
• How to recognise the effects on a company of changes in its capital structure
• How to effectively manage working capital and cash flow

Personal Impact

This seminar will enable individuals to identify areas in which they may be able to contribute to improvements in the financial performance of their companies. It will provide an opportunity for them to broaden their financial knowledge and develop the financial aspects of their role.

Organisational Impact

This seminar will enable delegates to:

• Recognise the importance of value creation as the basis of strategic financial management
• Apply the appropriate financial tools for the planning and management of operating performance
• Identify the alternative methods of planning and managing capital investment projects, and appreciate the importance of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques
• Evaluate the impact of more effective working capital management on a company’s cash flow and profitability

Training Methodology

This seminar consists of five modules, some of which will include short refresher sessions on accounting and DCF basics, and new material that builds on previous learning. There are many worked examples illustrating the topics covered. It is also highly participative with extensive use of exercises and case studies and discussion sessions. Some prior familiarity with the key financial statements: income statement; balance sheet; cash flow, may be an advantage but is not essential.

Seminar Outline

Module 1 – The financial framework and language

• The value model
• Definitions of value
• Value to the investor
• Managing for shareholder value
• Shareholder value creation in perspective
• The three key financial statements
• Balance sheet
• Income statement
• Cash flow statement

Module 2 – Managing performance measurement

• A performance management model
• Ratios and KPIs
• Ratio systems
• Integration of financial performance measures
• Benchmarking financial performance
• Planning

Module 3 – Managing operating performance

• Cost behaviour and operating leverage
• Budgets
• Activity based budgets
• Control
• Flexed budgets and variance analysis
• Benchmarking operational performance
• Internal benchmarking

Module 4 – Managing capital

• Cash flow, the time value of money, and DCF
• Standard evaluation terminology
• The key investment analysis indicators
• Applying time-adjusted measures
• Choosing the best method
• Alternative evaluation methods
• Risk management
• Sensitivity analysis
• The key driver of value: cost of capital
• Cost of debt capital and cost of equity capital
• Weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
• Capital restructuring – financial engineering
• Management buy-outs and management buy-ins

Module 5 – Managing working capital

• Cash flow, working capital, and the operating cycle
• Optimise not minimise
• Key issues: stocks; debtors; creditors
• Stocks management
• Debtors and credit management
• Creditors management
• The cost of working capital
• Cash improvement

Oxford Management Centre
John Eccles House
Robert Robinson Ave
Oxford Science Park
Oxford
OX4 4GP
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 1865 338088

Fax: +44 1865 338100

email info@oxford-management.com