Business Financial & Accounting Skills

This Business Financial & Accounting Skills training course addresses essential topics, including cost analysis, continuous improvement in cost allocation, budgeting, management control, and performance evaluation. The course equips participants with the knowledge to understand the cause-and-effect relationships between business strategy and vision, operational objectives, performance measures, and targets, while applying advanced performance measurement and reporting techniques. Effective planning and control require a skill set that goes well beyond mastery of a single discipline. This course emphasizes the integration of financial, operational, and strategic perspectives to support informed decision-making.

Financial Professionals, Finance Controllers Treasurers and Inventory Professionals Senior Professionals with a direct responsibility for Financial Management and Control Accountants, Planners, & Cost Professionals Any professional who has responsibility for any portion of the planning process Any professional, at a medium and senior level, who is a part of the financial decision making team New interns and trainees with finance related responsibilities

Day 1: Management and Financial Accounting – Key Concepts Core concepts and terminology of management and financial accounting. Distinguishing and linking financial vs. managerial accounting. Understanding the role of management accountants within an organization. Connecting strategy to planning and costing processes. The importance of budgeting and cost control in modern organizations. Adopting a cross-functional, process-oriented view of the organization. Integrating financial and non-financial aspects of business processes. Comprehensive overview of financial statements and their interpretation. Day 2: Cost Analysis Fundamentals of costing: concepts and terminology. Identifying different costs for different purposes. Fixed vs. variable costs and the Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis model. Contribution margin analysis and decision-making implications. Differentiating manufacturing and non-manufacturing costs. Period vs. product costs: inventory evaluation and control. Day 3: Traditional vs. Advanced Cost-Control Techniques Consequences of under-costing and over-costing on profitability. Refining and improving costing systems. Distinguishing indirect vs. direct costs. Comparing traditional cost allocation systems with Activity-Based Costing (ABC). Understanding the cost hierarchy and identifying cost drivers. Linking resources, activities, and management decisions. Introduction to Activity-Based Budgeting and Management. Case studies, videos, and practical examples to reinforce learning. Day 4: Budgeting – Flexible Budgets and Variance Analysis The role and strategic importance of budgeting. Defining the master budget and its organizational benefits. Differences between static and flexible budgets. Calculating flexible-budget and sales-volume variances. Understanding behavioral implications of budgeting. Optimizing the budgeting process within your organization. Complementary tools to enhance budgeting and costing effectiveness. Day 5: Measuring Corporate Performance – Balanced Scorecard & Six Sigma Expanding performance measurement systems beyond traditional financial metrics. The role of customer satisfaction and business process re-engineering. Integrating financial and non-financial performance indicators. Introduction to the Balanced Scorecard: key perspectives and strategy maps. Understanding Six Sigma and its application in performance improvement.