Understanding Finance To Influence Strategic Decisions
Overview
Introduction Finance plays a critical role in shaping strategic decision-making, as it forms the backbone of any organisation’s sustainability, growth, and long-term prosperity. A sound understanding of financial principles empowers professionals to make informed decisions, avoid strategic pitfalls, and maximise shareholder value. This interactive and practical training programme equips participants with the knowledge, tools, and techniques required to link finance with strategy, plan effectively, manage risks, and optimise resources. It is designed to benefit both financial and non-financial professionals by bridging the gap between strategy and financial performance. Key themes include: Aligning business strategies with financial planning and budgeting. Interpreting and using financial statements in decision-making. Applying modern costing and measurement systems. Making effective investment and financing decisions. Linking KPIs to strategy through balanced scorecards. Managing interest rate and foreign exchange risks.
Objectives
Objectives By the end of this training programme, participants will be able to: Apply strategic management principles and link them with KPIs to enhance decision-making and maximise shareholder wealth. Analyse and interpret the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows to support effective planning, budgeting, and performance improvement. Identify alternative sources of long-term finance and evaluate optimum capital structure while minimising the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). Apply Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and other capital budgeting techniques to evaluate investment projects. Assess uncertainty and financial risks, and develop risk management strategies including insurance, hedging, and mitigation of interest rate and currency risks.
Audience
This programme is ideal for professionals who wish to strengthen their understanding of finance in relation to strategic decision-making, including: General Management, Sales, and Marketing Executives Estimating, Costing, and Project Management Professionals Operations and Engineering Managers Procurement and Logistics Specialists Asset Management and Human Resources Professionals Financial Analysts, Controllers, Accountants, and Interns Any financial and non-financial professionals involved in planning, budgeting, or decision-making
Methodology
This programme follows a hands-on workshop approach with a balance of presentations, worked examples, interactive case studies, and group exercises. Complex financial concepts are simplified using practical illustrations to ensure clarity and ease of application. The learning experience is designed to be engaging, practical, and enjoyable for participants at all levels of financial expertise.
Outline
Day 1: Linking Strategy with Financial Planning and Budgeting Strategy and strategic management fundamentals Vision, mission, and objectives Characteristics of strategic decision-making Strategy implementation and accountability Value creation and maximisation of shareholder wealth Corporate governance and financial accountability Management accounting and its links with budgeting Day 2: Financial Statements and Long-Term Financial Planning Overview of the three key financial statements Balance sheet Income statement Cash flow statement Sources of internal and external financing Cost of equity, cost of debt, and WACC Capital structure models and minimisation of WACC Preparing long-term financial plans to determine financing needs Day 3: Costing and Measurement Systems for Decision-Making Understanding costs and activities Cost behaviour: fixed vs. variable costs Cost-volume-profit (CVP) and break-even analysis Direct vs. indirect costs Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Activity-Based Management (ABM) Refining costing systems to improve decision-making Day 4: Capital Investment Decisions Time value of money: future and present values Capital budgeting principles Evaluating investment projects: ARR and Payback methods DCF methods: NPV, IRR, MIRR, EAC Capital budgeting, rationing, and the profitability index (PI) Key considerations in investment appraisal Day 5: Performance Measures and Financial Risk Management Linking strategic objectives to KPIs through balanced scorecards Addressing obstacles caused by accounting and costing systems Business and financial risk analysis Principles of risk management Developing risk management tools Insurance and hedging strategies Managing interest rate and foreign exchange risks