Finance Course for Non-Finance Professionals

Why Select this Training Course?

There is a growing need to understand financial information, especially cash flow statements, balance sheets, and calculating profit and loss to boost shareholders’ value. In addition, financial data are utilized in various sectors of the economy; therefore, it becomes crucial to learn about the rudiments of finance and how it impacts business performance.

What are the five principles of financial accounting?

Accounting is an integral aspect of financial management. Businesses need to understand and apply basic accounting principles to ensure the smooth running of their finances. The five principles include:

• The revenue recognition principle
• The cost principle
• Full disclosure principle
• Matching principle
• The objectivity principle

These five principles are vital for financial and non-financial professionals in any financial transaction.

Why is finance important for non-finance professionals?

Finance management is crucial to the administration of any company. While finance managers are tasked with running the financial affairs of a firm, it is also essential for non-finance managers to understand the fundamentals of finance to help their companies grow progressively. A holistic understanding of the fundamental concepts of financial management helps to improve the decision-making of non-finance managers and gets them closer to their business goals and objectives. Additionally, a comprehensive understanding of financial management allows non-finance professionals to measure the financial performances of their firms and recognize areas of lapses and possible improvements.

The Rcademy Finance Course for Non-Finance Professionals is designed to equip attendees with the fundamentals of financial management and accounting principles. The course covers the basics of budgeting, strategic financing, forecasting, financial analysis, and financial planning. Participants will also learn how to analyze finances to boost financial performance. The course is an excellent fit for non-finance professionals looking to apply financial management principles in the administration of their businesses.

Who Should Attend?

The Finance Course for Non-Finance Professionals Certification by Rcademy is designed for various professionals working within the finance and non-finance sectors of the industry. The following personnel should undertake the course:

• Government finance analyst: tasked with conducting financial system analyses and modernization evaluations
• Tax managers: responsible for developing and filing tax documents for entities
• Account managers: responsible for ensuring every department meets the expectation of the customers and clients
• Auditors: responsible for monitoring cash flow and the accounts of an organization to ensure they are correctly recorded and processed
• Assets managers: charged with managing, trading, and investing assets like stocks, commodities, capital, real estate, and precious metals on behalf of clients
• Non-finance managers: responsible for evaluating and drawing conclusions from financial statements and designing forecasts for future revenues
• Revenue managers: tasked with overseeing the process of collecting and organizing data related to a company’s sales, revenue, and other financial activities
• Risks managers: charged with overseeing the risks of a company, its customers, assets, employees, and stakeholders’ interests
• Investment analysts: charged with performing research and evaluating assets like bonds, commodities, stocks, and currencies
• Tax auditors: tasked with executing tax audits for public and private bodies and designing tax reports
• Chief Accounting Officers: responsible for overseeing the accounting functions of a company and also ensuring the company is tax compliant
• Professionals interested in learning about the fundamentals of finance management

What are the Course Objectives?

The Finance Course for Non-Finance Professionals Certification by Rcademy will provide attendees with the in-depth knowledge and skills required to interpret and evaluate financial statements. At the close of the course, attendees would have learned the following objectives

• Understand the rudiments of financial management and why it is essential to business administration
• Learn how to utilize finance and accounting principles in analyzing the financial statements of companies
• Recognize the budgeting process and why it is important
• Learn about vital finance and accounting terms
• Understand how to evaluate financial statements by employing ratio analysis
• Learn how to design and monitor budgets and how to utilize financial data in measuring performance
• Manage the expectations of stakeholders and how to conduct appropriate financial reporting
• Distinguish between finance and accounting and their respective roles in the administration of a business entity
• Learn how to establish robust financial systems
• Apply capital budgeting methods and cost-profit analysis to improve financial decision making

How will this Course be Presented?

The contents of this course are participant-based and are mainly provided to meet participants’ expectations and enhance their knowledge and skills. Various proven practical approaches and techniques that will ensure constant and active learning by the participants will be used to deliver the course. The course will be taught by professionals with various experiences and practices. The course modules are curated from in-depth and extensive research on the subject matter.

The Rcademy Finance Course for Non-Finance Professionals includes practical and theoretical learning by providing participants with slides on the concept, case studies, lecture notes, and real-life scenarios. Attendees will also be able to partake in quizzes, presentations, seminar workshops, and constant feedback on the lessons learned to confirm their optimal satisfaction.

What are the Topics Covered in this Course?

Module 1: Introduction to Finance and Accounting

• Introduction and definition of terms
• The building blocks of accounting
• Types of financial accounting
  – Accrual accounting
  – Cash accounting
• Overview of the finance principles
• Objectives of the principles
• The four financial statements
  – ­Income statements
  – Balance sheets
  – Cash flow statements
  – Statements of shareholders’ equity
• The practice of accounting

Module 2: The Cycle of Financial Statements

• Understanding the accounting cycle
• Types of accounting cycles
• The five major accounts in financial statements
• Statement of cash flows
• Accrual basis vs cash basis accounting
• Designing financial statements using Excel
• The stages of the accounting cycle
• Responsibilities of internal and external auditors

Module 3: Evaluating Financial Statements

• Horizontal and trend analysis
• Building blocks analysis
• Vertical analysis
• Solvency ratios
• Profitability ratios
• Liquidity ratios
• Activity ratios
• Importance of financial ratios
• Limitations of financial ratio analysis

Module 4: Introduction to Costing

• Introduction to costing
• Types of costing
• Objectives of costing
• The costing processes
• Costing in internal reporting
• Costing in external accounting
• Techniques of costing
• Cost allocation

Module 5: Operating Budget Process and Techniques

• Definition of an operating budget
• Master budget components
• Steps to budget development
• Approaches to budgeting
  – ­Zero-based budgeting
  – Incremental budgeting
• Sales forecasting
• Budgetary control and correction

Module 6: Breakeven Analysis and Decision Making

• Introduction and definition of terms
• Basics of fixed costs
• Computing breakeven points
• Pricing
• Importance of breakeven analysis
• Sensitivity analysis
• Contribution margin formula
• Special considerations

Module 7: Capital Budgeting

• The time value of money
• Types of capital budgets
• The required rate of returns for investments
• Net present value calculation
• Cash outflows for capital projects
• Internal rate of return
• Exercises involving capital budgeting

Module 8: Working Capital Management

• Definition of working capital
• Types of working capital
• Essentials of working capital management
• Balancing Profitability and liquidity
• Strategies for working capital
• The Trade-off between certainty and profitably
• Limitations of working capital

Module 9: Valuation

• Definition of terms
• Use of valuation
• Market valuation
• Methods of valuation
  – Net asset value method
  – Discounted cash flow method
  – Guideline companies’ methods
• Valuation of suffering companies
• Valuation of financial service firms
• Valuation of intangible assets
• The Net Present Value (NPV) vs Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Module 10: Towards Financial Stability

• Managing organization savings and overhead
• Building financial capacity for partner organizations
• Assessing and reducing financial risks and uncertainty
• The three pillars of finance
  – ­Investing decisions
  – Operating decisions
  – Financing decisions
• Implementing robust financial controls and systems