Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Professionals

Financial data is the universal language of business. Quarterly results, cost drivers, cash flow, liquid assets, net profits—these are terms that reveal key issues facing your company. Learn what these concepts really mean and how you can use them to persuade your colleagues and better understand your competitors’ operations.

Through expert instruction, engaging discussion, and real-world case studies, this course will help you master the financial language of business and discover how to make decisions that lead to financial success for your department and your organization.

How You Will Benefit

• Strengthen your business acumen and understanding of financial language
• Communicate effectively with other departments and executives using accounting terminology and principles
• Get your projects approved by backing up your proposals with solid financial information
• Acquire valuable insight into the operations of your competitors and suppliers by interpreting their financial statements
• Find out how return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) can be used, and assess whether you are building value in your organization
• Make timely, cost-effective decisions and identify appropriate initiatives and projects when you know what drives costs in your organization

Agenda

Day 1 - Introduction to Concepts and Statements

• Explore the fundamentals of finance and accounting: generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); commonly used financial statements; nature of assets, liabilities, equity; income and expenses; key terms used by your financial executives; the importance of working capital; sources and uses of funds; depreciation methods; financial impact on the organization; income taxes and profit

Day 2 - Financial Analysis

• Develop an understanding of assets, equity and debt: approaches used to analyze information, return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), performance measures, leverage how organizations use debt effectively, assess what drives value in your organization, review your own organization’s statements

Day 3 - Financial Decisions

• Learn to analyze, budget and plan for your organization’s future: cost analysis, profit planning and budgeting, break-even analysis, cost-volume-profit, marginal revenue and marginal cost, methods of evaluating projects

Schedule

FIRST DAY - Includes breakfast, lunch, breaks and dinner

• Check-In and Breakfast 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
• Course 8:15 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Dinner 4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

LAST DAY - Includes breakfast, lunch and breaks

• Breakfast 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
• Course 8:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.