Making Sense of Finance - Essential Knowledge for Office Pro

Is it right for me?
Suitable for office professionals, secretaries and PAs who want to build their skills and understanding of finance. This course will benefit individuals with little or no prior understanding of business finance and who are looking for an introductory overview of business finance and accountancy.

Something to consider: Are you a non-financial manager? As an alternative, you may want to consider Finance for Non-financial Managers.

What will I learn?
By the end of this course you will be able to:

Remove the myths and fears about finance.
Understand the jargon that surrounds many financial transactions.
Read, understand and interpret balance sheets, profit statements and budgets.
Work more productively with colleagues from the finance department.
Prepare and monitor a budget and develop skills to ensure that it is met.
Utilise financial tools as a means of monitoring performance and ensuring that budgets are met.
Appreciate the importance of reducing unnecessary costs and working towards increased profitability.
What will it cover?
Finance at Work

The nature of business; business goals; the importance of finance
Various types of business entities in the UK
Why do companies prepare accounts?
Who are the main users of financial information?
Brainstorming financial jargon into plain English
Finance as a means of measuring performance
Understanding capital and revenue and the importance of this concept
Understanding the distinction between financial and management accounting
An Introduction to the Key Financial Statements

Profit and loss accounts
The balance sheet
Cash flow statements
Reading the financial sections of an annual report
Comparing theory with practice; producing a simple set of accounts
Using Financial Information

Understanding the use of financial information as a management tool
What the accounts are really telling us
Understanding the bottom line
Budgeting Explained

Budgets: What are they? Why are they needed?
Understanding the budgeting process and your role in it
Case study: preparing a budget; monitoring variances
The nature of costs (fixed and variable, direct and indirect)
Working out the break even point
Working Capital - Cash Flow Within an Organisation

Working capital: What it is? How do we monitor it? How can we maintain it?
The distinction between profit and cash flow
Why discrepancies between them occur eg
cash as opposed to credit events
effects of accruals/prepayments
effects of depreciation
Case study: undertaking a cash flow forecast
Personal Development

Formulating a personal action plan