Finance for non-financial Managers Finance for Non-Financial Managers An Educational Services Provider Licensed By Course Code: C5750 As a Higher Education Institution License Number 2015-005
Brochure Published by Equinox Academy Ltd., an Equinox Group Company. Equinox Academy Ltd, 36 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1447, Malta (+356) 2137 6242 http://www.equinoxadvisory.com/academy equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com Publication Date: July 2017 Authors: Reviewer: Reece Delia Bernard Mallia Document Version: 2 C5750 Copyright Equinox Academy, 2017. All rights reserved.
About Equinox Academy We are a team of specialists passionate about our work and with a common ambition to share learning experiences with people in the business community as well as with civil servants and civil society. Our training and educational services take a holistic view. We usually (when budget is available) start from a thorough training needs analysis that looks at desired organisational performance and the skills required to achieve it as well as those available to the organisation, all the way to learning styles assessments and the provision of the training courses themselves, designed in line with the learning styles of the attendees. We also assist organisations in the application for funding of training courses from sources available at that point in time. We aim, wherever possible, to deliver measurable performance improvement, and support our work with deep knowledge of measurement and evaluation of learning. Our ability to combine training and subject matter expertise across systems and processes allows us focus on improving operational performance. Therefore, our solutions often go beyond training. We understand that performance is influenced by a combination of factors, and we seek to influence them as broadly as possible. Most of our solutions represent a blended approach to learning, reflecting our belief that only the right mix of media, tailored to the audience, will result in behavioural change that can bring about performance improvement. Our training is targeted, interactive and relevant. It focuses on the behaviours necessary for the achievement of business 1 P a g e
Programme Summary Providing a course to non-financial managers on the basics of accounting and finance is certainly crucial in today s world where the need for financial literacy cannot be stressed enough. This is even more so when considering the fact that organisations have made great strides in their operational setups, moving from a silo mentality to one where matrix teams all have a say in how the organisation is managed holistically. This paradigm shift has had a bearing on various operational activities from departmentspecific procurement all the way up to combining inputs from different organisational departments for strategic decision-making. Indeed, a sustainable and prosperous business mentality nowadays requires the presence of cross-functionality amongst all the various departments within an organisation whereby different managers discuss, exchange ideas and collaborate to provide the best solutions for the enterprise they work for. In this milieu, accounting concepts such as customer profitability analysis, lifecycle costing as well as activity-based costing, among many others, all require the crucial input of various departments, working hand in hand in one concerted effort to reach the ultimate organisational objectives. The training proposed offers two key benefits knowledge and confidence. Precise, pertinent knowledge provided during the course will help employees feel secure in their day-to-day actions and equip them with the necessary skills to collaborate further with the finance function of the company, thereby giving them further confidence and purpose in their daily roles. 2 P a g e
Course Objectives The Objectives of this course include: To define and understand the most commonly-used Technical Terms related to Accounting and Finance; To understand the basics related to Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the main documentation prepared by the Finance Department; To interpret a set of Financial Statements using appropriate Accounting Ratios assessing key areas such as Liquidity, Profitability, Efficiency of Asset use as well as Return on Investment; To understand basic concepts of Management Accounting (such as Marginal and Absorption Costing, Investment Appraisal etc.) and apply them to day-to-day Decision- Making; To generate Forecasts and Budgets using various Budgetary Models and apply Budgetary Control Systems that Analyse variances from Budgeted Figures; and To distinguish between Profits and Cash and apply Cash Management and Credit Control Techniques. 3 P a g e
Programme Day 1 Basic Accounting and Finance Principles Understanding what Accounting is all about and the key users of Accounting; Having clear notions of the Main Accounting and Finance Terminology used; Ability to understand the Accounting Equation and apply it accordingly; Being able to understand and use the basic notions of Double-Entry; Getting a good grasp of the Main Documents and Accounts prepared in a traditional Accounting System; and Understanding some basic concepts used in Accounting and Finance. Interpretation of Financial Statements & Financial Ratio Analysis Being able to recognise the main components of a Set of Financial Statements and their respective Uses and Users; Getting a good grasp of extracting pertinent Data from Financial Statements; Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of Financial Ratio Analysis; Having a good notion of the areas normally analysed using Accounting Ratios; Being able to calculate and interpret the main Financial Accounting Ratios used in most modern organisations and generate corresponding Reports summarising the main results. 4 P a g e
Programme Day 2: Generating Forecasts & Budgets Being able to identify the main uses and users of Budgets and Forecasts; Identifying the economic climate in which the Budgeting Exercise is taking place; The Principles of Forecasting; Budgetary Models (bottom-up, top-down and hybrid); Preparation of the Main Budgets often used in business and being able to differentiate between the various Categories of Budget Items; Budgets as a Blueprint for action and a yardstick against which to measure Performance; Acquiring important Skills on how to generate budgeted and Forecast data in a Methodological Process; Budgets as Corporate Balancing Acts understanding where a department stands in this big balancing act based on Bargaining: ultimately Expenditure must be justified by Revenues; Getting an overview of the Potential Modifications made to traditional Budgets to ensure their relevance to today s Dynamic World; and Setting up controls to Monitor Performance against Budget and to take Corrective Action where necessary. 5 P a g e
Programme Cash Management & Credit Control Techniques Being able to Distinguish between Profits and Cash; Understanding the reasons for Keeping Cash and the importance of Carefully Managing it; Getting a good grasp of various Cash Management Techniques; Being aware of the issues surrounding Credit Risk and its reality within the local context; Maltese Debt Recovery Regulation; and Becoming conversant with the use of a number of Credit Control Techniques. 6 P a g e
About the Trainers Bernard Mallia is one of the trainers for this module. Our executive training is exclusively designed for professionals and we strongly believe that professionals should not just expect a trainer who can walk them through theory. Our training aims, and is accordingly designed, to be much more than that. We choose our trainers on the basis of their proven business and problem-solving abilities. Bernard Mallia is an experienced business professional with strong number crunching and data analysis skills who also happens to be passionate about lecturing and imparting skills. Bernard is the person with whom our clients share practical real-life scenarios and difficulties with the intent of finding solutions. This makes our method of delivery a well-balanced trade-off between broad-insight lecturing and problem-specific consulting. The feedback that we have elicited from our bespoke training sessions given by Bernard were invariably very positive both inasmuch as the trainer himself is concerned, and also with respect to the delivery method he has used. 7 P a g e
About the Trainers Bernard Mallia is an experienced independent consultant and adviser in the fields of economics, project management, ICT and Information Systems. He has a polymathic background and was awarded his first degree in Commerce with a specialisation in Public Policy and Economics, as well as an honours degree in Public and Private Sector Management from the University of Malta. He pursued post-graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh where he read for a M.Sc. in Economics, and at the European University where he read for a M.Sc. in Information Systems. He has also been the recipient of diplomas in Computerised Bookkeeping (IAB), Project Management (CIC), and Advertising and Public Relations (CIC). Bernard is a certified MS Office advanced user and a SQL Server 2005 Microsoft Certified Professional. Bernard delivers courses in: MS Excel; MS Word; Odds and Gaming; Risk Management; Project Management; and Regulatory Policy and Institutions. 8 P a g e
About the Trainers Reece Delia is a qualified accountant currently working as Chief Financial Officer of Equinox Group. He was awarded his first-class Bachelor in Commerce with a specialisation in Accountancy and Banking and Finance from the University of Malta. Pursuing further his studies, he read for a Master in Accountancy within the same University, graduating with Distinction. He has ample experience in the field of accounting and finance, previously having worked for one of the international Big 4 audit firms PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked within the Company Accounting and Administration Services Department, having also garnered valuable experience in other areas of accounting such as strategic management accounting, corporate governance and ethics, risk management, financial management, auditing and taxation. 9 P a g e
Fees The Fee for the Course is as follows: Registration Fee (Non-Refundable): EUR 35. Course Fee including: Lectures, Course Notes, Certificate of Attendance and Refreshments (Please see our Terms and Conditions on changes, rejections and cancellations): EUR 250 By registering for the course, you are agreeing to be bound by all the Terms and Conditions including payment terms. Upon Registration, an invoice will be issued for payment, which includes the Registration Fee and the Course Fee (which you will not be required to pay in terms of rejection but for which you are agreeing to pay in case of acceptance in line with our Terms and Conditions). The invoice is to be paid in its entirety within 15 days from the day of issuance. However, should you not meet the Eligibility Criteria for the selected course, the Course Fee will either not be levied or will be refunded if it has already been paid; the Registration Fee will remain non-refundable. Should you wish to check about your Eligibility or clarify any other issues prior to Registering, kindly contact us on: equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com 10 P a g e
Sessions Sessions for this course will be held as follows: Day 1 16 th November 2017, 9:30 16:00 Day 2 17 th November 2017, 9:30 16:00 NOVEMBER M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The venue of the course will be communicated to the registered participants in ahead of the course commencement. 11 P a g e
Contact Details Equinox Academy Ltd, 36 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1447, Malta (+356) 2137 6242 http://www.equinoxadvisory.com/academy equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Go ahead. Ask away. Get in touch on any of the channels above. Where we hope you ll find the answer to any question you may have about us and our courses. 14 P a g e