Learning Objectives
At the end of this program, each participant will understand:
- why market conditions dominate business decisions,
- the difference between cash and profit,
- fixed and variable costs,
- the value of budgets and cash flow forecasts,
- the impact of inventory build-up,
- the need to control working capital,
- financial statements and their management uses, and
- why your company uses specific financial measures: operating income, EVA, etc.
Each participant will have these tools:
- basic financial statements – income statement, balance sheet,
- budgets and cash flow forecasts, and
- break-even analysis.
Each participant will experience:
- playing all the major roles in an operating company – production, R&D, sales and marketing, management, and finance,
- making team decisions in each of these areas,
- generating financial statements for their operating company,
- preparing a budget and cash flow forecast,
- preparing break-even graphs,
- calculating basic ratios on their operating company,
- using operating income and ratios to compare to competitors,
- identifying areas of improvements to their operations, and
- using ratios and other measurements to identify the ‘buttons’ which drive company performance and behaviour.
Each participant will be better equipped to:
- interpret financial reports,
- control costs,
- structure sales,
- reduce inventories and working capital,
- target profit opportunities,
- better serve internal and external customers, and
- understand how their actions impact other areas of the company.