Financial Analysis, Modelling,
Forecasting & Budgeting Planning

• Identifying and Managing Stakeholder Needs
• Business Models and How They are Disrupted
• An Integrated Approach to Risk Management
• The Essentials of Business Performance Management

Fundamentals of Financial Modelling

• Financial Statements Basics
• Fundamentals of Financial Modelling

• Building a Financial Ratio Database in Excel
• Practical Modelling: The Cost-Volume-Profit Relationship
• Measuring and Improving Return On Investment
• Measuring and Improving Asset Management Efficiency
• Measuring and Managing Capital Structure and Risk
• Practical Modelling: The Effect of Gearing on Shareholders’ Earnings

• Practical Modelling: Using Excel Statistical Analysis Tools
• Avoiding Common Forecasting Problems
• Using Moving Averages to Analyse Time Series Data
• Using Linear Regression for Sales Trend Analysis
• Using Excel Solver to Minimise Forecasting Error
• Using Regression and Correlation to Forecast Costs
• Practical Modelling: Cash Flow Forecasting

• Principles of Capital Investment Decision-making
• Sources and Cost of Business Finance
• Practical Modelling: Using Excel Discounted Cash Flow Tools
• Practical Modelling: Capital Investment Analysis
• Essentials of Business Valuation
• Practical Modelling: Business Valuation Based on Shareholder Value Added

• Identifying and Analysing Business Risk
• Probability Based Approach to Decision-making
• Monte Carlo Simulation
• Sensitivity Analysis and “what-if” Forecasting
• Identifying the Key Drivers of Financial Performance
• Practical Modelling: Key Driver “what-if” Forecast

• Strategic Analysis, Strategic choices and evaluation, and Strategic implementation
• The Links between Strategy, Forecasting, Planning, Budgeting, Performance Measurement
• Strategic capability and avoiding the Spiral of Death
• Shareholder Wealth maximisation, Corporate and Shareholder value creation
• Financial Strategy, Dividend Policy, the Agency Problem and Corporate Governance
• Long-term Financing
  • Debt and Equity; Cost of Equity using Dividend Growth and Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM); Cost of Debt; Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
• Capital Structure Optimisation Models to minimise WACC
• Using Strategy Maps to link strategies to Performance Measurement: The Balanced Scorecard

• The Financial Planning Process and Modelling using Excel
• Statistical Forecasting Tools and Techniques
  • Time series; moving averages; exponential smoothing; Pareto Analysis; trend progression; linear regression; correlation
• Forecasting long- and short-term sales revenues, and sales pricing
  • Porter’s generic strategy of cost leadership and differentiation; Bowman’s strategy clock; full cost pricing; marginal cost pricing; target cost pricing; life-cycle costing; kaizen costing; value-based pricing
• Using Excel for Optimum Product mix decisions
• Short-term Financing, Working Capital, and the Cash Operating Cycle
• Direct and Indirect Cash Flow Analysis and Cash Flow Forecasting using Excel
• Uncertainty and Risk
  • Business Risk
  • Financial Risk
  • Systematic Risk
  • Unsystematic Risk
• The Choices available to minimise and mitigate risk

• Cost Behaviour and Activities
• Fixed and Variable Costs, Direct and Indirect Costs
• Product Costs and Period Costs
• Cost Allocation and Absorption of Overheads
• Absorption or Full Costing
• Marginal Costing
• Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) and ‘what-if’ analysis using Excel
• Activity Based Costing (ABC) and Activity Based Management (ABM)

• To Budget or Not – Purposes and Reasons for Budgets
• Stages in the Budget Preparation Process
• Preparation of the Master Budget
• Activity Based Budgeting (ABB)
• Responsibility Accounting and Variance Analysis
  • Standard costing; flexed budgets; budgetary control to measure organisational and management performance
• Advantages, Disadvantages and Behavioural Aspects of Budgeting
• The Conflict between Performance Improvement and the Costing System
• Lean thinking and integrating continuous performance improvement into the Budget Process

• The Time Value of Money
• Future Values
• Present Values
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)
• Capital investment Project Appraisal
  • Accounting Rate of Return (ARR); payback; Net Present Value (NPV); Internal Rate of Return (IRR); Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR); Discounted Payback; Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC)
• Project Risk
  • Sensitivity Analysis; simulation; scenario analysis; NPV break-even
• Capital Rationing
• Capital Budgeting and the Profitability Index (PI)