Course Duration: 25 hours

Basic Principles

• Accounting principles - Financial management concepts - Common jargon
• Accrual accounting and cash accounting compared - The double entry principle
• Mechanics of the accounting process - Importance of documentation

Why Accounts

• Information for Strategic, Tactical and Operational Decisions.
• Shareholders’ / Owners’ objectives - Managers’ objectives - Front line objectives
• Other External Stakeholders; Government, Banks, Creditors, Debtors etc.

Reporting - The making and interpretation of basic financial statements:

Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Cash Flow Statement

• The basic financial statements: Accounts talk and Simple talk. Preparation explained from the accounting perspective and in layman’s terms.
• The Revenue Recognition concept
• Timing differences - the importance of online and complete accounting - analysis of how transactions have a financial impact.

Manage Profits and Cash Flow with Optimum Resource Utilization

• Basics of good financial management to prevent problems
• The importance of cash “Cash is the lifeblood of Business”
• Difference between Cash Flow and Profit - The Cash / Working Capital cycle
• Effective Working Capital Management: Inventory, Receivables etc.
• Property and Equipment acquisition - Expansion planning.

Management Accounting: Understanding Costs

• Financial and Management Accounting Compared
• Costing and its uses the meaning of “Over-heads”
• Costing Methods: Job, Absorption, Marginal, Standard, Activity Based
• Break even analysis - Economic Order Quantity
• Cost of Capital
• Pricing decisions: Margins, Mark-ups, discount schemes, credit limits
• Cost Cutting, Cost Control, Cost Optimization.

Budgeting: The Truth

• What is a Budget? - Overview of the Planning Process
• Strategic Aims - Key Performance Indicators
• Variance Analysis - Rolling Budgets.

Leverage Analysis and ways of granting secure credit

• Helping your company achieve optimum return on investment
• Some methods to secure payment - How banks guarantee payment
• Understand how credit worthy an organization is