Finance for Non-Financial Professionals

Do you face trouble understanding what the Financial Statements are showing? Do you know why the figures are reported in this way? Are you able to communicate with your accounting and finance colleagues on financial matters?

This course is designed for managers and executives with little or no knowledge of accounting and finance and aims to introduce you to the fundamental accounting concepts that will help you to make sense of financial statements in a simple way.

This interactive programme covers the basics of accounting and the importance of financial statements. Besides being able to read financial statements, you will be introduced to financial analyses, cash flow management and investment decision-making concepts such as the payout period, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Returns.

After the workshop, you will be able to:

• learn the basics of accounting and understand the accounting concepts
• interpret the financial statements and understand financial jargons
• monitor business cash flow to ensure healthy cash position and ways of improving cash flow
• analyse using financial ratios to gain insight to the financial strength of the organisation
• make use of investment decision making tools for short-term project evaluation

Outline

• Introduction to the financial statements
  – Areas of interest for stakeholders
  – How are financial statements used in business
• Basic accounting concepts and principles
  – Concepts on entities, accruals, historic, prudence and more
  – Process flow of accounting
  – Characteristic of a good financial statement
  – Accounting standards and guidelines
• Accounting terms used in financial statements
  – Components of financial statements
• Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash flow statements
  – How to read the income statement?
  – What is a balance sheet?
  – Cash flow statement – What do all the terms mean?
• Uses and limitations of financial statements
• Interpretation of Financial Statements using ratio analysis
  – Profitability ratios
  – Liquidity ratios
  – Efficiency ratios
  – Financial structure
• Understanding budgeting
• Understanding time value of money
  – Time cost of money
  – Compound interest and future values
• Evaluation of projects using various tools
  – Payback period
  – Net Present Value
  – Internal Rate of Returns

VC: Virtual Classroom

For courses in 2022

For courses in 2023

Grants (if applicable)

• Organisation: Please let us know upon registration, if you wish to apply for the SDF grant.
• Individuals: Please refer to the following guides on how to claim your SkillsFuture Credit.
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