Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Course Overview
Introduction
The West Virginia University Center for Executive Education’s Finance for the Non
Financial Manager Course is designed to teach the fundamentals of basic finance and
accounting to professionals who are either new to financial concepts or who wish to
update their knowledge. This course is taught from the perspective of a reader of
financial documents and budgets versus the perspective of one who would generate the
data.
Who Should Attend
Mid to upper level managers and executives from all functional areas who want to
improve communication with people in financial areas, contribute to financial decisions,
and better understand the impact of strategic decisions on shareholder value should
attend. This course addresses the needs and concerns of managers of non-financial
areas who may not have formal training in the uses and reporting of financial
information. Prior knowledge of accounting or finance is not necessary.
What You Will Learn
As a participant you will become familiar with financial statements, learn where the
information on those statements originates and how that information is captured. You
will learn how to use and analyze financial and accounting information to run your
department more efficiently and effectively. We will begin with an overview of the
accounting cycle, not to teach you to become accountants, but rather to make you
aware that there is an accounting cycle and just how that cycle builds the financial
statements. We will use examples and models to explain the concepts.
As a result of attending participants will:
• Communicate more effectively with financial executives
• Learn how financial data is generated
• Learn how financial data is reported
• Learn how to use financial data for decision-making, analysis, and valuation
Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Abbreviated Overview
Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Course Overview
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Understanding of the relationship between Net Income and Cash Flow
Emphasis on cash flow statement
Reasoning by analysis: What stories do the financial statements tell
Read the financials from base level (departmental) reporting up to the consolidated income
statement
Make conversions to unit size comparisons so that base level connections may be made for local
decision-making
Extend the financials to an understanding of when departments are winning v. losing from their
decisions
Emphasize the dual issues with margin management and product mix including a sense of the
tradeoffs between volume and price
Criteria for capital expenditures
Within the balance sheet, emphasize working capital management
Show the share price calculation and the relationship to performance at the unit level
Discuss challenges for the future with respect to the cost of standing still
Decision Making
• Objectives for financial management
• Departmental reporting a look up to the consolidated
income statement
Financial Statement Analysis
• The income statement
• The balance sheet
• The cash flow statement
• Financial statements and value
• Monthly and annual report
• Threshold performance measures
• Contribution margin
• Targeted formulas
Evaluating Financial Performance
• Ratio standards
• Historical tracking of unit and company measures
• Ratio analysis
o Profitability, liquidity and leverage ratios
o Monthly statements
Resource Allocation: Value-Based Decision
Criteria
• Net present value
• Internal rate of return
• Economic value added
• Capital evaluation and project decision
making through the use of cases
Personal Financial Planning
• Personal Financial Planning Self-Assessment
• The basics of Mutual Funds
• Developing a strategy with 401K options
• Wills, insurance, and other preparations
• When will I be able to retire?
Case
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Time Value of Money
• Present value
• Using a spreadsheet financial calculator
• Using templates in Excel
Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Abbreviated Overview
Case unique to industry or organization
o Evaluation of recent/future internal
business decisions
o Executive team narrative of
situation described to written case