Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

• The role of financial management in decision-making
• The purpose of financial management accounting
• Accounting principles & policies (practical overview, not technical IFRS deep dive)
• The executive’s role in corporate governance
• From Profit to Enterprise Value: what drives value (profitability, growth, risk, capital structure)

Objective: Go beyond reading numbers to understanding performance drivers.

• The three statements simplified: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow
• How business activities flow through the statements (cash accrual)
• The critical link: Why profit ≠ cash
• Evaluating performance: liquidity, profitability, efficiency
• Cash Flow & Free Cash Flow as decision tools
• Working capital as a strategic lever (cash conversion cycle)
• Benchmarking & spotting early warning signals

Activity: Competitive Diagnosis

Analyze one company vs. two competitors and present who is better positioned and why.

Objective: Understand how financing decisions affect risk, growth, and value.

• Why businesses need financing: growth, stability, and flexibility
• Debt equity, short vs. long-term financing
• The cost of capital: debt, equity (CAPM intuition), and WACC as the hurdle rate
• Strategic financing options: acquisitions, partnerships, divestments, restructuring (simplified overview)

Activity: The Boardroom Dilemma

Debate financing strategies for a project, assess debt vs. equity mix, and justify hurdle rates based on risk appetite

Objective: Learn how to evaluate investments strategically.

• The capital investment (CAPEX) process: idea to approval
• Simple tools: Payback and ARR (with limitations)
• The Time Value of Money in plain terms
• Discounted Cash Flow methods: NPV (“value created”) and IRR (“break-even return”)
• Strategic financial evaluation — why bold projects sometimes win and safe ones lose

Activity: Investment Appraisal Case

Compare Project A vs. Project B; decide which creates more value (simplified decision case, not full calculations).

Objective: Learn how to plan and adapt in today’s volatile environment.

• Why organizations budget: alignment, accountability, decision support
• Traditional modern approaches: rolling forecasts, driver-based planning, ZBB, Beyond Budgeting
• Linking forecasts to short-term and long-term goals
• Using “what-if” analysis and stress testing for resilience
• Variance analysis as a performance management tool

Activity: Budget Redesign

Transform a static annual budget into a rolling, driver-based forecast using Balanced Scorecard principles.

Objective: Connect financial tools to value creation and communication.

• The essence of valuation: cash flows, growth, and risk
• Simplified methods: Multiples (P/E, EV/EBITDA) DCF
• Why market value ≠ management view (bridging perception gaps)
• Linking strategy to shareholder value: capital allocation, growth choices, and long-term positioning

• Communicating value: telling a compelling story to boards, investors, and employees