Concept
Taking on management responsibility and delivering results requires competence in dealing with all aspects of operational accounting and financial management.
Today, managers and specialists are expected to:
- translate strategic benchmarks and requirements into financially and cost-based targets and action plans,
- manage their area of responsibility in a results-oriented manner,
- make optimum use of management information relevant to decision-making,
- know exactly where which costs are incurred and why, and how these can be influenced, and
- be able to competently represent and assess investment proposals.
Acquiring solid and comprehensive specialist knowledge in these areas independently is often very time-consuming in day-to-day business. This is where the "St.Gallen Finance Course" can help.
Methodology/topic overview
Step by step, experienced instructors convey and train the overall system of financial management and the resulting individual questions from all areas of the company in a very practical, exciting and concrete way:
- The financial management concept at a glance
- Financial Basics
- Investment and profitability analysis
- Cash management, financial engineering, shareholder value management
- Controlling
- Cost management
- Activity-based/process cost management
- Financial management in typical areas of responsibility
- Budgeting and planning
Participants
In 7 days (two parts), the complex field of finance and accounting is dealt with comprehensively and systematically.
- Line and staff managers who are already responsible for results, costs or sales, or will be in the foreseeable future.
- Plant, division, department, production and group managers as well as company owners without in-depth, specialized financial knowledge.
- Specialists from R&D, production, logistics, purchasing or employees of central departments.
- Junior managers, junior bosses.
- Natural scientists, engineers, technicians, lawyers, psychologists.
The finance course can also be used to refresh and update previously acquired knowledge.
Topics
The financial management concept at a glance
- Financial figures as a representation of company results
- The paradigm of synchronization of sales/volume, profit and costs
- Harmonization of objectives with regard to liquidity, profitability/security
- Quantifying corporate goals
Financial Basics
- Accounting principles
- The annual financial statements
- Balance sheet and income statement
- Problems of inventory valuation
- Break-even analyses
- Cash flow statement, cash flow
- Return on capital investment (ROI/ ROCE)
- The ABC of corporate taxation
Investment and profitability analysis
- Methodology, types and applications in various industries
- Correctly justifying investment applications
- Make-or-buy, outsourcing versus insourcing
- Evaluating diversification projects financially
Cash Management, Shareholder Value Management
- How do you get a grip on liquidity?
- Funding and financing rules
- The shareholder value concept
Controlling
- Controlling key figures
- Example of an effective controlling system
- Development of early warning systems: Recognizing crises early
- Understanding controlling reports: One-page summaries
Cost management
- Concept and structure of modern cost and activity accounting: cost allocation methods and cost accounting systems, cost types, cost centers, cost objects, cost accounting sheets (BAB)
- Costing systems, unit costing
- Contribution margin accounting: partial versus full cost accounting, program optimization, flexible price floors, break-even point
- Target costing
- Cost planning and control
- Examples of cost accounting systems in the sales and production area
Financial management in typical areas of responsibility
- Cost and profit units: Budgeting, income statement and cost control
- Project, product, service and market responsibility accounting
- Management through target/actual comparisons, dealing with deviations
- The management success report
- Presenting results and decisions correctly, justifying them and presenting the economic consequences
Budgeting and planning
- Budget types and budget structure: Lean and fast budgeting
- The budgeting process: best practices
