“Financial Analysis was perfect for our sales executives. Not only did they come away with an understanding of their business decision’s financial impact, but they learned about the challenges our customers face, and how to articulate our value proposition to address them. The financial knowledge and training they received has transformed their relationships with many of our clients.”—Richard Kolodny, President, Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare
Accounting faculty member, Bill Mayew, who instructs this program, offers his perspective on the importance of understanding financial terms and reports for those not in a finance position:
Who Should Attend?
Professionals of any level, and in any function including marketing, operations, sales, human resources, and development. The curriculum is ideal for those needing a comprehensive grounding in the fundamentals of finance to make better business decisions.
More About the Program
Over 3 days, you’ll engage in robust class discussion of key concepts in financial analysis. Innovative exercises ensure you absorb the concepts in a visceral way, while individual and team assignments give you practice in using your new capabilities.
Discussion topics are designed to provide an overview in financial management by introducing you to real-world financial reports and discussing the interpretation of financial information. Combined with basic practices and assessments of an organization’s financial stability, you’ll gain insight on how to leverage financial information to evaluate performance.
Discussion Topics
Financial Statements
- Learn to read the 3 most common financial statements for product and service industries.
- Analyze a company's financial health, including efficiency and profitability drivers, using DuPont decompositions.
- Use key financial ratios to analyze customer credit risk.
Costs of Goods & Cost of Services Sold
- Examine inventory costing and contribution analysis for specific products/services.
Budgeting & Forecasting
- Develop division level income statements including direct, variable and "soft" costs and utilize for project selection.
- Compare an actual P&L to budget variances; incorporate budget variance feedback into investment decisions, employee incentives and control systems to maximize division profitability.
Program Objectives
At the conclusion of the program you’ll be able to:
- Read and understand financial statements to evaluate financial performance.
- Design control systems and incentives that align objectives with profitability.
- Build budgets that monitor and evaluate business performance.
- Determine the cost and profit of business decisions.
- Identify relevant costs, including overhead, when adjusting a mix of products and services.
- Forecast division finances with a comprehensive treatment of costs and expenses beyond inventory.
- Understand key deviations from forecasts and assess the impact of potential changes to business processes.
Sample In-Person Schedule
Arrival
Check-In Available
3:00pm
Financial Statements
5:00 - 7:00pm
Dinner
7:00 - 8:00pm
Day 1
Breakfast
7:00 - 8:00am
Financial Statements (cont.)
8:00am - 12:00pm
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00pm
Financial Statements Analysis
1:00 - 5:00pm
Optional Campus Tour
5:00 - 6:30pm
Dinner
6:00 - 8:00pm
Day 2
Breakfast
7:00 - 8:00am
Financial Statements Analysis (cont.)
8:00am - 12:00pm
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00pm
Inventory Management
1:00 - 3:00pm
Budgeting & Forecasting
3:00 - 5:00pm
Dinner
6:00 - 8:00pm
Day 3
Breakfast
7:00 - 8:00am
Budgeting & Forecasting (cont.) and Program Review
8:00 - 11:30am
Program Close
11:30am - 12:00pm
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00pm