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Overview
In this one-day program, you'll learn how to:
- Increase your confidence as you contribute your ideas in financial planning meetings with upper management.
- Speak the language of the people who control your organization’s purse strings.
- Develop performance reports that show planned vs. actual income and expenses.
- Enhance your decision-making skills by better understanding the financial impact of your choices.
- Cut through the complex jargon of accounting.
- Build a reputation for consistently being on budget.
- Apply the universal ground rules of finance to any organization’s reports and planning processes.
- Get your new ideas implemented and applauded for their bottom-line results — rather than set aside and left untested.
- Assess the liabilities and payoffs of new ventures, proposals and plans.
Agenda
The Accountant's Tool Box: Basic Accounting Principles and Terminology
- What accounting is and how it affects your job and your responsibilities.
- Three key accounting terms that form the financial cornerstone with brief, easy-to-understand explanations.
- An invaluable reference — A financial glossary in your workbook to quickly explain unfamiliar jargon. (Most terms are defined in just one line).
- Two easy rules to ensure the basic accounting equation stays in balance.
- Eleven essential principles and concepts — the whys and how’s of financial reporting and accounting systems.
- When expense and revenue activities are reflected on the books, and how to anticipate your organization’s current and future financial status.
- Two basic methods used to recognize expenses and revenues, and why transactions have been included or excluded on financial reports.
- Three conditions that signal deferred expense or revenue (and help you clear up the mystery of missing numbers).
- PC software for financial novices: an overview of the best software for basic financial tasks — uncomplicated and easy to learn.
- PC potential: how you can tap into computer tools you may already have to simplify financial analysis.
Making Sense of the Numbers: Special Financial Conventions and Practices
- The difference between direct and indirect expenses and who is responsible for each.
- Five key points will help you identify fixed and variable costs so you can better anticipate and control expenses.
- Why costs beyond your control can directly affect your own financial performance.
- How you can increase profitability in your department or organization with a better understanding of the break-even point.
- Three ways you can still break even when revenue activity falls.
- A simple break-even chart that puts the numbers in an easy-to-understand visual form.
- Capital expenditures simplified: three conditions to meet for an item to be capitalized.
- Six items to include in capitalization figures and four items not to include.
- Purchase or lease? The benefits and drawbacks of both options.
- The two basic methods of depreciation and how they affect financial results.
The Financial Road Map: How to Use Financial Statements and Reports
- The eight objectives for financial reporting and how financial reports can work for you.
- The four most common financial statements (including easy-to-comprehend examples for each).
- How everyday business transactions are translated into balance sheets and profit-and loss statements.
- Four basic components of performance reports to improve operations in your department or organization.
- “Ratio Analysis”: 10 invaluable formulas to analyze financial statements like an expert.
- How to analyze financial reports for profitability, activity, liquidity and debt coverage. (Simplified formulas make it easy).
- Four professional methods to measure bottom line profitability.
Achieving On-Target, Profitable Results: Budgeting Basics
- How sound budgeting leads to better, more effective management.
- An easy seven-point budgeting outline to prepare a new budget or assess your current one.
- What’s a “support budget?” How the four major types affect your department and your organization.
- Five sample tables that illustrate how budgets are built, step by step.
- How to use budgets to measure the performance of your department, your organization and even yourself.
- Ten specific answers good budget performance reports should provide. (Check your reports against this comprehensive list).
- Five cost indicators and three productivity indicators for new insight on budget performance.
- Eight expert techniques to help you prepare and monitor your budgets more accurately and efficiently.
Plus a Valuable Reference Guide
- Personal Skills Assessment: a quick quiz to pinpoint your strong and weak areas of knowledge.
- Interest and Present Value Tables: easy-to use charts to quickly determine the time value of money.
- Break-Even Point: two simple formulas to determine break-even in dollars or in units.
- Debits and Credits: a handy “framework” reference for understanding ledgers and financial reports.
- Balance of Accounts: a simplified breakdown for balance sheets and income statements for easy classification of debits, credits, assets, liabilities and equity.
- Financial Glossary: dozens of terms defined in clear, concise and easy-to-understand language.
- Salary Budget Checklist: 12 specific points to review before finalizing a salary budget.
- Non-Salary Budget Checklist: seven practical items to aid you in preparing the non-salary budget.
- Capital Budget Checklist: eight essential details to help you build a sound capital budget.
- Debits, Credits and Balance of Accounts: 10 failsafe rules and tips for classifying financial items.
