Finance for the Non-Financial Manager | City, University of London (2024)

The Finance for the Non-Financial Manager short course explains the fundamentals of finance, including an understanding of standard financial statements and operational messages that can be derived from them.

Over 10-weekly evening online classes, you will examine elements of finance management including:

• financial and performance ratios
• the applications of sales pricing
• costing
• interest and borrowings
• taxation
• investment
• performance measurements
• risk mitigation and hedge fund operations.

You’ll be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained in class immediately to work as a financial manager.

Who is it for?

This course is ideal for middle to senior managers from disciplines other than finance. Owners of SMEs will find it equally suitable.

Timetable

The Finance evening course takes places once a week for 10 weeks.

City Short Courses follow the academic year, delivering courses over three terms. These include:

• Autumn-October
• Spring - January
• Summer - April

Benefits

• Taught online in small groups
• Lead by practicing industry experts with up-to-date sector knowledge.
• Awarded a City, University of London certificate

Throughout the Finance for Non-Financial Managers short course you will:

• Understand the basic principles, terminology and building blocks of financial control
• Understand the main financial statements (how they relate to one another and how they can be manipulated as useful management data)
• Appreciate budgeting as a planning and control too
• Recognise different types of cost and how costs can be controlled
• Differentiate between cash flow, profit and net worth
• Appreciate the financial implications of plans and decisions.

Topics Covered:

Week 1 – Finance Function: What, Why and How

• Control needs
• Competitive Advantage needs
• Performance & Outlook health check
• Easyjet - (Homework).

Week 2 – Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow

• The contents and what, why, how and when
• How they link up (Trace example in classroom).

Week 3 – Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow

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• Understanding messages from figures
• Influencing operations
• Jeanette's Café (Exercise - Home work)
• An Excel Model is given to participants to keep and use.

Week 4 – Sales, Costs and Types, Costing Systems, VAT

• Pricing, quantity, margins and mix
• Fixed and variable costs; Break even (Classroom Exercise)
• Use of different costing systems ABC/ABM, Kanban/Kaizan/Six Sigma
• What, why and how;
• Fill in a return (Classroom Exercise).

Week 5 – Interest – APR/AER, Managing Capital and Gearing, Funding

• What, why and how
• Use of Excel Model (Classroom Exercise) and a model given to keep and use
• Efficient capital management
• Risk, inflation and reward factors
• Sources of finance and Factors influencing cost of finance (WACC)

Week 6 – Investment Returns and Risk, Errors and Fraud

• DCF/IRR/Payback/Risk (Classroom Exercise) and an Excel model given to keep and use
• Types, prevention and detection
• Internal control; Internal/external audit

Week 7 – Budgets and Plans, Personal Tax

• The processes; Effectiveness
• Perspectives
• Target setting and rewarding
• Calculate tax (Classroom Exercise)
• Check your own tax (Home work)

Week 8 – Business Valuation and Project Evaluation

• Basis of valuation
• Use in buying and selling businesses
• Due diligence
• Aspects and use of a more complex Excel Model (Home work) and a model to keep and use

Week 9 – Performance Measurement and Personal Investment Portfolio

• Financial and non-financial; Balancing scorecard
• Ratios and their relative importance
• Construction and risk balancing
• Hedging and hedge fund operations.

Week 10 – Revision

• Revise all topics covered before
• How to keep knowledge warm and add to learning in future
• Classroom discussion and feedback.

As the short course is gradually built up from foundation knowledge in early sessions you will get the most out of the class by attending all of the classes.

If you attend over 70 percent of your classes, you’ll receive an official City certificate. Our short courses are not accredited. Any assessment will be informal to help you evaluate your own progress.

Classroom exercises and homework will be set to help with your learning.

Classroom exercises require only simple calculations using a calculator.

You will need a basic knowledge of calculations, such as percentages and ratios at a level not more than GCSE maths level. Knowledge of Microsoft Excel at a basic level is also useful.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.

• Dyson, J.R. (2003) 6th Ed.Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Pearson
• Harrison, J. (1989)Finance for the Non-financial Manager, HarperCollins
• Siciliano, G. (2002)Finance for the Non-financial Manager, McGraw Hill Education
• Those who wish to learn or brush up on business maths may find the workbook: 'Understanding Business Maths', Kaplan Publishing, ISBN978-1-84710-706-0 a useful aid.