Finance for non-Financial Managers

An Educational Services Provider Licensed By

As a Higher Education Institution

License Number 2015-005

Finance for Non-Financial Managers

Course Code: C5750

Brochure Published by Equinox Academy Ltd., an Equinox Group Company.

Equinox Academy Ltd,

36 Archbishop Street,

Valletta VLT 1447,

Malta

(+356) 2137 6242

http://www.equinoxadvisory.com/academy

equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com

Publication Date: July 2017

Authors: Reece Delia

Reviewer: Bernard Mallia

Document Version: 2

C5750

Copyright Equinox Academy, 2017. All rights reserved.

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We are a team of specialists passionate

about our work and with a common

ambition to share learning experiences with

people in the business community as well as

with civil servants and civil society.

Our training and educational services take a

holistic view. We usually (when budget is

available) start from a thorough training

needs analysis that looks at desired

organisational performance and the skills

required to achieve it as well as those

available to the organisation, all the way to

learning styles assessments and the

provision of the training courses

themselves, designed in line with the

learning styles of the attendees. We also

assist organisations in the application for

funding of training courses from sources

available at that point in time.

Our training is targeted, interactive and

relevant. It focuses on the behaviours

necessary for the achievement of business

We aim, wherever possible, to deliver

measurable performance improvement,

and support our work with deep knowledge

of measurement and evaluation of learning.

Our ability to combine training and subject

matter expertise across systems and

processes allows us focus on improving

operational performance.

Therefore, our solutions often go beyond

‘training’. We understand that performance

is influenced by a combination of factors,

and we seek to influence them as broadly as

possible. Most of our solutions represent a

blended approach to learning, reflecting our

belief that only the right mix of media,

tailored to the audience, will result in

behavioural change that can bring about

performance improvement.

About Equinox Academy

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Providing a course to non-financial managers

on the basics of accounting and finance is

certainly crucial in today’s world where the

need for financial literacy cannot be stressed

enough. This is even more so when

considering the fact that organisations have

made great strides in their operational

setups, moving from a silo mentality to one

where matrix teams all have a say in how the

organisation is managed holistically. This

paradigm shift has had a bearing on various

operational activities from department-

specific procurement all the way up to

combining inputs from different

organisational departments for strategic

decision-making.

Indeed, a sustainable and prosperous

business mentality nowadays requires the

presence of cross-functionality amongst all

the various departments within an

organisation whereby different managers

discuss, exchange ideas and collaborate to

provide the best solutions for the enterprise

they work for.

In this milieu, accounting concepts such as

customer profitability analysis, lifecycle

costing as well as activity-based costing,

among many others, all require the crucial

input of various departments, working hand

in hand in one concerted effort to reach the

ultimate organisational objectives.

The training proposed offers two key

benefits – knowledge and confidence.

Precise, pertinent knowledge provided

during the course will help employees feel

secure in their day-to-day actions and equip

them with the necessary skills to collaborate

further with the finance function of the

company, thereby giving them further

confidence and purpose in their daily roles.

Programme Summary

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The Objectives of this course include:

To define and understand the most commonly-used Technical Terms related to Accounting

and Finance;

To understand the basics related to Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the main

documentation prepared by the Finance Department;

To interpret a set of Financial Statements using appropriate Accounting Ratios assessing

key areas such as Liquidity, Profitability, Efficiency of Asset use as well as Return on

Investment;

To understand basic concepts of Management Accounting (such as Marginal and

Absorption Costing, Investment Appraisal etc.) and apply them to day-to-day Decision-

Making;

To generate Forecasts and Budgets using various Budgetary Models and apply Budgetary

Control Systems that Analyse variances from Budgeted Figures; and

To distinguish between Profits and Cash and apply Cash Management and Credit Control Techniques.

Course Objectives

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Day 1

Basic Accounting and Finance Principles

Understanding what Accounting is all about and the key users of Accounting;

Having clear notions of the Main Accounting and Finance Terminology used;

Ability to understand the Accounting Equation and apply it accordingly;

Being able to understand and use the basic notions of Double-Entry;

Getting a good grasp of the Main Documents and Accounts prepared in a traditional

Accounting System; and

Understanding some basic concepts used in Accounting and Finance.

Interpretation of Financial Statements & Financial Ratio Analysis

Being able to recognise the main components of a Set of Financial Statements and their

respective Uses and Users;

Getting a good grasp of extracting pertinent Data from Financial Statements;

Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of Financial Ratio Analysis;

Having a good notion of the areas normally analysed using Accounting Ratios;

Being able to calculate and interpret the main Financial Accounting Ratios used in most

modern organisations and generate corresponding Reports summarising the main

results.

Programme

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Day 2:

Generating Forecasts & Budgets

Being able to identify the main uses and users of Budgets and Forecasts;

Identifying the economic climate in which the Budgeting Exercise is taking place;

The Principles of Forecasting;

Budgetary Models (bottom-up, top-down and hybrid);

Preparation of the Main Budgets often used in business and being able to differentiate

between the various Categories of Budget Items;

Budgets as a Blueprint for action and a yardstick against which to measure

Performance;

Acquiring important Skills on how to generate budgeted and Forecast data in a

Methodological Process;

Budgets as Corporate Balancing Acts – understanding where a department stands in

this big balancing act based on Bargaining: ultimately Expenditure must be justified by

Revenues;

Getting an overview of the Potential Modifications made to traditional Budgets to

ensure their relevance to today’s Dynamic World; and

Setting up controls to Monitor Performance against Budget and to take Corrective Action where necessary.

Programme

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Cash Management & Credit Control Techniques

Being able to Distinguish between Profits and Cash;

Understanding the reasons for Keeping Cash and the importance of Carefully

Managing it;

Getting a good grasp of various Cash Management Techniques;

Being aware of the issues surrounding Credit Risk and its reality within the local

context;

Maltese Debt Recovery Regulation; and

Becoming conversant with the use of a number of Credit Control Techniques.

Programme

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Bernard Mallia is one of the trainers for this module. Our

executive training is exclusively designed for professionals

and we strongly believe that professionals should not just

expect a trainer who can walk them through theory. Our

training aims, and is accordingly designed, to be much more

than that.

We choose our trainers on the basis of their proven business

and problem-solving abilities. Bernard Mallia is an

experienced business professional with strong number

crunching and data analysis skills who also happens to be

passionate about lecturing and imparting skills. Bernard is

the person with whom our clients share practical real-life

scenarios and difficulties with the intent of finding solutions.

This makes our method of delivery a well-balanced trade-off

between broad-insight lecturing and problem-specific

consulting. The feedback that we have elicited from our

bespoke training sessions given by Bernard were invariably

very positive both inasmuch as the trainer himself is

concerned, and also with respect to the delivery method he

has used.

About the Trainers

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Bernard Mallia is an experienced independent consultant and

adviser in the fields of economics, project management, ICT and

Information Systems. He has a polymathic background and was

awarded his first degree in Commerce with a specialisation in Public

Policy and Economics, as well as an honours degree in Public and

Private Sector Management from the University of Malta. He

pursued post-graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh where

he read for a M.Sc. in Economics, and at the European University

where he read for a M.Sc. in Information Systems. He has also been

the recipient of diplomas in Computerised Bookkeeping (IAB),

Project Management (CIC), and Advertising and Public Relations

(CIC). Bernard is a certified MS Office advanced user and a SQL

Server 2005 Microsoft Certified Professional. Bernard delivers

courses in:

• MS Excel;

• MS Word;

• Odds and Gaming;

• Risk Management;

• Project Management; and

• Regulatory Policy and Institutions.

About the Trainers

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Reece Delia is a qualified accountant currently working as Chief

Financial Officer of Equinox Group. He was awarded his first-class

Bachelor in Commerce with a specialisation in Accountancy and

Banking and Finance from the University of Malta. Pursuing further

his studies, he read for a Master in Accountancy within the same

University, graduating with Distinction. He has ample experience in

the field of accounting and finance, previously having worked for

one of the international Big 4 audit firms –

PricewaterhouseCoopers – where he worked within the Company

Accounting and Administration Services Department, having also

garnered valuable experience in other areas of accounting such as

strategic management accounting, corporate governance and

ethics, risk management, financial management, auditing and

taxation.

About the Trainers About the Trainers About the Trainers

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The Fee for the Course is as follows:

Registration Fee (Non-Refundable): EUR 35.

Course Fee including: Lectures, Course Notes, Certificate of Attendance and Refreshments

(Please see our Terms and Conditions on changes, rejections and cancellations): EUR 250

By registering for the course, you are agreeing to be bound by all the Terms and Conditions

including payment terms. Upon Registration, an invoice will be issued for payment, which includes

the Registration Fee and the Course Fee (which you will not be required to pay in terms of

rejection but for which you are agreeing to pay in case of acceptance in line with our Terms and

Conditions). The invoice is to be paid in its entirety within 15 days from the day of issuance.

However, should you not meet the Eligibility Criteria for the selected course, the Course Fee will

either not be levied or will be refunded if it has already been paid; the Registration Fee will remain

non-refundable.

Should you wish to check about your Eligibility or clarify any other issues prior to Registering,

kindly contact us on: equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com

Fees

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Sessions for this course will be held as follows:

Day 1 – 16th November 2017, 9:30 – 16:00

Day 2 – 17th November 2017, 9:30 – 16:00

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The venue of the course will be communicated to the registered participants in ahead of the course

commencement.

Sessions

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Contact Details

Equinox Academy Ltd, 36 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1447, Malta

(+356) 2137 6242

http://www.equinoxadvisory.com/academy

equinoxacademy@equinoxadvisory.com

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