This course is aimed at finance people, in a centralised finance function or in line functions, who want to round out their professional education as they take on more management responsibility. The role of a Finance manager is challenging because it requires two totally different skill sets – being a functional expert and being a leader. This Academy is designed to improve both aspects. It aims to enable you to improve your knowledge and ability to deliver the Finance mission and to meet customer, that is the business's, needs.

In today's business environment cost management and cost reduction are key to business success. More than half the programme time is focused on this to provide you with a rounded, effective approach to these topics. You will be able to improve your effectiveness by more clearly understanding your role in delivering what Finance's customers really want.

How will this course will assist you?

This 4-day training course will offer you best practice in effective management of a finance area.

• Contributing effectively to Strategic Planning
•  Linking budgeting and forecasting into the business' strategy
• Preparing rolling forecasts
• Guiding operational management in the effective use of budget and forecast data
• Applying 'best practice' risk management and control in your area
•  Cutting costs and improving effectiveness
• Using Lean 6 Sigma methods to improve performance and reduce costs
•  Managing your direct reports and how to manage upwards
• Communicating effectively upwards with the Board/CEO/CFO

 Who Should Attend?

Managers and those seeking promotion in the following areas:

• Middle Management
• Operations
• Middle and Back Office
• Financial and Product Control
• Finance Business Partners
• Planning and Budgeting
• Management, Statutory and Regulatory Reporting
• Auditors and Internal Control
• Risk and Compliance Regulators
• Accountants and Consultants
• Graduate and Management Trainees

Day 1

The role of finance

The demands placed on the CFO by the CEO, other business executives and the Board changes as the political and economic environment changes. This module reviews current demands and looks at how leading Finance functions have responded.

• Finance’s role in the post Enron and banking crises world
• Examples of world class Finance functions’ roles
• Do business ethics have a role in Finance?
• Benchmarking maturity profiles for Finance - scorekeeper through to business partner

How to find out what Finance’ customers really want

Whilst there are well established ways for identify and interpreting what external customers want these need modification when being used for internal customers. This module looks at best practice for identifying what Finance’s customers want and need.

• Designing structured questionnaires and interviews
• Customer Satisfaction monitoring
• Other methods such as Failure Demand, analysis of use of outputs
• Designing appropriate service level agreements

Roles of Finance in Strategic Planning

All too often Finance’s role in strategic planning is limited to assembling the numbers. But Finance people have skills that can add real value to strategic planning. This module looks at how to leverage core Finance skills to improve the strategic plan.

• Key elements in strategic planning
• Finance’ role in supporting strategic planning
• Assessing financial impact of strategic choices
• Challenging the operational and people impact of strategic choices

Budgeting

Budgets are often criticised as being fine for financial control but not of much use in running the business. This module looks at best practice for preparing budgets whilst the modules in day 2 look at how the budget process can be modified to make it really useful for the business.

• Role of budgets
• The budget process
• Budgeting software
• How to engage the business

Day 2

Rolling Forecasts

This module investigates how the budget process can be modified to make it forward looking and pivotal to running the business effectively.

• Role of forecasts and the link to strategy
• Comparing and contrasting budgets and forecasts
• Identifying key business drivers
• The rolling forecast process
• Forecasting methods

Management use of budget and forecast data

A revised budget process will produce new information. This module reviews this new information and how the business needs to change to make effective use of it.

• The different types of reports and their use
• Developing quality commentary
• Structuring the monthly management meeting to best use the new information
• Reporting software

Risk management

Risk management is key to effective corporate governance. But very often the way it is implemented is heavy handed and a real burden on the business. This module looks at Finance’s role in risk management and how to ensure that risk management in its own processes are cost effective.

• Role of risk management in corporate governance
• Finance’ role in supporting risk management
• Cost / Effective risk management in Finance’ own processes

Day 3

Cost Control and how to reduce costs

Some businesses have ‘on and off’ cost control – when times are good costs aren’t controlled and when times are bad budgets are slashed with little regard to what really makes sense. Other businesses have a relentless focus on costs; cost management is part of the DNA of the business. This module reviews the elements of world-class cost management and how to transition a business from ‘on and off’ cost control to embedded cost management

• • Role of cost management in the business strategy
• • Cost management and motivation
• • Embedding cost control in the business
• • Role of Finance in cost control

Improving performance and reducing costs - Using Lean 6 Sigma methods in Finance

Companies like Toyota, Dell and GEC have been using Lean and 6 Sigma methods on the factory floor to obtain their dominant market positions. These methods are just as effective in Finance and other administrative processes but cannot simply be lifted from the factory floor; they have to be modified to work in a service-type environment. This module introduces the concepts and how to use them in improvement projects.

• Introduction to Lean and 6 Sigma
• Designing Lean 6 Sigma projects

Day 4

Using Lean 6 Sigma methods in Finance (continued)

This module identifies the key Lean 6 Sigma methods that work effectively in Finance. It illustrates how they work using a variety of case studies covering transaction processing, reducing the time taken for period end reporting and other finance tasks across a range of industries particularly banking and insurance.

• Key Lean 6 Sigma methods
• Lean and continuous improvement in Finance

Management of a Finance Function

Managing a Finance function has special challenges because of the range of people (qualified accountants through to clerical assistants), the range of work (day-to-day processing through to project work) and the inherent conservatism of people attracted to working in Finance. This module assesses how this variety impacts the normal people and work management approaches and methods.

• Management vs Leadership
• Project management methods for month end / budgets etc
• Motivating Finance people
• Retaining Finance people
• Managing change in Finance

Managing/Communicating with Board/CEO/CFO

Whilst managing ‘downwards’ has its challenges, managing ‘upwards’ including the people who are Finance’s customers is really challenging and can have a significant impact on your career. This is exacerbated when there are significant events such as M&A or bankruptcy of a major customer. This module looks how to manage upwards and how to manage in a business discontinuity event.

• Fundamentals of managing upwards
• Balancing requirements against resources
• Managing expectations and maintaining credibility
• Managing in a business discontinuity

Course summary and close

• Kevin Dilton-Hill

  Kevin Dilton-Hill, CA(SA), CPA (NewYork), ACA has more than 20 years experience as an expert trainer and consultant to the Finance function. His core areas of expertise are in performance and cost management (especially the use of Lean 6 Sigma methods) and management information. Kevin focuses on Financial Services but has applied his expertise in a broad range of sectors including retail, consumer products, manufacturing and utilities across a wide range of countries South Africa, Europe, USA and the Far East. Kevin is a founder and director of JSK Solutions whose client base includes FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies.

Strategic Planning and Effective Budgeting and Cost Control

Interested in holding this course in-house? Please fill out your details and a member of our team will be in touch with more information.

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