After just one day, you’ll ...

• Thoroughly understand any financial report you read, immediately recognizing which numbers provide key information
• Accurately measure the financial position of your department, division or organization
• Evaluate the financial impact of your decisions on your organization’s bottom line before you make them
• Work confidently with balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and other financial reports
• Recognize the key ratios that can be early indicators of danger ahead for your organization
• Understand what every manager must know about the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP
• Discuss financial matters with authority and ease with accountants, bankers, tax advisers and other financial professionals
• Get an instant handle on the financial health of your customers and your competitors by analyzing their financial statements
• Head off costly mistakes by spotting inaccuracies and questionable numbers on financial documents
• Contribute your ideas at financial meetings with confidence by fluently speaking the language of finance
• Save your organization big bucks by analyzing cash flow and discovering “hidden” expenses that are unnecessary
• Instantly recognize the problems as well as opportunities contained within the numbers of a financial report
• Analyze financial data and industry trends to make sound long-range planning decisions
• Know how to determine when leasing equipment is your best financial option — and when leasing doesn’t pay.
• Forecast costs and revenues with far greater accuracy
• Gain a clearer look at “the big picture” view of your organization’s financial future
• Never again feel intimidated by financial reports, proposals or numberfilled memos
• Increase your value to your organization with your newfound understanding of financial principles
• Get others to accept your projects and proposals by presenting them in “bottom line” terms
• Watch your credibility soar as you become recognized as someone who really understands numbers

Fundamental Financial Concepts and Terms

• Common finance terms explained in plain English :
• Cash flow
• Liquidity
• Leverage
• Net present value
• Tangible assets
• And dozens more!
• The difference between cash and accrual accounting
• What every decision-maker must understand about Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• Understanding the basic elements of a financial statement:
• Assets
• Liabilities
• Equity
• Comprehensive income
• Revenues
• Expenses
• Gains and losses
• Basics for determining an organization’s financial health based on financial statements

The Ins and Outs of a Balance Sheet

• The balance sheet: A thumbnail sketch of a business
• What a balance sheet can — and can’t — tell you about a company
• Assets explained:
• Tangible and intangible
• Fixed and liquid
• Real value
• Accounts receivable
• Inventory
• Current liabilities and current assets and equities defined
• Critical components of working capital
• Interpreting balance-sheet numbers for financial strength — and weakness

Analyzing the Profit and Loss Statement

• A P&L by any other name:
• Income statement
• Operating statement
• Statement of operations
• Profit and loss statement
• Which numbers indicate how revenue is generated
• The “cost of goods” formula and how to use it
• Understanding the role that depreciation plays
• Comparing a favorable and unfavorable P&L
• Examining a P&L statement to determine your business situation

Deciphering Other Types of Financial Statements

• The purpose of the cash flow statement
• Analyzing the cash-flow statement to find out where resources are actually going
• How to recognize cash-flow problems before it’s too late
• Forecasting cash flow — and using this insight when increasing staff, purchasing and cutting costs
• Change in equity statement: What it is and how to use it
• Annual reports: Where to find the numbers that tell the real story
• Other types of financial statements you may encounter

Critical Financial Measurement Tools and Techniques

• Tips for scanning any financial report and zeroing in on the pertinent numbers
• Calculating return on investment (ROI)
• Key financial indicators that will tell you if your organization is on the right track
• Using break-even analysis, forecasting and other financial tools to make informed decisions
• Valuable questions to ask before making any decision based on financial-statement numbers
• Important ratios that every nonfinancial manager should understand

“Excellent speaker — extremely knowledgeable and was able to put information into a language we could understand!”
S. Kmiec
Product Planning
American Flange