Business analysts, project managers, business change practitioners and anyone in business who needs a sound grasp of financial concepts and techniques. Business Finance is also a Business Skills module on the BCS (ISEB) Advanced Diploma in Business Analysis.
Having a sound grasp of financial concepts and techniques is essential for business analysts. This Business Finance course introduces you to the sources and use of finance in business and explains the key documents and how to interpret them.
It goes on to tackle business cases and investment appraisal techniques before showing you how to evaluate suppliers’ finances, how to use Financial ratio analysis and concludes with a session on Financing service delivery.
Presented to you by one of the expert training consultants pictured below, each member of our Business Finance training team bring their substantial practical experience of using business finance tools to the programme.
To give you more of an idea of what you’ll learn and how the course will help you, here’s a quick guide to those three days.
- Sources and use of finance in business
- Key financial reports and their interpretation
- Cash flow forecasting
- The purpose and contents of a business case
- Investment appraisal techniques
- Budgets and budgeting
- Costs and costing
- Evaluating supplier financial stability
- Financing service delivery
For virtual courses a printed copy of the latest edition of the comprehensive course manual will be sent to your home address in good time for the start of your course. Our delegates tell us that having access to a physical document is beneficial as both a reference document and for taking notes during the course. In addition, a link will be emailed to you to enable you to access an electronic copy of the same comprehensive manual for convenient future reference.
Yes. During this three day course you’ll receive all the training you need to prepare for the BCS Professional Certificate in Business Finance examination, which is held on the final afternoon of the course. This closed-book multiple-choice examination uses business scenarios to put your knowledge of business finance to the test. A pass means you’re another step closer to achieving the BCS International Advanced Diploma in Business Analysis.
At present, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the exam is not available in a classroom environment. However, for delegates attending a virtual or online course, the exam may be taken using the BCS online proctoring service. This exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions with a pass mark of 26/40.
Business Finance (a three-day course)
Course Content
Finance in the project lifecycle
- A financial perspective on the project lifecycle
- Published regulatory accounts
- The statement of cash flows and the distinction between cash and profit
- Cash flow forecasting
Developing the business case
- The business case in the business change lifecycle
- The contents of a business case
Constructing the financial case
- Costs and benefits to include in a business case
- Investment appraisal: payback, NPV and IRR
- The cost of capital and the weighted average cost of capital
- NPV, IRR, systemic risk and project risk
- Return on investment (ROI) and ROI and risk
- The concept of shareholder value added (SVA)
Budgets and budgeting
- Budgeting, long-term plans and corporate objectives
- Cost centres, profit centres and the use of charge-out
- Capital and revenue expenditure
- Actual versus budget comparisons and actions
- Budgetary control
Costs and cost behaviour
- Fixed and variable costs and the concept of contribution
- Breakeven analysis and the margin of safety
- Price/volume calculations and charts
- Marginal analysis: outsourcing, make or buy decisions
- Costing approaches and types of cost
Evaluating supplier financial stability
- Financial analysis and the calculation of ratios
- Calculating and interpreting ratios
- The relationship between primary and secondary ratios
- Principles of shareholder value added (SVA) and economic value added (EVA)
- The limitations of ratio analysis
Financing service delivery
- Depreciation of assets: straight-line and reducing balance
- Depreciation of assets: disposal and upgrade issues
- Financing and leasing
- Outsourcing
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