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Financial Thinking for
Non-Financial Managers

About This Seminar

The financial environment is changing rapidly, and financial communications are becoming increasingly complex. In this course, two outstanding Katz professors will simplify the financial world for you by providing you with a solid understanding of the way finance managers think and the vocabulary they use. In particular, this course will help non-financial managers:

  • Understand the financial implications of their strategic and operational decisions
  • Understand and interpret financial statements
  • Use financial information to become more productive in their own functional areas
  • Understand the use of financial performance measures in value creation
  • Communicate better with the firm’s financial managers

Who Should Attend

Middle to senior level managers in areas such as marketing, sales, engineering, or manufacturing as well as the general manager whose background is not in finance. No prior in-depth knowledge of accounting or finance is necessary. The program is directed towards users of financial information rather than those who prepare and disseminate it.

You Will Learn

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Read and understand financial statements
  • Evaluate the financial strengths and weaknesses of a company through financial analysis
  • Understand how the time value of money affects financial decisions
  • Understand the use of contribution margin analysis and other short-term planning tools
  • Comprehend the link between activity-based management and value creation
  • Understand how managing the corporate value chain affects corporate profitability
  • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of different financial measures of performance

Program Faculty

Donald Moser, PhD, is a CPA and former auditor/accountant for several large financial institutions. He has won the outstanding MBA teacher of the year award several times and is extensively published in the best research journals in accounting. He has developed and taught executive programs in financial reporting and financial statement analysis both in the U.S. and South America.

Nandu J. Nagarajan, PhD, is a Professor of Business Administration at the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. He has a master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and a PhD in Business from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Dr. Nagarajan’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of managerial performance measurement and incentive contracts, corporate governance, cost reduction, and process improvement. He has won the EMBA teacher of the year award and the Katz School’s excellence in teaching award. He has extensive publications in the best business journals, including The Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting Research, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Finance, Management Science and Medical Care and has also been on the editorial boards of major journals. Dr. Nagarajan has extensive consulting experience with major corporations and has also conducted numerous executive seminars in Strategic Cost Management, Corporate Governance and Performance Measurement and Control all over the world.

Outline

I. Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements

  • Understanding the balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flow
  • Understanding the difference between accrual accounting and cash flow
  • Computing and using financial ratios
  • Evaluating the health of the company through financial statements
  • Understand the time value of money in capital budgeting decisions

II. Strategic Cost Management and Performance Management

  • Cost structure, cost-volume-profit analysis and planning
  • Decision making using relevant cost analysis
  • Customer profitability analysis
  • Activity-based management and cost reduction in supply chains
  • Financial measures of performance and cost of capital