Institute of Directors- Finance for Non-Financial Directors

Objectives

• Able to define the financial responsibilities of directors and have the knowledge required for good governance and promotion of shareholder value
• Able to clarify the ingredients of financial strategy
• Familiar with the major statutory financial statements.
• Able to assess the financial strength of a company in a structured way using typical financial ratios
• Able to differentiate between management and financial accounting
• Aware of monitoring financial performance and the importance and positioning of Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
• Familiar with the various issues behind funding and the various sources of capital
• Able to appreciate why companies fail

Summary

Module Syllabus

Section 1 - Financial Role and Responsibilities of Directors

• Directors Duties, focusing on understanding collective responsibility
• The role of finance in business
• Key financial governance issues
• Introduction to accounting concepts, including the Companies Act and Accounting Standards
• Financial strategy
• Understanding the concept of Shareholder Value
• What to expect from the Finance Director or finance function

Section 2 - Financial Statements

• Accounting Concepts (including Going Concern, Accruals, Prudence and realisation, Consistency, True and Fair/Fairly Present, Valuation)
• The Profit and Loss/Income Statement
• The Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow Statement
• Financial terminology
• The impact of business and strategic decisions on the major statements

Section 3 - Assessing Financial Health

• A framework for financial analysis
• Ratio Analysis
• Cash Flow Ratios
• Creative Accounting – looking behind the figures

Section 4 - Financial Reporting and Management Accounts

• The differences between financial and management accounting
• Budgeting, forecasting and monitoring, with particular reference to financial measurements and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Break even Analysis
• Costing systems

Section 5 - Sources of Finance

• Why businesses need funding - raising short, medium and long term finance
• Bank finance and managing the bank relationship(s)
• Raising capital from Stock Markets
• Raising Capital from Private Equity providers
• Dividend Policy - What lies behind the dividend decision?

Section 6 - Creating Value

• Cost of Capital
• Project Appraisal Techniques
• Valuations of businesses
• Protection of assets

Section 7 - Corporate Failures

• Causes of corporate failures

Examination Fees

End of course exams are optional- examination fees are not included in the course fees. They are payable direct to the 'Institute of Directors' when registering for the assessment examination. Please note that you must register for examinations by the first day of the month preceding the month in which the examination falls. Examination registration forms are available at www.iod.com

2013 Fees:

• Certificate- £325.00 plus VAT
• Diploma- £425.00 plus VAT