Financial controllers, chief accountants, finance or accounting managers, supervisors, staff accountants, general ledger accountants and any professional in accounting and finance who wish to upgrade their skills as well as prepare themselves to assume the responsibilities of a financial controller
Duration
2 Days
Programme Overview
This course covers several activities that are practiced by financial controllers, from preparing and reviewing financial statements, analyzing an organization’s financial health and performance, and administering the budget process and control function, to managing staff performance and enhancing their productivity.
This course provides professionals the chance to practice these responsibilities and sharpen the necessary skills
Objectives
Post the successful completion of the course, participants would be able to -
• Identify the main responsibilities handled by financial controllers
• Describe the different financial statements used in their organizations
• Analyze company performance highlighting the impact of current operations on future financial
results
• Evaluate and present company budgets and assist management in selecting proper plans
• Practice some of the key skills required using Excel to boost the efficiency of accounting and
finance work
• Assess internal controls within the finance department and the organization in general
Methodology
This courses focuses on exercises, case studies, Excel workshops, and individual and group presentations
Course Outline
Module 1: The three main responsibilities of financial controllers
Accounting and reporting responsibilities
Budget reporting and analysis
Managing finance and accounting staff
The evolving role of financial controller
Module 2: Accounting and reporting
Overview of the main International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
An inside look at the key financial statements (a) Statement of financial position (b) Statement of comprehensive income (c) Statement of cash flows (d) Statement of changes in owner equity
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Supporting bottom-line focus
Month and year-end close: Controller as a project manager
Module 3: Financial statements interpretation and analysis
Key tools in the analysis
Building block of ratios (a) Liquidity ratios (b) Solvency ratios (c) Activity and investment ratios (d) Profitability ratios
Going beyond numbers reporting
Excel techniques used in presenting analysis to management
Module 4: Budget reporting and analysis
The budget as an added value activity
Evaluating the budget and highlighting objectives
Presenting the budget to top management
Preparing meaningful actual versus budget reports
Module 5: Control function
Structure of internal controls
Setting and updating policies and procedures
Assessing internal control policies
Internal controls on financial reporting
System controls
Backup and disaster recovery planning
Ethical considerations
Module 6: Boosting efficiency in your department
It’s all about Excel (a) The 10 must-have Excel tips (b) Working with text files (c) Looking up records from a database (d) Validating data and controlling data input (e) Reconciliations and accounts analysis using pivot tables (f) Creating management reports and dashboards
Personal organization and time management (a) Monitoring staff efficiency to support the accounting close (b) Tools to increase staff productivity (c) Managing staff skills and attitudes
