Corporate Finance Essentials for IT Managers

When you reach the management level in organisations, technical and functional expertise matters less than leadership skills and a deep understanding of business fundamentals. There is an increasing demand for IT managers who are able to negotiate the complex relationship between business leaders and IT. It’s not just about the technology but about the way technology can generate value for the organisation. This requires leaders who understand the increased complexity of business and who understand the principles of value creation so that they are able to make well informed decisions about how IT can best contribute to shareholder value. These leaders need insights and skills in corporate finance and accounting to make sound financial decisions.


This course will cover the key fundamentals of value management, relevant for IT managers. You will learn how financial and accounting fundamentals affect organisational performance and increase your skills to diagnose, address issues and make decisions that create shareholder value. During the course you will work with conceptual frameworks (mental models) to facilitate understanding and harness complexity to produce valuable outcomes for you and your organisation. You will apply a range of strategies, tactics, interventions, skills and tools to initiate and lead innovation and change. The course is practical in nature and focusses on real world exercises, examples, and case studies.

Duration

2 Days


Course Objectives

Following the completion of this course, you will:

  • Understand the fundamentals of value creation
  • Be familiar with accountancy and financial terms relevant to information technology
  • Be able to interpret and analyse income statements, balance sheets and cashflow statements (End-of-Year accounts)
  • Be able to evaluate business cases and investment proposals for IT
  • Understand how a company’s liquidity is impacted by operational efficiency and financial structure
  • Be able to diagnose profitability, risk and ability for your company to grow
  • Understand the capital investment process to evaluate business opportunities
  • Understand the financial system to fund new investments
  • Be able to make value-creating strategic decisions.

Audience

The target audience for this course is practicing IT managers who want to become more effective and efficient in their role, or who want to accelerate their career. The course is taught at an executive level.

Course Syllabus

Value management - overview

  • Managing for value creation
  • Shareholder (owner) value
  • Fundamental financial principle
  • Business cases / proposals
  • Capital expenditure (CAPEX) decisions
  • Financial business cycle
  • How profitable is a company
  • Economic, financial and operational risk

Financial accounting - basics

  • Understanding balance sheets
  • Assets, liabilities and equity
  • Understanding income statements (P&L)
  • Net sales, gross profit, EBIT, EBT, EAT (bottom line)
  • Understanding cash flow statements
  • Operating, investing and financing activities

Financial diagnosis

  • Liquidity and operational efficiency
  • Components of invested capital
  • Working capital requirements (WCR)
  • Measures of liquidity
  • Cash flows and their sources
  • Operating and free cash flow
  • Profitability, risk and growth
  • Measures of profitability
  • Financial leverage and risk
  • Self sustainable growth

Financial management and strategy

  • Capital investment decisions
  • Net Present Value rule (NPV) and alternatives
  • The financial system
  • Raising capital
  • Cost of capital
  • Capital structure
  • The financial strategy matrix

Related Courses

Refer to Equinox's full suite of Business and Consulting training courses.


Prerequisites

Pre-readings will be made available 2 weeks before the start of the course. Depending on your background, course preparation will take approximately 3 hours.








About NEO

The 'Business Fundamentals for IT Executives and Enterprise Architects' course is delivered by NEO, in partnership with Equinox. NEO is a provider of executive leadership development globally. Our trainers and coaches have all more than ten years hands-on leadership experience and come from global top rated business schools, such as Harvard, INSEAD, Stanford, Wharton, LBS, Columbia and IE. Each has a wealth of experience and knowledge in their particular area of the business.



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Course NameDurationPriceDatesCourse Status
Corporate Finance Essentials for IT Managers2 Days$1,890Enquire

All course prices listed by Equinox are in New Zealand dollars and exclude GST.