Course Overview

How to create a Financial Strategy? Strategy is a set of guidelines devised to achieve stated future goals. Imagine walking on a busy street blindfolded without being guided. You’ll find yourself being pushed, shoved aside, stumbling on hurdles, taking wrong turns and ultimately being lost without reaching your desired destination.

Even though you might be very efficient at promenading, having sharp senses but ultimately, you’ll fail because you have no guidance or vision. This same purpose of providing a framework for guiding choices is achieved through strategy in business.

Management might be very resourceful, knowledgeable, and adept in doing business but without any concrete strategy the business will find itself struggling to survive. Strategy can be defined as an outline or framework a business draws out to gain clarity over future course of actions.

It provides guidelines to the management regarding organizations’ future directions and actions. It narrates where an organization is presently at and how it can head to where it wants to reach. Strategy acts as a basis to make decisions regarding resources, product line, growth and most importantly finances.

Finance strategy provides a roadmap for planned accession of the finance function in a business organization. It deals with decisions regarding financial resources of a firm. The finance strategy should be such that it is able to stand the challenges and competition in the market.

What are the components of Financial Strategy? Financial strategy concerns itself with the judicious allocation of funds, optimum construction of a capital structure, procurement of funds, cost-cutting, etc. A dynamic financial strategy is able to offset the uncertain market conditions and competitive business environment.

How various financial resources must be deployed? Do the financial goals of the organization align with the organization’s overall goals? Is there coordination between the finance function and other areas of the organization? How financial resources will be procured? Will these resources be financed aggressively or conservatively? How financial forecasting will be conducted for the organization? All these issues find their resolution in the financial strategy of a business.

Finance strategy acts as a foundational brick to the finance structure of a business. If not formulated correctly it will crumble the entire structure. Therefore, it becomes pressing for corporate managers to understand the intricacies of the situation and acquire skilful knowledge and practicality regarding the subject.

We at Zoe Talent Solutions understand the increasing market pressure which requires prudent financial decision making by the managers. To combat this increasing challenge, we have devised the Financial Strategy course which will guide its learner to understand various complexities of strategic financial planning and management.

The course covers various relevant subject areas such as financial forecasting, working capital financing, financial performance evaluation, capital structure, leverage decisions, risk management, etc. It also highlights the preparation of projected financial statements and budgets using practical problems.

The course is a pre-requisite for anyone looking to sharpen their decision-making skills, evaluation skills and develop financial analysis acumen.

Course Objectives

On successful completion of Financial Strategy course, participants shall be able to:

• Understand the need for strategic management in the context of finance
• Evaluate the financial performance of various projects according to pre-determined business standards
• Make sound financial decisions while keeping in mind the dynamic business environment
• Devise adept financial strategies that are in coordination with the organizations’ long-term goals
• Make appropriate financial projection and forecasting
• Evaluate financial risks while undertaking a project
• Strive for balance among various stakeholders of the business and add value to the business

Training Methodology

• Interactive lecture sessions
• Practical problem solving
• Case studies
• Management games
• Presentations
• Group discussions

ZTS follows ‘Do-Review-Learn-Apply’ model.

Organisational Benefits

On successful completion of Financial Strategy Course, participants shall be able to benefit their organization in the following ways:

• Making decisions regarding the judicious allocation of funds
• Being attentive and countering possible moves of the competitors
• Helping in adopting cost-effective financial policies
• Timely forecasting funds requirements and thereby ensuring an adequate supply of funds
• Creating sync between financial objectives and organizational objectives
• Efficient working capital management and adequate financing of current assets
• Developing a sound financial recording and accounting system
• Creating coordination of finance functions with other departments

Personal Benefits

Successful completion of Financial Strategy Course, shall benefit participants in the following ways:

• Gain basic and advanced knowledge of finance functions and finance strategy
• Understand how to finance strategy is coordinated with corporate strategy
• Better prepared for future challenges
• Learn various tools and techniques used in financial projections and forecasting
• Turn theoretical knowledge to practical skills
• Gain a competitive edge over peers due to enhanced understanding of financial strategic management

Who should attend?

• New entrepreneurs, start-up founders
• Finance managers
• Corporate managers
• Financial analysts, budget analysts
• Investors
• Departmental heads and executives
• Accountants
• Cost estimator, controller

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Concepts of Strategy and Strategic Management

• Strategic intent
• Strategy formulation
• Corporate level strategy: expansion strategies, retrenchment
• Business level strategy: cost leadership, differentiation strategy
• Finance strategic management
• Strategic cost management

Module 2: Finance Functions

• Investment decision: Capital budgeting
• Financing decision: Capital structure, debt-equity mix, operating and financial leverage
• Dividend decision

Module 3: Financial Forecasting

• Forecasting financial statement techniques
• Projection of balance sheet, cash flow
• Day sales method, percentage of sales method, simple linear regression method
• Internal growth rate, sustainable growth rate

Module 4: Financial Planning

• Types of financial plans
• Process of financial planning
• Budget preparation

Module 5: Risk Evaluation and Management

• Business risk, financial risk
• Elements of risk: Systematic and unsystematic risk
• Profitability analysis
• Projected Beta
• Mean-variance analysis: Standard deviation and coefficient of variation

Module 6: Working Capital Management

• Working capital policies: levels of working capital investment
• Profitability vs. risk trade off: conservation, matching, aggressive approach to asset financing
• Managing liquidity and financial flexibility
• Short term financing: factoring, bill discounting

Module 7: Business Restructuring

• Corporate restructuring- mergers and acquisitions
• Financial restructuring- debt restructuring, equity restructuring
• Re-organization of shares
• Buy-back of shares
• Trading on equity

Module 8: Business Valuation

• Shareholder value analysis
• Business valuation methods: discounted cash flows, comparable market multiples method
• Economic Value-added approach
• Business model analysis