Day 1: Financial Logic for Management Plans

Financial Language for Managers

• Connect revenue, cost, profit, cash simply
• Distinguish fixed/variable/discretionary cost behavior
• Identify financial effects within operating choices
• Interpret a concise management financial summary

From Activity to Budget

• Translate tasks, volume, resources into estimates
• Separate recurring requirements from one-time needs
• Document price and quantity assumptions
• Build department budget from work plan

Cash Versus Accounting Impact

• Identify when expenditure becomes cash requirement
• Distinguish accrual timing from payment timing
• Recognize working-capital effects of operating choices
• Review decisions with differing financial effects

Day 2: Variance, Relevant Cost, and Management Choices

Budget Variance Analysis

• Compare results with budget at level
• Separate volume price and scope causes
• Avoid treating underspend as positive performance
• Explain a material variance to management

Relevant Cost for Decisions

• Ignore sunk costs in forward-looking comparisons
• Include incremental and opportunity costs appropriately
• Distinguish avoidable from allocated overhead
• Evaluate a short-term management choice

Applied Option Evaluation

• Compare alternatives across financial/service effects
• Make nonfinancial constraints explicit
• Use break-even reasoning for simple choices
• Prepare a recommendation supported by finance

Day 3: Financial Review and Decision Support

Forecasting the Remaining Period

• Update expected results using current evidence
• Identify commitments not reflected in spending
• Estimate year-end position from latest information
• Prepare a concise forecast update

Improving Management Reporting

• Select numbers requiring attention or action
• Explain causes rather than repeating tables
• Separate facts assumptions and recommendations
• Create a one-page financial decision view

Decision Support Simulation

• Receive planning choice with limited resources
• Build a quick financial comparison
• Answer questions on assumptions/cash effects
• Present recommendation to a manager panel

• Short finance cases designed for operational managers
• Budget and option-comparison models using accessible assumptions
• Variance exercises linking figures with actual operating causes
• A decision-support simulation ending with a concise recommendation