Financial decision-making in practice

Two people in suits shaking hands, with only their hands and sleeves visible, against a blurred stone floor background

Course Dates

Key Features

Welcome week (Week 0)

Purpose:

personal introductions
introducing the course
useful reading
personal objectives

Learning outcomes:

The course will offer participants the opportunity to:

enjoy collaborating with finance colleagues and specialist finance advisors
appreciate and improve the financial dimensions of any self-employed work they do
learn whether a secondment or career in finance is likely to be enjoyable for them
get more of their proposals approved by financial specialist decision-makers

Teaching Week 1: Markets and our place in them

Purpose:

To gain a sound appreciation of markets, how the capital liabilities of organisations are assets in financial markets, and why communication with markets is so important.

Learning outcomes:

to understand the interaction of perceptions or organisational risk with the market mechanism
to appreciate how organisations' capital instruments are originated, and transacted in the market
to understand the fundamental importance of appropriate communication with the market
to attempt related self-assessment learning activities on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
contribute constructively to the related discussions on the VLE

Teaching Week 2: Shareholder value and other stakeholders

Purpose:

To grasp the fundamentally important concept of shareholder value, and its relationship with the interests of other stakeholders in organisations.

Learning outcomes:

to understand the key concept of shareholder value, its measurement and management
to appreciate the perspectives of other stakeholders in organisations
to understand how organisations and authorities seek to reconcile the interests of different stakeholder groups
to attempt the related self-assessment learning activities on the VLE
to contribute constructively to the related discussions on the VLE

Teaching Week 3: Making better friends with spreadsheets

Purpose:

To further improve the reliability and speed of your spreadsheet work to support and deepen your understanding of shareholder value, risk management and the presentation of proposals.

Learning outcomes:

to apply some of the enormous potential of spreadsheets to increase the speed, reliability and presentation of financial work
to increase the use of spreadsheets native functionality
to apply data table and chart analysis
to increase use of the keyboard when appropriate, in place of the mouse or trackpad
to attempt the related self-assessment learning activities on the VLE
to contribute constructively to the related discussions on the VLE

Teaching Week 4: Risk management

Purpose:

to gain comfort and confidence with risk identification, risk management and risk reporting

Learning outcomes:

to appreciate the meaning and importance of risk identification, risk management and risk reporting
to work with selected measures of risk
to apply your understanding to a mini case study
to integrate this understanding with your work in the first three weeks of the course.
to contribute constructively to the related discussions on the VLE

Teaching Week 5: Getting your proposals accepted

Purpose:

to appreciate how to optimise the analysis and presentation of your proposals to maximise the prospects for acceptance
to apply this understanding in a self-chosen case study

Learning outcomes:

to deepen your appreciation of the reasons why financial decision makers need detailed information about operational proposals, presented in conventional ways
to connect your understanding with your learning from weeks 1 to 5 of the course
to apply your deeper and broader appreciation of these concepts to a self-chosen case study
to contribute constructively to the related discussions on the VLE