Corporate Finance and Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Managers, Financial Analysts and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-100

Before you join: Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, profit and cash flow.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Corporate finance decisions determine whether an organisation can fund growth, protect liquidity, earn adequate returns and withstand financial pressure. Finance managers must translate operating plans into cash requirements, assess investments under uncertainty, select suitable funding sources and explain the financial consequences to senior decision-makers. Weak assumptions, poorly timed borrowing or investment cases based only on accounting profit can destroy value and restrict strategic options.

This course develops the financial management skills required to analyse performance, plan cash, value investment proposals and make informed financing decisions. Participants work with the three financial statements, ratio analysis, working capital measures, cash forecasting, cost of capital, capital budgeting and business valuation. They examine how dividend policy, debt capacity, financial risk and governance affect the choices made by finance teams, business unit leaders and boards.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked calculations, financial statement cases, team analysis and decision simulations. Cases reflect decisions such as funding a factory expansion, managing a seasonal cash squeeze, comparing lease and purchase options, and assessing an acquisition target. Participants build a reusable corporate finance decision pack containing a cash forecast, investment appraisal model, financing comparison, ratio dashboard and action plan for a current business issue.

The course suits finance professionals and non-finance managers who contribute to budgets, investment proposals, funding decisions or financial performance reviews. It is particularly useful for people moving into finance business partnering, treasury, controllership, divisional management or roles with accountability for capital allocation.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret financial statements to diagnose profitability, liquidity, efficiency and solvency
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operational cash drivers
  • Calculate working capital requirements and identify cash release opportunities
  • Evaluate capital investments using NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity analysis
  • Estimate weighted average cost of capital for investment appraisal
  • Compare debt, equity, leasing and retained earnings financing alternatives
  • Prepare a ratio-based financial performance dashboard for management review
  • Present a corporate finance recommendation supported by assumptions, risks and value drivers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce investment cases that distinguish cash value from accounting profit
  • Challenge forecast assumptions using financial ratios and cash drivers
  • Explain financing trade-offs confidently to senior managers and lenders
  • Identify working capital actions that release cash without harming operations
  • Build credible recommendations for capital allocation and growth proposals

For your organisation

  • Better investment selection through consistent NPV and sensitivity analysis
  • Earlier visibility of liquidity gaps through disciplined rolling cash forecasts
  • Improved cash conversion from targeted receivables, inventory and payables actions
  • Clearer funding decisions based on cost, risk, flexibility and debt capacity
  • Stronger management papers linking operational proposals to shareholder value

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can frame finance decisions around cash flow, risk, return and organisational value.

  • Corporate finance objectives: liquidity, profitability, growth, resilience and shareholder value
  • Agency theory and governance controls shaping management financial decisions
  • Cash flow versus accounting profit in value-based decision making
  • Financial manager responsibilities across investment, financing and dividend decisions
  • Risk-return trade-offs assessed through expected cash flows and scenarios
  • Value drivers linked to revenue growth, margins, assets and funding

Participants can interpret financial statements and identify material performance drivers.

  • Income statement structure, profit measures and operating performance interpretation
  • Balance sheet composition, capital structure and net asset position
  • Cash flow statement analysis using operating, investing and financing activities
  • Common-size statements reveal trends hidden within absolute financial figures
  • Ratio analysis covers profitability, liquidity, efficiency and solvency measures
  • DuPont analysis separates return on equity into operating drivers

Participants can diagnose working capital needs and propose practical cash improvements.

  • Cash conversion cycle calculated from receivables, inventory and payables days
  • Working capital drivers connected to sales growth and operating policies
  • Receivables ageing analysis identifies collection priorities and credit risk
  • Inventory segmentation uses ABC analysis and safety-stock assumptions
  • Supplier payment terms balanced against discounts, relationships and liquidity
  • Cash release initiatives quantified through baseline, target and implementation timing

Participants can build and use rolling cash forecasts to manage liquidity.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Direct cash forecasting distinguishes timing assumptions from profit forecasts
  • Scenario analysis tests base, downside and upside liquidity positions
  • Minimum cash balances and covenant headroom monitored through forecast outputs
  • Daily, weekly and monthly cash planning matched to business volatility
  • Forecast variance analysis separates timing differences, errors and changed conditions

Participants can connect operating plans, budgets and financial forecasts into a controlled planning process.

  • Driver-based budgeting links volume, price, capacity and cost assumptions
  • Integrated financial models connect income statement, balance sheet and cash flow
  • Flexible budgets isolate volume effects from spending and efficiency variances
  • Rolling forecasts update outlooks using current trading and operational evidence
  • Break-even analysis calculates contribution, fixed costs and margin of safety
  • Management reporting highlights material variances, causes, actions and owners

Participants can evaluate capital projects using cash-based investment appraisal techniques.

  • Relevant cash flows exclude sunk costs and non-cash accounting charges
  • Net present value discounts project cash flows at required returns
  • Internal rate of return compared with hurdle rates carefully
  • Payback period assesses liquidity exposure and capital recovery timing
  • Sensitivity analysis tests value against key investment assumptions
  • Decision trees model staged projects with uncertain outcomes and probabilities

Participants can estimate financing costs and assess the implications of funding choices.

  • Weighted average cost of capital combines debt and equity costs
  • Capital asset pricing model estimates cost of equity inputs
  • After-tax cost of debt reflects interest deductibility and borrowing margins
  • Target capital structure informs discount rates and financing policy
  • Debt capacity assessed through interest coverage, cash flow and covenants
  • Funding requirements mapped against project timing and working capital needs

Participants can compare financing sources and recommend an appropriate capital structure.

  • Retained earnings compared with external funding costs and constraints
  • Term loans, revolving facilities and bonds matched to funding duration
  • Equity financing assessed for ownership dilution and return expectations
  • Lease-versus-buy analysis compares after-tax cash flows and asset control
  • Dividend policy balances investor expectations, reinvestment needs and liquidity
  • Capital structure choices evaluated for flexibility, risk and financial resilience

Participants can apply core valuation methods to businesses, projects and transaction decisions.

  • Discounted cash flow valuation converts forecast free cash flows into value
  • Terminal value calculated using perpetuity growth and exit multiple methods
  • Enterprise value reconciled to equity value through debt and cash
  • Trading multiples compare EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales and price-to-earnings indicators
  • Comparable company analysis adjusts for growth, risk and accounting differences
  • Acquisition synergies separated from standalone value and integration costs

Participants can communicate financially sound recommendations with clear risk and control considerations.

  • Interest rate, currency and commodity exposures identified from business cash flows
  • Hedging purpose distinguished from speculation through documented risk policies
  • Financial covenants monitored using ratios, forecasts and lender reporting
  • Board papers present options, assumptions, value, risks and recommended actions
  • Investment post-audits compare realised results against approved business cases
  • Personal application plan prioritises immediate corporate finance improvements and owners

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. 13-week rolling cash forecast template
  2. Financial ratio dashboard template
  3. Capital investment appraisal model
  4. Weighted average cost of capital worksheet
  5. Financing options comparison matrix
  6. Corporate finance action plan

Who should attend

  • Finance Managers — need stronger analysis for funding, investment and performance decisions
  • Financial Analysts — prepare forecasts, valuation models and recommendations for management
  • Finance Business Partners — translate financial evidence into operational decision support
  • Treasury Professionals — manage liquidity, borrowing requirements and financial risk exposures
  • Controllers — oversee financial performance, capital proposals and cash discipline
  • Business Unit Managers — assess financial consequences of operational and growth plans

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement analysisCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalCost of capitalWorking capital controlFinancing decisions

Tools and standards

DuPont analysis, Net present value, Capital asset pricing model, Weighted average cost of capital

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor introduces each method through short briefings and worked financial examples before participants apply it to realistic corporate decisions. Financial statement cases build diagnostic skills, while group exercises test cash planning, investment appraisal and financing choices under changing assumptions. Simulations require participants to defend recommendations to a management team using evidence from models and ratios. Individual application planning connects course methods to a live budget, project proposal, funding question or performance issue from the participant's workplace.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, profit and cash flow. They should be comfortable reading a simple income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, and able to perform percentage and spreadsheet calculations. Some exposure to budgeting, reporting, project proposals or financial review meetings is helpful. Prior corporate finance study is not required. Advanced valuation, derivatives, merger modelling, programming and professional accounting qualifications are not required. Participants should bring a calculator or laptop with spreadsheet software if available.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic accounting terms and be able to read simple financial statements. The course teaches corporate finance methods from their practical starting point, so prior valuation or treasury experience is not required.

Bring a calculator and, where possible, a laptop with spreadsheet software. You may also bring a non-confidential example of a current investment, cash flow or funding issue to use during application planning.

It suits finance managers, analysts, controllers, treasury staff, finance business partners and business managers with financial decision responsibilities. It is designed for professionals who already encounter budgets, forecasts, investment proposals or performance reports.

Financial accounting focuses on recording and reporting past transactions, while budgeting courses focus mainly on planning and control. This course concentrates on decisions about cash, investment value, funding, capital structure and financial risk.

Participants can use the templates for cash forecasting, ratio review, investment proposals and financing comparisons. The application plan helps them select a current decision and define the data, stakeholders and next actions required.

The five days provide about 32.5 contact hours, normally from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided across ten connected modules, with instructor input, worked calculations, cases, group analysis and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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