Corporate Finance Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Corporate Finance Analysts, Finance Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-058

Before you join: Participants should understand the main financial statements, basic accounting terms and percentage calculations.

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 teams must turn operating plans into decisions on investment, funding, liquidity and value. Weak assumptions, unclear cash-flow timing and inconsistent discount rates can cause profitable-looking projects to destroy value or leave a business short of cash. Finance professionals need to connect accounting results, market inputs and management choices into analyses that executives, lenders and investment committees can test. They must explain not only the numbers, but also the assumptions, risks and alternatives behind a recommendation.

This course covers the methods used to assess capital investments, estimate funding costs, value businesses and plan financing. Participants build from financial statements and operating drivers to free cash flow, project appraisal, weighted average cost of capital, discounted cash flow valuation and capital structure decisions. They learn to compare investment proposals using NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity analysis; distinguish enterprise value from equity value; and assess debt capacity, dividend policy and acquisition economics. The course also addresses financial modelling discipline, governance controls and post-investment review.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with worked calculations, case discussions, group analysis, financial-model reviews and decision simulations. Cases reflect the types of choices faced by corporate finance teams: a plant expansion, refinancing decision, acquisition proposal, working-capital pressure and board funding paper. Participants receive a certificate of completion and leave with a reusable corporate finance analysis pack containing valuation, investment appraisal, funding and financial-model templates. The course is delivered over five days in a classroom in 50+ cities or live online, with training days running from 08:30 to 16:30 and approximately 6.5 contact hours each day.

What you will be able to do

  • Calculate project NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity results from incremental cash flows
  • Build free cash flow forecasts from operating assumptions and financial statements
  • Estimate WACC using CAPM, market-value weights, debt costs and tax effects
  • Value a business using discounted cash flow, trading comparables and transaction multiples
  • Assess debt capacity, financing alternatives and capital structure trade-offs
  • Construct three-statement financial models with documented assumptions and error checks
  • Prepare investment committee recommendations supported by valuation and risk analysis
  • Conduct post-investment reviews against approved cash-flow and return assumptions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce investment cases that withstand finance and investment committee challenge
  • Explain why profit, cash flow and business value differ
  • Calculate discount rates and valuation ranges with defensible assumptions
  • Identify weak cash-flow forecasts before they affect funding decisions
  • Contribute credibly to acquisition, refinancing and capital allocation discussions

For your organisation

  • Improves consistency of investment appraisals across business units
  • Reduces value-destructive projects caused by poor cash-flow assumptions
  • Strengthens funding decisions through clearer debt capacity analysis
  • Creates more transparent valuation evidence for acquisitions and disposals
  • Improves governance through documented assumptions, approvals and post-investment reviews

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can interpret financial statements and identify the financial drivers of corporate value.

  • Financial manager objectives: value creation, liquidity, solvency and stakeholder trade-offs
  • Agency theory, governance controls and principal-agent conflicts in financial decisions
  • Reading income statements, balance sheets and cash-flow statements together
  • Accrual accounting adjustments that separate earnings performance from cash generation
  • Ratio analysis for profitability, liquidity, efficiency, gearing and investor returns
  • DuPont analysis linking margin, asset turnover and return on equity

Participants can forecast operating cash flow and diagnose working-capital funding requirements.

  • Operating cash flow reconciled from EBIT, taxes, non-cash charges and working capital
  • Free cash flow to firm versus free cash flow to equity
  • Working-capital cycle measured through DSO, DIO, DPO and cash conversion
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operational drivers
  • Scenario assumptions for sales, margins, collections and supplier payment terms
  • Cash-flow warning indicators: covenant headroom, concentration and refinancing dates

Participants can construct relevant after-tax cash flows for capital investment proposals.

  • Relevant cash flows distinguished from sunk costs and allocated overheads
  • Incremental after-tax cash flows built for investment proposals
  • Depreciation tax shields and capital allowances included in project forecasts
  • Inflation treated consistently in nominal cash flows and discount rates
  • Terminal value estimated through disposal proceeds, recovery and continuation assumptions
  • Project risk separated from financing effects under adjusted present value

Participants can rank investment proposals using value, return, liquidity and risk measures.

  • Net present value calculated using dated project cash-flow schedules
  • Internal rate of return interpreted alongside reinvestment and scale limitations
  • Modified IRR applied where conventional IRR produces misleading rankings
  • Payback and discounted payback used as liquidity screening measures
  • Profitability index compared when capital rationing constrains project selection
  • Sensitivity analysis tests value drivers, break-even points and forecast error

Participants can estimate discount rates that match the risk and financing of an investment.

  • CAPM estimates cost of equity from beta, risk-free rate and premium
  • Cost of debt derived from yields, credit spreads and tax effects
  • WACC calculated using market-value weights and consistent financing assumptions
  • Pure-play beta selection adjusts for business risk and financial gearing
  • Country, currency and small-company risks assessed without double counting
  • Risk-adjusted discount rates matched to project cash-flow risk
  • Certainty equivalents and scenario-weighted values compared with discount-rate adjustments

Participants can develop and cross-check a business valuation using accepted market and cash-flow methods.

  • Enterprise value reconciled with equity value, debt, cash and minorities
  • Discounted cash flow valuation built from forecast free cash flows
  • Terminal value tested using perpetuity growth and exit-multiple methods
  • Trading comparables selected by business model, growth, margins and geography
  • Precedent transactions adjusted for control premiums, cycle timing and expected operating benefits
  • EV/EBITDA, EV/EBIT and price-to-earnings multiples interpreted against peer accounting policies
  • Valuation range communicated with assumptions, cross-checks and decision implications

Participants can assess financing choices against cash flow, risk, cost and control considerations.

  • Capital structure choices assessed against business risk, tax and flexibility
  • Debt capacity estimated from cash flow, coverage ratios and covenants
  • Term loans, bonds, revolving facilities and asset finance compared
  • Equity issuance, rights issues and private placements evaluated for dilution
  • Dividend policy examined through payout capacity, investor expectations and signalling
  • Weighted financing plans align maturities, currencies and liquidity reserves

Participants can evaluate acquisition economics and identify the principal financial risks in a transaction.

  • Strategic rationale translated into standalone value and transaction objectives
  • Acquisition price built from target valuation, premium and financing costs
  • Accretion-dilution analysis models earnings effects, shares issued and funding
  • Purchase price allocation distinguishes goodwill, identifiable assets and deferred tax
  • Due diligence findings converted into valuation adjustments and deal protections
  • Integration costs, timing and operating benefits tested in transaction cases

Participants can build transparent financial models that support forecasting, funding and valuation decisions.

  • Three-statement financial model links operating drivers, financing and cash balances
  • Model architecture separates inputs, calculations, outputs and error checks
  • Driver-based forecasts connect volumes, prices, costs, capital expenditure and taxes
  • Base, downside and upside cases expose liquidity and covenant outcomes
  • Management dashboard presents value drivers, funding needs and key sensitivities
  • Audit trails document sources, assumptions, formulas and model version control

Participants can prepare governed finance recommendations and establish follow-through after approval.

  • Investment committee papers frame recommendations, alternatives, risks and required approvals
  • Decision trees quantify contingent outcomes and management flexibility
  • Post-investment reviews compare approved cases with realised cash flows
  • Variance analysis identifies forecasting bias, execution issues and corrective actions
  • Financial policies set delegation limits, hurdle rates and review thresholds
  • Personal application plan prioritises one live finance decision and stakeholders

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

What you take back to work

  1. Capital investment appraisal template
  2. Weighted average cost of capital worksheet
  3. Discounted cash flow valuation model
  4. Three-statement financial model structure
  5. Investment committee paper checklist
  6. Post-investment review framework

Who should attend

  • Corporate Finance Analysts — need consistent methods for valuation, investment and funding decisions
  • Finance Managers — need to assess business cases and present recommendations to senior management
  • FP&A Managers — need to connect operating plans, cash forecasts and capital requirements
  • Treasury Professionals — need to evaluate debt capacity, liquidity and financing structures
  • Investment Managers — need to test acquisition, expansion and portfolio investment proposals
  • Business Unit Leaders — need to sponsor capital requests using financially credible assumptions

Skills and tools covered

Investment appraisalBusiness valuationCapital structure analysisFinancial modellingCash flow forecastingFunding decision-making

Tools and standards

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Net Present Value (NPV)

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by worked calculations, case analysis, group exercises and decision simulations. Participants interpret financial statements, build cash-flow assumptions, test investment proposals and compare valuation approaches using realistic corporate scenarios. Financial models and board-style papers are reviewed for logic, assumptions and decision relevance. Facilitated discussion examines common errors in discount rates, terminal values, financing choices and business-case presentation. Each participant completes an application plan for a current or upcoming finance decision.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the main financial statements, basic accounting terms and percentage calculations. Experience preparing budgets, forecasts, management accounts or business cases is useful, as is confidence working with spreadsheet-based calculations. The course assumes that participants can interpret revenue, costs, profit, assets, liabilities and cash flow. Prior experience with valuation, CAPM, WACC, mergers and acquisitions, or advanced financial modelling is not required. Participants do not need a finance qualification, investment-banking background or prior corporate finance role.

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 be able to read an income statement, balance sheet and cash-flow statement, and be comfortable with basic spreadsheet calculations. Previous experience with valuation, CAPM, WACC or mergers and acquisitions is not required.

Bring a laptop with spreadsheet software if possible, along with a calculator and examples of non-confidential business cases or finance questions you face. Course materials and calculation templates are provided.

It is designed for finance analysts, finance managers, FP&A professionals, treasury staff, investment professionals and business leaders involved in capital decisions. It is particularly relevant for people who review or prepare investment cases, forecasts, valuations or funding proposals.

Financial accounting focuses on recording and reporting past transactions, while this course uses accounting information to make investment, financing and valuation decisions. Financial modelling is included, but the emphasis is on the corporate finance judgement behind the model.

You can use the templates and methods to assess a capital expenditure request, update a cash forecast, review a valuation or challenge a funding proposal. The final application plan identifies one current decision where you can apply the course methods.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and includes approximately 6.5 contact hours. The sequence moves from financial statements and cash flow through investment appraisal, valuation, financing, transaction analysis, modelling and investment governance.

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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