Finance and Accounting Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Operational Managers, Project Managers 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-A-081

Before you join: Participants should be comfortable with percentages, basic arithmetic and simple spreadsheet 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

Finance and accounting decisions depend on more than reading a profit figure. Managers must understand how transactions move through the accounting system, why profit differs from cash, how working capital affects liquidity, and whether reported results support operational decisions. Without this foundation, budget discussions, investment proposals, supplier terms and performance reviews can be based on incomplete or misleading measures.

This course builds practical fluency in the core disciplines commonly expected in finance accounting fundamentals training. Participants work through the accounting cycle, double-entry bookkeeping, accruals, financial statements, cash flow analysis, budgeting, cost behaviour, break-even analysis, capital investment appraisal and financial ratio interpretation. They learn to read financial information with greater confidence, challenge assumptions, identify control risks and connect operational activity to financial results.

Instructor-led briefings are combined with worked calculations, financial statement cases, group analysis and business simulations. Cases reflect decisions faced by commercial, public-sector and non-profit managers, such as assessing a project proposal, diagnosing a cash shortfall and explaining variance against budget. Participants leave with a finance toolkit containing reusable templates for ratio analysis, cash forecasting, budgeting, break-even calculation and investment appraisal.

The course suits managers and specialists who work with budgets, cost data, financial reports or business cases but are not seeking technical accountant qualification training. It is equally relevant to finance staff who need a firmer working command of the links between accounting records, management reporting and operational decision-making.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply double-entry accounting to record routine business transactions accurately
  • Prepare income statements, statements of financial position and cash flow statements
  • Interpret profitability, liquidity, efficiency and solvency using financial ratios
  • Construct budgets and analyse actual-versus-budget variances using standard methods
  • Calculate break-even points, contribution margins and cost-volume-profit scenarios
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operating cash movements
  • Appraise investment proposals using payback, NPV and internal rate of return
  • Assess financial controls and identify common reporting and cash-management risks

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Read financial statements without relying solely on finance colleagues
  • Explain how operational decisions affect profit, cash and working capital
  • Prepare stronger budget submissions and evidence-based variance explanations
  • Evaluate project proposals using recognised investment appraisal calculations
  • Identify warning signs in liquidity, margins, receivables and inventory

For your organisation

  • Improves budget ownership and the quality of cost-control decisions
  • Reduces avoidable cash pressure through earlier working-capital intervention
  • Strengthens challenge of project proposals, forecasts and reported results
  • Creates more consistent use of financial measures across operational teams
  • Supports earlier identification of control weaknesses and reporting errors

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain how business transactions become reliable financial information.

  • Purpose of financial accounting, management accounting and corporate finance distinguished
  • Accounting equation links assets, liabilities and equity after each transaction
  • Double-entry bookkeeping using debits, credits and balanced journal entries
  • Source documents supporting sales, purchases, payroll and cash transactions
  • General ledger posting, trial balance preparation and error identification
  • Accounting periods, adjusting entries and the link to reported results

Participants can apply accrual accounting adjustments and explain their effect on profit.

  • Accrual basis accounting compared with cash basis reporting
  • Revenue recognition principles and timing risks in contract billing
  • Accrued expenses recorded before invoices arrive at period end
  • Prepayments allocated systematically across the periods receiving benefit
  • Depreciation calculated using straight-line and reducing-balance methods
  • Inventory valuation effects under FIFO and weighted-average cost methods

Participants can prepare and interpret the three primary financial statements.

  • Income statement structure from revenue through operating profit and net profit
  • Statement of financial position classified into current and non-current balances
  • Cash flow statement reconciles operating, investing and financing movements
  • Profit, cash and equity movements traced through linked statements
  • Notes to financial statements reveal accounting policies and material assumptions
  • IAS 1 presentation principles for comparability, classification and disclosure

Participants can diagnose financial performance using ratio analysis and trend comparisons.

  • Profitability ratios calculate gross margin, operating margin and return measures
  • Liquidity ratios assess current ratio, quick ratio and cash coverage
  • Efficiency ratios measure receivables days, inventory days and payables days
  • Solvency ratios evaluate debt levels, interest cover and gearing
  • DuPont analysis separates return on equity into key drivers
  • Trend analysis compares multi-period results against plans and benchmarks

Participants can use cost behaviour and contribution analysis to support operating decisions.

  • Fixed, variable and mixed costs classified from operating data
  • High-low method estimates variable cost rates and fixed cost
  • Contribution margin calculated for products, services and customer segments
  • Break-even analysis determines sales volume required to cover costs
  • Margin of safety quantifies exposure to revenue shortfalls
  • Relevant costing distinguishes avoidable costs from committed costs

Participants can build operating budgets and explain material performance variances.

  • Budget purposes include planning, coordination, control and accountability
  • Driver-based budgeting links revenue, headcount and activity assumptions
  • Flexible budgets adjust expected costs for actual activity levels
  • Sales volume, price and cost variances isolate performance drivers
  • Rolling forecasts refresh assumptions using current operational information
  • Variance investigation distinguishes controllable causes from timing differences

Participants can forecast cash requirements and identify practical working-capital improvements.

  • Operating cash conversion cycle connects inventory, receivables and payables
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Direct cash forecasting separates timing of cash from accounting profit
  • Receivables ageing identifies overdue balances and collection priorities
  • Inventory controls balance service levels, obsolescence and tied-up cash
  • Supplier payment terms assessed against liquidity, discounts and relationships

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

  • Relevant project cash flows exclude sunk costs and non-cash charges
  • Payback period measures time required to recover initial investment
  • Net present value discounts future cash flows at required return
  • Internal rate of return compared with hurdle rate decisions
  • Sensitivity analysis tests volume, price, cost and timing assumptions
  • Post-investment review compares approved assumptions with realised benefits

Participants can assess core financial controls and recognise common control failures.

  • COSO Internal Control Framework links objectives, risks and control activities
  • Segregation of duties reduces opportunities for error and fraud
  • Approval limits establish authority for expenditure and contractual commitments
  • Bank reconciliations identify timing differences, errors and unauthorised payments
  • Three-way matching verifies purchase orders, receipts and supplier invoices
  • Audit trails preserve evidence for transactions, adjustments and approvals

Participants can present financially sound recommendations and apply course methods to workplace decisions.

  • Management reporting connects financial indicators with operational performance drivers
  • Waterfall charts explain budget variances to non-financial decision-makers
  • Business case structure states options, assumptions, benefits, costs and risks
  • Scenario planning compares base, upside and downside financial outcomes
  • Materiality assessment focuses attention on decisions with meaningful financial effect
  • Personal application plan prioritises finance actions for the next quarter

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

What you take back to work

  1. Financial statement and ratio analysis template
  2. 13-week rolling cash forecast template
  3. Driver-based operating budget model
  4. Budget variance investigation checklist
  5. Break-even and contribution analysis worksheet
  6. Capital investment appraisal model

Who should attend

  • Operational Managers — need to interpret budgets, costs and financial performance
  • Project Managers — need to prepare credible business cases and monitor project spend
  • Business Unit Leaders — need to make decisions using profit, cash and return measures
  • Non-Finance Directors — need to challenge financial reports and investment proposals
  • Finance Analysts — need to strengthen core accounting and management reporting skills
  • Procurement and Commercial Managers — need to assess supplier terms, margins and cash effects

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement analysisBudget variance analysisCash flow forecastingCost-volume-profit analysisInvestment appraisalInternal control assessment

Tools and standards

IFRS, IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements, IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, COSO Internal Control Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish concepts, followed by worked examples using realistic transactions and financial reports. Participants analyse cases, calculate key measures, discuss decisions in groups and test assumptions through budget, cash and investment scenarios. Simulations show how pricing, credit terms, inventory and capital spending affect financial outcomes. Each participant develops an application plan linking course methods to a current reporting, budgeting or decision requirement in their role.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable with percentages, basic arithmetic and simple spreadsheet calculations. Some exposure to budgets, invoices, purchase orders, expense claims or management reports is helpful, but prior accounting study is not required. The course assumes participants can discuss their own department's activities, costs and performance measures. It does not require knowledge of bookkeeping software, advanced Excel functions, tax law, audit procedures or professional accounting standards in depth. Participants should bring a calculator if preferred; spreadsheet-based course materials are provided.

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 need confidence with basic arithmetic, percentages and simple spreadsheet calculations. The course starts with the accounting equation and double-entry logic, then builds toward forecasting and investment appraisal.

Bring a calculator if you prefer one and, where permitted, a recent budget, management report or business case from your role. Course templates and calculation materials are supplied.

It is designed for managers, project staff, commercial teams and finance analysts who use financial information but do not need professional accountant qualification training. It is particularly useful for people taking greater responsibility for budgets or business cases.

Bookkeeping courses focus on recording transactions and maintaining accounting records. This course covers those foundations, then concentrates on interpreting reports, managing cash, controlling costs and making operational and investment decisions.

Participants use the methods to review budget variances, test project proposals, forecast cash needs and interpret departmental results. The final application plan identifies specific actions for a current work requirement.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from accounting records and statements through analysis, budgeting, cash management, investment decisions, controls 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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