Financial Crisis Decision Making Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Managers, Financial Controllers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-145

Before you join: Participants should understand core financial statements, budgeting, cash flow and basic financial ratios.

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

Financial crises force finance teams to make high-consequence decisions with incomplete information, declining liquidity and pressure from lenders, suppliers, boards and regulators. A delayed payment decision, unsupported forecast or poorly managed covenant breach can rapidly affect payroll, trading continuity and stakeholder confidence. Finance professionals need a disciplined way to diagnose financial distress, establish the facts, protect cash and present decision options that can withstand challenge.

This course develops the financial management methods used to support decisions during liquidity pressure, deteriorating trading performance, funding constraints and business turnaround. Participants build 13-week cash forecasts, assess working-capital opportunities, model downside scenarios, monitor covenant headroom and compare funding, cost-reduction and restructuring options. They learn how to distinguish solvency from liquidity issues, identify root causes, set escalation triggers and translate financial analysis into clear recommendations for executives, boards and creditors.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with financial case work, group analysis, crisis simulations and structured decision discussions. Participants work with realistic management accounts, cash positions, lender requirements and operational data drawn from corporate, public-sector and regulated-business settings. They leave with a reusable financial crisis decision-support pack containing a rolling cash forecast structure, liquidity dashboard, scenario model, stakeholder map, decision log and 90-day recovery roadmap. Successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is designed for finance professionals who contribute to cash management, forecasting, reporting, treasury, business partnering or turnaround activity. It is also relevant to operational leaders who must understand the financial evidence behind urgent trading, supplier, investment and cost decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operating and banking data
  • Diagnose liquidity, solvency and working-capital pressures using financial indicators
  • Model base, downside and severe scenarios in an integrated three-statement model
  • Evaluate covenant headroom, debt-service requirements and funding alternatives
  • Prioritise cash-preservation actions using a cash waterfall and working-capital analysis
  • Prepare board-ready decision papers supported by assumptions, risks and recommendations
  • Design crisis governance, escalation thresholds and stakeholder communication protocols
  • Produce a 90-day recovery roadmap with accountable actions and review milestones

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible cash-prioritisation decisions during liquidity pressure
  • Present financial crisis options clearly to senior decision makers
  • Identify forecast weaknesses before they become funding problems
  • Contribute confidently to lender, supplier and board discussions
  • Build practical turnaround credentials for finance leadership roles

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of liquidity gaps, covenant risks and deteriorating collections
  • More reliable short-term cash forecasts for operational and funding decisions
  • Faster escalation of material financial issues to accountable leaders
  • Better evidence for lender negotiations, supplier discussions and board decisions
  • Clearer recovery actions linked to cash, profit and working-capital outcomes

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish the main forms of financial distress and establish a fact base for urgent decisions.

  • Liquidity, solvency and profitability signals distinguished using audited financial statements
  • Early-warning indicator dashboard combining covenant headroom, arrears, churn and cash burn
  • Altman Z-score assumptions, limitations and interpretation for non-manufacturing businesses
  • Root-cause analysis separates market shock, operational failure, funding and governance causes
  • Materiality thresholds identify decisions requiring immediate escalation to senior leadership
  • Fact base reconciles management accounts, bank positions, forecasts and operational data

Participants can construct and govern a short-term cash forecast for daily liquidity decisions.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Direct-method cash forecasting distinguishes committed, probable and contingent movements
  • Daily liquidity dashboard tracks opening cash, inflows, outflows and headroom
  • Cash waterfall prioritises payroll, taxes, critical suppliers and debt service
  • Forecast variance analysis isolates timing errors, optimism bias and missing obligations
  • Bank reconciliation controls confirm usable balances before payment-release decisions

Participants can identify and prioritise working-capital actions without damaging critical trading relationships.

  • Working-capital diagnostic links order-to-cash, procure-to-pay and inventory conversion cycles
  • Receivables ageing segments disputes, concentration risk, collectability and collection actions
  • Supplier payment strategy balances liquidity preservation, continuity and contractual consequences
  • Inventory triage identifies obsolete stock, critical items and release opportunities
  • Cash conversion cycle calculations expose operational drivers behind liquidity pressure
  • Credit-control escalation matrix assigns owners, deadlines, authority and customer communications

Participants can test financial resilience and quantify the consequences of alternative management actions.

  • Integrated three-statement model connects operating assumptions, liquidity and covenant compliance
  • Base, downside and severe scenarios test revenue, margin and collection shocks
  • Sensitivity analysis quantifies cash impact of price, volume and cost changes
  • Break-even analysis identifies sales thresholds and fixed-cost reduction requirements
  • Going-concern assessment evaluates forecast evidence, financing access and material uncertainties
  • Decision tree compares intervention choices, triggers, owners and expected cash outcomes

Participants can establish decision rights, escalation routes and credible stakeholder communications during a crisis.

  • Crisis governance structure defines decision rights, escalation paths and meeting cadence
  • RACI matrix assigns accountability for cash, creditors, customers and workforce actions
  • Stakeholder map prioritises lenders, suppliers, regulators, employees and key customers
  • Board papers present options, assumptions, downside exposure and recommended decisions
  • Covenant monitoring calculates headroom, testing dates, waivers and breach consequences
  • Communication protocols protect confidentiality while maintaining credible stakeholder updates

Participants can assess funding choices and prepare financially grounded positions for creditor discussions.

  • Funding option appraisal compares revolvers, overdrafts, factoring, equity and asset sales
  • Debt-service schedule aligns maturities, interest, principal payments and forecast liquidity
  • Factoring economics assesses advance rates, fees, recourse and customer notification
  • Standstill negotiation preparation identifies concessions, conditions, evidence and fallback positions
  • Security and guarantee review clarifies ranking, enforcement risk and available collateral
  • Capital allocation matrix ranks survival investments, deferrals and discretionary expenditure

Participants can convert financial diagnosis into a sequenced turnaround plan with measurable outcomes.

  • Turnaround plan translates diagnosis into cash, operational and strategic workstreams
  • Cost-base challenge distinguishes structural savings from one-off spending deferrals
  • Zero-based budgeting rebuilds discretionary expenditure from justified service requirements
  • Portfolio review classifies products, customers and sites by cash contribution
  • Restructuring milestones sequence actions, dependencies, benefits, risks and accountable owners
  • Benefits tracking links initiatives to forecast cash, profit and working-capital effects

Participants can maintain proportionate financial controls while responding quickly to crisis conditions.

  • COSO internal control components assessed against crisis-related control failures
  • Payment fraud controls apply segregation, callback verification and approval limits
  • Delegated authority review resets thresholds for emergency procurement and commitments
  • Risk register records likelihood, impact, controls, owners and residual exposure
  • Contingency plans address cyber incidents, supplier failure and payroll disruption
  • Internal audit evidence supports assurance over emergency decisions and exceptions

Participants can produce concise reporting that directs attention to decisions, risks and accountable actions.

  • Management information pack combines liquidity, trading, risks, actions and decisions
  • Key performance indicators separate leading indicators from lagging financial results
  • Waterfall charts explain forecast movements to boards, lenders and executives
  • Decision log records assumptions, approvals, deadlines, rationale and subsequent outcomes
  • Exception reporting highlights threshold breaches, overdue actions and unresolved dependencies
  • Post-crisis review captures control improvements, lessons and policy amendments

Participants can prepare an actionable finance response plan for their own organisation or business unit.

  • Personal crisis response plan defines first 48-hour finance actions
  • 90-day recovery roadmap sequences cash, stakeholder and operational priorities
  • Trigger-based contingency plan specifies indicators, decisions and pre-approved actions
  • Forecast governance calendar schedules updates, challenge sessions and board reporting
  • Implementation risk assessment assigns mitigations, owners, dates and evidence requirements
  • Application commitments identify workplace decisions, sponsors and review points

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. Daily liquidity dashboard
  3. Financial crisis scenario model
  4. Covenant monitoring checklist
  5. Crisis stakeholder communication map
  6. 90-day recovery roadmap

Who should attend

  • Finance Managers — responsible for cash, forecasts and management decisions under pressure
  • Financial Controllers — need to turn financial data into credible crisis reporting
  • Treasury Managers — manage liquidity, banking relationships and funding constraints
  • FP&A Managers — develop scenarios, forecasts and recovery options for senior leaders
  • Business Partners — challenge operational plans and quantify financial consequences
  • Operations Directors — make cost, supplier and trading decisions with finance teams

Skills and tools covered

Cash flow forecastingLiquidity managementScenario modellingCovenant monitoringTurnaround planningCrisis governance

Tools and standards

13-week rolling cash forecast, Altman Z-score, COSO Internal Control Framework, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce crisis finance methods, followed by case analysis, group exercises, spreadsheet-based forecasting and decision simulations. Participants assess a deteriorating business using management accounts, bank information, receivables data, supplier obligations and lender conditions. They compare intervention options, prepare recommendations and test assumptions against changing scenarios. Structured peer review strengthens challenge skills, while application planning connects the methods to participants' own reporting cycles, liquidity risks and decision responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand core financial statements, budgeting, cash flow and basic financial ratios. Experience preparing management accounts, forecasts, budgets, treasury reports or operational performance reports is useful. Participants should be comfortable interpreting income statements, balance sheets and cash flow information, although advanced financial modelling is not assumed. The course does not require prior turnaround, insolvency, banking or restructuring experience. No specialist software, accounting qualification or legal training is required; spreadsheet-based examples are used throughout.

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

Participants should understand basic financial statements, cash flow, budgeting and financial ratios. Advanced modelling, restructuring and insolvency experience are not required.

Bring a laptop if attending in person, as spreadsheet-based examples may be used. Participants may also bring non-confidential examples of forecasting, cash flow or reporting challenges from their workplace.

It suits finance managers, controllers, treasury professionals, FP&A teams and business partners involved in urgent financial decisions. Operations leaders with responsibility for costs, suppliers or trading continuity will also benefit.

General cash flow courses focus primarily on routine forecasting and working-capital management. This course addresses decision making during financial distress, including covenant risk, stakeholder pressure, funding constraints, governance and turnaround planning.

Participants can use the templates to improve short-term cash forecasts, create escalation triggers and structure decision papers. The recovery roadmap helps them identify immediate actions and longer-term financial control improvements.

The five days contain ten modules taught in sequence, covering diagnosis, liquidity, working capital, modelling, funding, governance, turnaround and reporting. Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours.

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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