Financial Decision Making for Managers Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Operations Managers, Department Heads 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-085

Before you join: Participants should have experience managing a team, project, service, contract, asset base or departmental budget.

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

Operational managers make financial choices every day: approving overtime, changing shift patterns, setting service levels, buying equipment, accepting customer terms, controlling stock and responding to cost increases. Without a clear grasp of financial drivers, decisions can improve an activity metric while reducing margin, weakening cash flow or committing funds to low-return work. Managers need to interpret financial information well enough to challenge assumptions, compare options and explain recommendations to finance colleagues and senior leaders.

This course develops the financial judgement needed to manage operations with commercial discipline. Participants learn to read income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements; distinguish fixed, variable and stepped costs; calculate contribution and break-even points; build operating budgets and rolling cash forecasts; assess pricing and customer profitability; and evaluate capital expenditure using payback, net present value and internal rate of return. The programme also covers variance analysis, working capital, risk-adjusted scenarios and business-case preparation.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked financial examples, group analysis, spreadsheet-based calculations, management simulations and sector-relevant cases. Cases may involve manufacturing capacity, public-service delivery, banking operations, procurement decisions, NGO programme funding or shared-service performance. Participants leave with a practical financial decision pack containing reusable templates for budgeting, cash forecasting, investment appraisal, variance review and business-case approval.

The course suits managers who own costs, service performance, projects, assets, contracts or operational budgets but are not finance specialists. It is particularly useful for professionals who must translate operational proposals into financial terms and defend decisions at budget, investment or performance-review meetings.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for operating decisions
  • Calculate contribution, break-even volume and margin effects using cost-volume-profit analysis
  • Prepare operating budgets and 13-week rolling cash forecasts from business assumptions
  • Evaluate capital expenditure proposals using payback, net present value and internal rate of return
  • Analyse budget variances using price, volume, mix and efficiency drivers
  • Assess pricing, customer profitability and service-level trade-offs using contribution analysis
  • Construct risk-adjusted scenarios and sensitivity analyses for management decisions
  • Present a financially justified business case with assumptions, benefits and decision criteria

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Speak confidently with finance teams about profit, cash, cost and investment assumptions
  • Challenge budget figures and performance reports using traceable financial calculations
  • Build stronger cases for staffing, equipment, process improvement and service changes
  • Recognise when operational gains damage contribution, cash flow or return on investment
  • Apply reusable financial templates to decisions immediately after the course

For your organisation

  • Better justified operating expenditure and capital investment decisions
  • Earlier identification of cost overruns, margin erosion and cash pressure
  • More consistent budget ownership across operational departments
  • Clearer links between service performance measures and financial outcomes
  • Higher-quality business cases submitted for management approval

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can interpret core financial statements and connect operational activity to financial results.

  • Income statement structure: revenue, gross margin, operating profit and net profit
  • Balance sheet relationships between assets, liabilities, equity and working capital
  • Cash flow statement reconciliation of operating, investing and financing movements
  • Accrual accounting compared with cash accounting for managerial decisions
  • Trace operational events through revenue, expense, asset and liability entries
  • Financial ratios for profitability, liquidity, efficiency and solvency assessment
  • Management accounts read alongside operational volumes, service levels and utilisation

Participants can analyse cost behaviour and calculate the financial effects of volume changes.

  • Fixed, variable, semi-variable and stepped costs classified from operating data
  • Contribution margin calculated per unit, customer, service line and product
  • Cost-volume-profit analysis linking volume, price, cost and operating profit
  • Break-even volume and revenue calculated from contribution and fixed costs
  • Margin of safety measured against forecast demand and capacity constraints
  • Relevant costs identified for short-term choices and special-order decisions
  • Make-or-buy analysis using avoidable cost, capacity and quality assumptions

Participants can prepare an operating budget that links activity plans to financial targets.

  • Driver-based budgets built from headcount, volumes, rates and productivity assumptions
  • Revenue plans translated from demand forecasts, prices and customer mix
  • Labour budgets calculated using staffing rosters, pay rates and overtime
  • Operating expense budgets separated into controllable and committed expenditure
  • Flexible budgets adjusted for actual volume and service-demand changes
  • Budget ownership assigned through accountable managers, assumptions and review dates
  • Rolling forecasts updated using actual results and revised operating drivers

Participants can forecast cash requirements and identify working-capital improvement actions.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Cash conversion cycle measured through receivables, inventory and payables days
  • Collection assumptions tested against customer payment terms and dispute patterns
  • Inventory cash requirements linked to reorder points, lead times and demand
  • Supplier payment schedules assessed against discounts, terms and liquidity needs
  • Working capital actions prioritised by cash impact, cost and implementation risk
  • Early warning indicators established for cash shortfalls and covenant pressure

Participants can assess pricing and service decisions using contribution and profitability evidence.

  • Cost-plus pricing distinguished from market-based and value-based pricing approaches
  • Price-volume trade-offs modelled using demand elasticity and contribution effects
  • Customer profitability assessed through revenue, service cost and payment behaviour
  • Product mix decisions ranked by contribution per constrained resource hour
  • Discount requests tested against incremental volume, margin and capacity effects
  • Service-level choices evaluated through cost-to-serve and customer-value analysis
  • Transfer pricing principles considered for internal service and shared-cost decisions

Participants can appraise asset and project proposals using recognised investment criteria.

  • Capital expenditure proposals defined through scope, timing, cost and benefit assumptions
  • Payback period calculated for equipment, technology and process-improvement investments
  • Net present value calculated using discounted future cash flows
  • Internal rate of return compared with hurdle rates and funding costs
  • Relevant cash flows separated from sunk costs, depreciation and financing charges
  • Sensitivity analysis tests volume, cost, timing and discount-rate assumptions
  • Replacement decisions compare operating costs, downtime, residual value and risk

Participants can diagnose performance variances and recommend financially sound corrective action.

  • Actual-versus-budget variances separated into price, volume, mix and efficiency
  • Labour variances traced to rates, hours, productivity and roster changes
  • Material variances analysed through purchase prices, usage and waste
  • Sales variances decomposed by price, volume, mix and customer changes
  • Waterfall charts communicate financial movements from plan to actual results
  • Root-cause analysis links financial variances to controllable operating drivers
  • Corrective actions assigned with owners, due dates and expected financial impact

Participants can incorporate uncertainty, controls and decision limits into financial recommendations.

  • Base, upside and downside scenarios structured around critical operating assumptions
  • Sensitivity tables show financial exposure to volume, price and cost changes
  • Probability-weighted outcomes calculated for uncertain project and contract returns
  • Decision trees compare staged investments, contingencies and abandonment options
  • Delegated authority limits applied to expenditure, contracts and investment approvals
  • Segregation of duties reduces error and fraud risks within payment processes
  • Financial risk registers record triggers, owners, mitigations and residual exposure

Participants can prepare a concise, evidence-based business case for a financial decision.

  • Problem statements quantify the cost, service and risk of inaction
  • Options appraisal compares financial returns, feasibility, risk and strategic fit
  • Baseline assumptions documented with source data, owners and validation dates
  • Benefits realisation plans define measures, milestones and accountable sponsors
  • Investment costs separated into one-off, recurring, cash and non-cash elements
  • Recommendation papers present decision criteria, financial analysis and approval required
  • Executive summaries state the proposal, rationale, value and key risks

Participants can convert a current operating issue into a financially grounded action plan.

  • Current operating decisions screened for material profit, cash and investment effects
  • Decision assumptions tested against available data and accountable subject-matter owners
  • Financial measures selected to track benefits, costs, timing and risk
  • Stakeholder questions anticipated from finance, procurement and senior management perspectives
  • Action plans sequence analysis, approvals, implementation steps and review points
  • Post-implementation reviews compare realised results against approved business-case assumptions
  • Personal application priorities documented for the first ninety workplace days

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

What you take back to work

  1. Financial statement interpretation guide
  2. Driver-based operating budget template
  3. 13-week rolling cash forecast model
  4. Capital investment appraisal worksheet
  5. Budget variance analysis dashboard
  6. Business case approval checklist

Who should attend

  • Operations Managers — accountable for cost, capacity, service and budget decisions
  • Department Heads — required to justify resource requests and performance actions
  • Project Managers — preparing financially credible project and investment proposals
  • Procurement Managers — assessing supplier terms, total cost and cash consequences
  • Service Delivery Managers — balancing service levels, staffing and operating margins
  • Technical and Engineering Managers — evaluating equipment replacement and capital expenditure

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement interpretationCost-volume-profit analysisBudget variance analysisCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalBusiness case development

Tools and standards

Cost-volume-profit analysis, Net present value, Internal rate of return, 13-week rolling cash forecast

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish core concepts, followed by worked calculations and facilitated case analysis. Participants interpret management accounts, build forecasts, compare operating alternatives and test assumptions using spreadsheet-based models. Small-group exercises examine realistic decisions such as capacity expansion, pricing changes, supplier terms and asset replacement. A financial decision simulation shows how volume, cost, working capital and pricing choices affect results. Each participant prepares an application plan for a current workplace decision.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience managing a team, project, service, contract, asset base or departmental budget. They should be comfortable working with percentages, ratios and basic arithmetic, and should understand the operational measures used in their own area, such as volumes, labour hours, utilisation or service levels. Prior accounting study is not required, nor is advanced mathematics, financial modelling expertise or knowledge of accounting software. Participants will gain more from the course if they bring examples of current cost, budget, pricing or investment decisions.

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 comfort with basic arithmetic, percentages and the operational measures used in your role. The course starts with how financial statements work and does not assume an accounting qualification or prior financial modelling experience.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus a current decision you need to analyse, such as a budget issue, staffing request, supplier proposal or equipment purchase. You may also bring non-sensitive examples of reports or data from your workplace.

It is designed for operations, service, project, procurement, technical and departmental managers with financial accountability. It is most useful for people who make or influence spending, pricing, resource or investment decisions.

This course focuses on decisions operational managers make rather than bookkeeping, statutory reporting or securities markets. It concentrates on costs, budgets, cash, performance variances, investment choices and business cases.

You will use the same calculations and decision structures for budget reviews, monthly performance meetings, investment requests and commercial proposals. The templates can be adapted to your organisation's reporting format and approval process.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme is organised as ten connected modules, with briefings, calculations, case work, group discussion, simulations and application planning distributed across the five days.

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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