Financial Strategy and Capital Investment Masterclass Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Directors, Chief Financial Officers 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-088

Before you join: Participants should have substantial experience using management accounts, financial statements, budgets or investment proposals.

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

Senior finance leaders are expected to turn strategy into funding decisions, investment cases and clear choices under uncertainty. This requires more than calculating NPV or preparing annual budgets. They must determine whether growth plans create value above the cost of capital, decide how much debt capacity is prudent, compare competing projects, test downside exposure and present recommendations that directors, lenders and investment committees can challenge with confidence.

This masterclass examines the financial architecture behind growth, capital investment and risk decisions. Participants diagnose value creation using ROIC, WACC and economic profit; construct integrated forecasts; assess capital structure and liquidity; and evaluate investments through DCF, APV, real options, scenario analysis and simulation. The course also addresses portfolio governance, acquisition evaluation, turnaround funding, impairment indicators, board reporting and the controls needed to maintain decision quality.

Teaching combines focused briefings with financial case work, model-based analysis, group decision sessions and executive-level review discussions. Cases reflect decisions faced by banks, public bodies, infrastructure operators, multinational businesses and development organisations: funding an expansion programme, choosing between major projects, refinancing under pressure, acquiring a target and recovering a distressed business. Participants leave with a practical financial strategy pack containing reusable models, checklists and decision templates for immediate use in investment planning and executive submissions.

The course is best suited to experienced finance professionals and senior operational leaders who contribute to major funding, investment, transformation or growth decisions. It assumes comfort with financial statements and corporate finance terminology, then develops the judgement required to connect financial analysis with strategic choices.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose value creation using ROIC, WACC, economic profit and value-driver trees
  • Build integrated three-statement, liquidity and scenario models for executive decisions
  • Set capital structure and funding recommendations using debt capacity and covenant analysis
  • Evaluate investment proposals with DCF, APV, real options and sensitivity testing
  • Quantify uncertainty through scenario analysis, decision trees and Monte Carlo simulation
  • Prioritise capital portfolios using stage gates, benefit realisation and capacity constraints
  • Assess acquisitions and restructuring options using valuation, due diligence and cash recovery methods
  • Present board-ready investment papers with governance, control and challenge evidence

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging investment assumptions and management forecasts
  • A clearer method for recommending debt, equity and retained-cash funding choices
  • Stronger credibility when presenting capital proposals to senior decision-makers
  • Improved ability to identify value erosion before funds are committed
  • A reusable approach for assessing growth, acquisition and turnaround proposals

For your organisation

  • Better capital allocation across competing projects and strategic programmes
  • More disciplined investment cases with visible assumptions and downside exposure
  • Earlier identification of liquidity pressure, covenant risk and refinancing needs
  • Stronger governance over approvals, benefits tracking and post-investment reviews
  • Higher-quality board decisions on growth, acquisitions and restructuring actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose whether strategic plans create value and translate findings into financial objectives.

  • Value-driver tree linking revenue growth, margins, asset turns and financing
  • ROIC versus WACC analysis identifies value creation and capital drag
  • Economic profit bridges operating performance, invested capital and shareholder returns
  • DuPont decomposition separates margin, turnover and financing effects
  • Strategic financial objectives translated into measurable funding, return and resilience targets
  • Board-level finance narrative connects strategy, assumptions, trade-offs and decision rights

Participants can build planning models that connect operational assumptions, financial statements and cash requirements.

  • Integrated three-statement model links operational drivers, funding and distributions
  • Scenario architecture distinguishes base case, downside case and management actions
  • Driver-based revenue forecast reconciles volumes, prices, churn and contract timing
  • Working-capital schedules model receivables, inventory, payables and seasonal cash needs
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Variance bridges separate volume, price, mix, timing and execution effects
  • Forecast governance defines ownership, challenge cycles, approvals and version control

Participants can assess funding alternatives and recommend a capital structure suited to strategic plans.

  • Capital-structure diagnosis compares debt capacity, equity needs and refinancing exposure
  • Weighted average cost of capital estimates hurdle rates from market inputs
  • Trade-off theory tests tax shields, distress costs and financial flexibility
  • Debt covenant headroom modelled under earnings, liquidity and valuation downside
  • Funding-source matrix assesses bank debt, bonds, private credit and equity
  • Dividend and buyback policy evaluated against investment pipeline and liquidity
  • Financing term sheets compared through pricing, security, amortisation and controls

Participants can evaluate major investment proposals using valuation methods appropriate to the decision.

  • Free-cash-flow valuation derives enterprise value from operating assumptions
  • Discounted cash flow model applies terminal value and mid-year conventions
  • NPV, IRR, MIRR and profitability index compared for mutually exclusive projects
  • Adjusted present value separates operating value, financing effects and subsidies
  • Real-options analysis values deferral, expansion, abandonment and staged commitments
  • Sensitivity tables isolate critical variables, break-even points and value drivers
  • Capital-rationing decisions rank projects using strategic fit and scarce resources

Participants can quantify investment uncertainty and incorporate risk evidence into financial recommendations.

  • Probability-weighted scenarios quantify expected value, downside and funding consequences
  • Monte Carlo simulation models correlated drivers and distributional investment outcomes
  • Decision trees value contingent choices, milestones and irreversible commitments
  • Risk-adjusted discount rates matched to project-specific systematic risk
  • Certainty-equivalent cash flows distinguish business risk from financing risk
  • Risk register assigns owners, triggers, mitigations and residual exposure
  • Investment assurance gates define evidence thresholds before releasing capital

Participants can prioritise investment portfolios and maintain accountability after capital approval.

  • Portfolio map classifies mandatory, sustaining, growth and transformational investments
  • Capital allocation scorecard weighs return, risk, strategy and capacity
  • Stage-gate governance tests scope, cost, benefits and delivery readiness
  • Post-investment reviews compare approved cases, realised benefits and corrective actions
  • Benefit-realisation plans assign metrics, owners, baselines and review dates
  • Resource-constrained portfolio optimisation identifies highest-value feasible investment mix
  • Capital expenditure controls maintain authorisation limits, change control and audit trails

Participants can assess acquisition opportunities, valuation evidence and transaction value drivers.

  • Acquisition thesis defines strategic rationale, value sources and non-negotiables
  • Comparable-company analysis normalises multiples, accounting policies and capital structures
  • Precedent-transaction analysis adjusts premiums for control, cycle and market conditions
  • Purchase price allocation distinguishes identifiable assets, goodwill and deferred tax
  • Merger model estimates accretion, dilution, financing and ownership effects
  • Due diligence findings translated into valuation adjustments and deal protections
  • Integration value plan tracks cost, revenue and working-capital commitments

Participants can identify financial distress early and structure practical recovery funding actions.

  • Early-warning indicators connect covenant headroom, liquidity and operating deterioration
  • Cash conversion cycle diagnosis identifies receivables, inventory and payables interventions
  • Turnaround plan sequences cash preservation, creditor engagement and operational actions
  • Restructuring alternatives compare asset sales, amendments, equity and insolvency routes
  • Stakeholder map prioritises lenders, suppliers, employees, regulators and owners
  • Contingency funding plan specifies triggers, sources, approvals and communications
  • Recovery dashboard monitors cash, milestones, covenant tests and risk escalation

Participants can prepare controlled, transparent investment decisions for board and committee scrutiny.

  • Delegated authority matrix sets approval thresholds, escalation routes and segregation
  • Investment papers distinguish facts, assumptions, recommendations and unresolved risks
  • IFRS impairment indicators tested against forecasts, discount rates and headroom
  • COSO internal control principles applied to capital approval and monitoring
  • Management bias challenged through independent review, reference classes and premortems
  • ESG-related cash-flow assumptions documented with evidence, ownership and sensitivities
  • Board dashboards report returns, exposure, decisions and accountability clearly

Participants can convert course methods into a focused plan for an upcoming financial decision.

  • Strategic finance agenda prioritises decisions, dependencies, sponsors and deadlines
  • Investment committee calendar aligns submissions, reviews, approvals and follow-through
  • Personal stakeholder plan targets CFO, business leads, treasury and board
  • Decision-quality checklist tests evidence, alternatives, risk and recommendation clarity
  • Model review protocol checks logic, inputs, formulas and presentation
  • 90-day implementation plan assigns milestones, measures and accountability
  • Peer challenge refines proposals through structured questions and documented responses

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

What you take back to work

  1. Value-driver and economic-profit diagnostic template
  2. Integrated three-statement and 13-week cash forecast model
  3. Capital structure and funding-options assessment matrix
  4. Investment appraisal model with DCF, APV and sensitivity analysis
  5. Capital portfolio governance and benefit-realisation checklist
  6. Board investment paper and decision-quality checklist

Who should attend

  • Finance Directors — need to connect strategy, investment choices and funding capacity
  • Chief Financial Officers — require defensible capital allocation and board decision processes
  • Corporate Finance Managers — assess financing, valuation and major transaction alternatives
  • Treasury Managers — manage liquidity, debt capacity, covenants and refinancing exposure
  • FP&A Directors — build decision models linking operating plans, cash and capital needs
  • Investment and Programme Directors — sponsor major projects requiring disciplined business cases

Skills and tools covered

Value creation analysisCapital investment appraisalFunding structure designFinancial risk modellingPortfolio governanceBoard investment reporting

Tools and standards

Discounted cash flow, Weighted average cost of capital, Monte Carlo simulation, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short expert briefings to establish methods, followed by financial case work based on realistic executive decisions. Participants interpret operating data, build and challenge valuation assumptions, compare financing choices and test downside scenarios. Group exercises focus on investment committee debate, capital portfolio prioritisation and board-paper review. Simulations examine uncertainty, funding constraints and decision trade-offs. Each participant develops an application plan for a current or forthcoming financial decision in their organisation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have substantial experience using management accounts, financial statements, budgets or investment proposals. They should understand core concepts including profit, cash flow, balance sheets, discounted cash flow and cost of capital. Experience with Excel-based financial models is useful, although advanced spreadsheet functions are not required. This is not an introductory accounting or bookkeeping course. Participants do not need prior merger and acquisition experience, formal treasury qualifications, programming skills or specialist statistical software knowledge.

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 need experience with financial statements, budgeting, forecasting or investment decisions. The course assumes familiarity with core corporate finance terms, but it does not require specialist transaction, treasury or statistical modelling experience.

Bring a laptop for financial case work and, where permitted, a sanitised example of a current investment, funding or planning challenge. Participants do not need to bring confidential data, as all case materials are provided.

It is designed for senior finance practitioners and leaders who influence material capital, funding, acquisition, transformation or restructuring decisions. It also suits experienced operational sponsors responsible for major business cases.

Financial modelling courses focus mainly on spreadsheet construction, while introductory corporate finance courses concentrate on core concepts. This masterclass focuses on senior decision judgement: capital allocation, funding choices, uncertainty, governance and board-level recommendations.

Participants leave with templates for investment appraisal, cash forecasting, capital structure assessment and board papers. The final module helps them identify a live decision and set a 90-day implementation plan.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor briefings, financial analysis, cases, group decision sessions, simulations and application planning across ten modules.

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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