Business Skills Training Courses

Learn how to analyse performance and develop an effective business strategy.

Working in up to 4 teams acting as business consultants, participants focus on a case study of an underperforming company. By using their business analysis skills, the task is to define and then present a viable future strategy.

Stimulating and realistic, this case study provides practical hands-on learning in:

• Analysing business information and financial data
• Conducting a SWOT analysis
• Working with facts, not fantasies
• Thinking strategically about the market
• Working as a management team on key decisions

Learn how to apply your business skills to build a successful, profitable company.

Working in up to 4 competing teams and trading over a set number of rounds (weeks), participants apply their business acumen to identify and implement the strategic and tactical decisions to get this ailing company back on track.

Dynamic, challenging and fun, this computer-based business simulation delivers learning in:

• General business principles
• Developing a business strategy
• Teamwork and planning skills
• Analysing and interpreting simple financial data
• Impact of product range, pricing, quality and service
• Spotting opportunities and responding to competition

Learn how to apply your commercial and business skills to deliver positive results.

This sophisticated and interactive computer-based business simulation will stretch the very best in their commercial acumen and general business management.

With up to 5 teams operating in a dynamic and competitive marketplace, participants need all their business and financial management skills to win out against the competition in this tough simulation!

During this session participants will gain first-hand experience in responding to the issues, challenges and decisions involved in running a successful business, including:

• Making strategic decisions
• Forecasting and planning
• Analysing and interpreting financial results
• Controlling stock levels, quality and pricing
• Developing new products
• Understanding the UK market and competitors
• Entering new European markets
• Recognising financial implications of decisions
• Marketing and advertising
• Dealing with managerial issues
• Displaying effective leadership and team skills

Learn how to prepare, manage and monitor a budget.

• Planning – what and how?
• Different budgeting methods and when to use them
• Setting up and controlling a financial budget
• The behavioural side of budgets – what to look out for?
• Dealing with budget variances, analysing and reporting

Learn how to recognise and manage the fundamentals of the working capital cycle.

• The flow of finance in a business
• How profit is made
• Critical importance of cash flow and how it differs from profit
• Managing working capital – cash, inventories, accounts receivable and payable
• Differences between financial success and
  failure

Learn how to apply some proven models for strategic planning and decision making.

• Pros and cons in your business planning?
• Applying structure – clarify key issues; reduce complexity
• Finding order in chaos – the wood through the trees
• Useful analysis and planning models
• Practice applying the techniques

Learn how to make more effective business decisions based on sound financial data.

• The fundamentals of decision making on projects
• Making assumptions
• The importance of the ‘time value’ of money
• Understanding capital investment appraisal techniques – Discounted Cash Flow, Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and Payback
• Sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis

Learn how to complete a structured review of competitors in your marketplace.

• Business planning – why and how?
• Who are your competitors?
• Data collection sources
• Taking a competitor snapshot
• Monitoring and corrective actions

Learn how to understand EBITDA to maximise business profit and cash flow…

• EBITDA and how is it calculated?
• The drivers of profit and cash flow
• The nature of depreciation, amortisation, and impairment
• Using EBITDA for analysis, valuation, shares etc.
• How day-to-day activities affect EBITDA

Learn how create new business value by thinking and acting like an entrepreneur.

• How do entrepreneurs think and act?
• Benefits and risks of entrepreneurial style
• Barriers to entrepreneurial thinking
• Evolution v revolution?
• The 5 I’s of entrepreneurial thinking

Learn how to think and act commercially, and understand the financial and business impact of your decisions…

• Good and bad business decisions
• Think and act commercially
• The financial impact of business decisions
• Short term and long term trade-offs
• Profit and cash flow trade-offs

Learn how to plan and deliver successful projects.

• The role of project manager
• Project phases and planning
• Project management tools
• Avoiding the common problems
• Case study – applying the skills

Learn how to assess risk and make effective decisions.

• Understanding risk taking
• Phase 1: exploring risks and alternatives
• Phase 2: planning and preparation
• Phase 3: implementing the decision
• Scenarios – applying the skills

Learn how shareholders review business performance and make investment decisions.

• Shareholders and managers – different agendas?
• The fundamentals of Risk and Reward
• How shareholders measure performance
• Key drivers of share performance
• How financial markets view businesses

Learn how to engage with the right people in the right way in your project.

• Why stakeholder management?
• Identify your stakeholders (RACI Matrix)
• Prioritise your stakeholders
• Categorise your stakeholders
• Planning stakeholder communication

Learn how to apply the key principles for strategic thinking.

• Strategy – what and why?
• Stripping away the smoke and mirrors
• Key stages in strategic planning
• Strategic tools and techniques
• Case study – applying the skills

Learn how to understand and talk the language of business finance.

• Key terms and definitions
• Learning finance speak!
• A-Z glossary of key financial terms
• Accountancy basics – policies, principles and standards; why they’re the language of finance
• Understanding the key financial drivers of business performance

Learn how to interpret and make sense of business accounts.

• Essential accounting statements and how they work:
  i Profit and Loss Account
  ii Balance Sheet
  iii Cash Flow Statement
• Drawing up a basic set of accounts

Learn how to use business accounts to add value and inform decisions.

• Reading financial accounts and reports
• Using accounts to measure performance
• Recognising and using key financial ratios and KPI’s
• What the accounts say about your organisation
• Spotting early warning signs and taking action

Learn how different costs behave in different ways, and how they influence performance.

• Recognising different types of cost in different businesses
• Fixed and variable costs
• Activity based costing
• Using financial ratios to measure costs
• Break-even analysis