Balanced Scorecard

A growing number of managers are adopting new systems for measuring and managing their operations.  One of the more popular innovations is the Balanced Scorecard, which provides managers with financial and non financial measurements of performance based on the organizations critical success measures.  It is an ideal technique for implementing and monitoring complex organization strategies as it allows managers to track the results of strategy implementation.  This course will address such topics as the nature of strategy, translating the strategic vision into actions and implementing the Balanced Scorecard.

Redesigning the Finance Function

This course focuses on the critical issues in transforming the financing / accounting department into a proactive value adding function that contributes fully to the achievement of organizational objectives.  it will provide insights into how to move away the financial / accounting department away from its traditional role of transaction processor and scorekeeper role.  Course modules will address such topics as utilizing change management techniques, design human resource strategies, benchmarking and the employment of appropriate technologies.

Target Costing

Almost all costs related to providing a product or service are committed at the planning stage.  This course will look at how costs can be analyzed and controlled at the planning stage in order to develop a cost structure that yields a target level of profit.  Subjects covered in the course include how to look at a product or service on the customers perspective to determine what attributes have value and what do not, developing an appreciation of how costs become committed and how to implement a target costing system.

Strategic Cost Management

Strategic cost management addresses the processes for designing cost systems to achieve high levels of organizational performance.  The focus of this programme is to identify opportunities to reduce cost not just for the sake of cost cutting, but to ensure there is a consistency between a cost reduction programme and achieving the organizations strategic plan.  Topics covered in the course include the nature and practice of strategic cost management as well as implementing a strategic cost management programme.

Environmental Costing

The potentially huge costs of environmental remediation caused by inappropriate use of land and water resources have forced many organizations to consider the implications of such costs on their business risk calculations and ultimately on their cost of capital.   In addition, organizations are discovering they may be able to reduce costs by taking a proactive environmental stance by changing the nature or design of product or service.  This course examines the components of environmental control systems, the nature of sustainable economic development, the identification of environmental costs and environmental reporting.

Customer Profitability Analysis

An area of increasing interest is the role strategic financial managers can play in building customer profitability.  While organizations recognize that exceeding customer expectations is necessary, exceeding those expectations profitably is necessary for long term viability.  This course contains key concepts and issues related to understanding the determinants of customer profitability, illustrates how an analysis of customer profitability can be carried out, how to use customer profitability information to build a more profitable customer base and how to convert unprofitable customers into profitable ones.