Accounting and Finance
for Managers and Entrepreneurs
Course Description
This course covers what everything business people and managers need to know about accounting and finance.
It is directed toward the businessperson who must have financial and accounting knowledge but has not had formal training in finance or accounting-perhaps a newly promoted middle manager or a marketing manager of a small company who must know some basic finance concepts. The entrepreneur or sole proprietor also needs this knowledge; he or she may have brilliant product ideas, but not the slightest idea about financing. The goal of the course is to provide a working knowledge of the fundamentals of finance and accounting that can be applied, regardless of the firm size, in the real world. It gives nonfinancial managers the understanding they need to function effectively with their colleagues in finance.
Completion Deadline & Exam: This course, including the examination, must be completed within one year of the date of purchase. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, no correct or incorrect feedback for any exam question will be provided.
Course Level: Overview. This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.
CPE Credits: 18 (CPA) Category: Accounting
Prerequisite: Basic Accounting Advanced Preparation: None
Course Learning Objectives
Chapter 1 Essentials of Accounting and Finance
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the non-financial manager’s concern with finance 2. Explain the scope and role of finance.
3. Articulate and detail the importance of finance.
4. List and define the responsibilities of financial managers.
5. Distinguish between accounting and finance.
6. Characterize and identify the financial and operating environments.
Chapter 2 Types of cost data and cost analysis
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the importance of cost data.
2. List and describe the types of costs.
3. Describe other cost concepts used for planning, control, and decision making.
4. Explain the concept of cost behavior.
5. Outline how to segregate fixed cost and variable cost.
6. Discuss and detail cost allocation.
7. Outline and compute the factors in cost analysis.
Chapter 3: Contribution Analysis
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Explain contribution analysis.
2. Describe how to price a special order.
3. Detail how to determine a bid price.
4. Explain how to determine profit from year to year.
5. Discuss the utilization of limited capacity.
Chapter 4: Break-Even and Cost-Volume Profit Analysis
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Illustrate the relationships among costs, volume, and profit.
2. Explain the what and why of break-even sales.
3. Define the concept of margin of safety.
4. Determine the cash break-even point.
5. Explain operating leverage.
6. Demonstrate how important sales mix is to profit making.
Chapter 5: Relevant Cost and Making Short-Term Decisions
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Explain relevant costs.
2. Determine how to accept or reject a special order.
3. Describe how to price standard products.
4. Make a make-or-outsource decision.
5. Determine whether to sell or process further.
6. Ascertain whether to add or drop a product line.
7. Utilize scarce resources more effectively.
8. List and explain the qualitative factors.
Chapter 6: Forecasting Cash Needs and Budgeting
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Develop and utilize sales forecasts.
2. Explain the uses of forecasts.
3. Outline the preparation of a financial forecast.
4. Discuss the percent-of-sales method of financial forecasting.
5. Prepare a budget.
6. Diagram the basic structure of the budget.
7. Describe a shortcut approach to formulating the budget.
8. State how an electronic spreadsheet can be used to develop a budget.
9. Demonstrate computer-based models used for financial planning and budgeting.
Chapter 7: Cost Control and Variance Analysis
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Define a standard.
2. Explain the usefulness of variance analysis.
3. Describe how to set standards.
4. Determine and evaluate sales variances.
5. Identify and list cost variances.
6. Explain the use of flexible budgets in performance reports.
7. Describe and give examples of standards and variances in marketing.
8. Clarify and compute variances in warehousing costs.
Chapter 8: Managing Financial Assets
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Define working capital.
2. Describe how to finance an asset.
3. Manage cash properly.
4. Get money faster.
5. Delay cash payments.
6. Compute the opportunity cost of foregoing a cash discount.
7. Take advantage of volume discounts.
Chapter 9: Managing Accounts Receivable and Credit
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe and give examples of credit references.
2. Develop and defend the credit policy.
3. Classify and analyze accounts receivable.
Chapter 10: Managing Accounts Receivable and Credit
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. List and explain inventory management considerations.
2. Articulate and utilize inventory analysis.
3. Determine the carrying and ordering costs
4. Develop and optimize the economic order quantity.
5. Avoid stock-outs.
6. Determining and utilize the most efficient reorder point.
7. Explain the concepts of the ABC inventory control method.
Chapter 11: Time Value of Money
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Determine future values and how money grows.
2. Describe intra-year compounding.
3. Explain and calculate the future value of an annuity.
4. Describe and calculate the present value.
5. Discuss the present value of mixed streams of cash flows.
6. Calculate the present value of an annuity.
7. Define perpetuities.
8. List and explain applications of future values and present values.
9. Use financial calculators and spreadsheet programs
Chapter 12: Capital Budgeting Decisions
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe the types and special features of capital budgeting decisions.
2. Explain each of basic capital budgeting techniques.
3. State how to select the best mix of projects with a limited capital spending budget.
4. Explain how income tax factors affect investment decisions.
5. List and utilize the various types of depreciation methods.
6. Describe and explain the effect of modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) on capital budgeting decisions.
7. Compute a firm’s cost of capital.
Chapter 13: Improving Managerial Performance
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Calculate the rate of return on investments (ROI).
2. Explain the basic components of the Du Pont formula –margin and turnover.
3. Discuss how to use the Du Pont formula for profit improvement.
4. Describe the relationship between ROI and return on equity (ROE).
5. Explain the concepts of financial leverage and the stockholder's return.
Chapter 14: Evaluating and Improving Your Department’s Performance
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Appraise manager performance.
2. Define a responsibility center and list the types of responsibility centers.
3. Differentiate between the ROI and residual income (RI) 4. Discuss how investment decisions differ under ROI and RI.
5. Explain transfer pricing.
Chapter 15: Sources of Short-Term Financing
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. State how to use trade credit.
2. Calculate cash discounts.
3. Obtain bank loans.
4. Deal with bankers.
5. Explain bankers’ acceptances.
6. Articulate how to take out a commercial finance company loan.
7. Outline the process of issuing commercial paper.
8. Explain the concept of receivables financing.
9. Detail and give examples of inventory financing.
10. Discuss and use other assets for financing.
Chapter 16: Considering Term Loans and Leasing
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe the use of intermediate-term bank loans.
2. Use revolving credit.
3. List and explain insurance company term loans.
4. Outline how to finance with equipment.
5. Utilize the benefits of leasing.
6. Make a lease-purchase decision.
Chapter 17: Long-Term Debt and Equity Financing
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe the process of investment banking.
2. Differentiate between publicly and privately placed securities.
3. State how to go public and prepare an initial public offering (IPO).
4. Define and make use of venture capital financing.
5. Explain and give examples of types of long-term debt and their usefulness.
6. Describe and give examples of equity securities.
7. Explain how to obtain financing on-line.
Chapter 18: Interpreting Financial Statements
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Prepare and explain the income statement and balance sheet.
2. List and discuss the components of the income statement.
3. Outline and explain the components of the balance sheet.
4. Develop and illustrate a statement of cash flows.
Chapter 19: Accounting Conventions and Recording Financial Data
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Explain the double entry system and the accounting equation.
2. Apply transaction analysis to simple business transaction in terms of the accounting model: Assets = Liabilities + Equity.
3. Prepare accounting records
4. Post accounts to the various ledgers.
5. List and explain the entries entered into the journal.
Chapter 20: Assessing Financial Health and Fitness
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Outline the what and the why of financial statement analysis.
2. Distinguish between horizontal and vertical analysis.
3. Discuss industry comparison and trend analysis.
4. Demonstrate how to work with financial ratios.
5. Prepare an overall evaluation and summary of financial ratios.
