Course Outline / Agenda

8:00-8:30 AM

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30–9:00 AM

Introduction / Program Overview

9:00–9:30 AM

Basic Principles of Accounting and Financial Reporting

• Distinctions between cash and accrual basis
• The basic chart of accounts for a design firm

9:30–10:00 AM

How to Read and Interpret an Income Statement and Balance Sheet

• The order and construction of income statement, balance sheet , and statement of cash flows
• Understanding the relationship between income statement and balance sheet

10:00–10:30 AM

How to Use Financial Ratios and Comparative Data to Analyze Performance

• How to calculate important industry financial ratios
• Putting those metrics into context by benchmarking against industry statistics
• How to interpret the metrics and relate them to the activity within the business

10:30–10:45 AM

Refreshment Break

10:45–11:30 AM

How to Use Financial Ratios and Comparative Data to Analyze Performance (continued)

11:30–12:00 Noon

Predictive Financial Metrics

• How to use forward looking metrics to proactively manage your business.

12:00 Noon–1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00-1:30 PM

Case Study Analysis (group exercise)

• Putting it all together in a group case study exercise

1:30–2:00 PM

Cash Flow Management

• Learn the importance of cash flow management
• What factors contribute or detract from positive cash flow
• Learn several methods for reducing accounts receivable collection time

2:00-2:30 PM

Sources of Capital and How to Fund a Growing Business

• Understand the basic sources of capital a business can employ
• What are their comparative costs, and risks
• What is the optimal capital structure for an A/E or environmental consulting firm

2:30-3:00 PM

Basics of Open Book Management and Incentive Compensation

• What is open book management and why should you be practicing it
• Learn what sort of information you should be reporting, in what form, and to whom
• The latest trends in incentive compensation
• Various forms of incentive compensation and their pros and cons

3:00-3:15 PM

Refreshment Break

3:15-3:45 PM

Tracking Important Information Not Appearing on Your Financial Statements

• Backlog
• Sales Funnel
• Undervalued Assets
• Non-monetary Assets

3:45-4:00 PM

Question & Answer Session

4:00 PM

Program Ends

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