How do you know if your department is doing well? What about your organization? More importantly, how can you contribute to the financial success of your department and your organization? The answer is by gathering, interpreting, and evaluating the financial data of your organization.
In today’s economy, organizations are doing more with less. They’re demanding more productivity from every employee and looking for every possible measure to improve the bottom line. And they’re expecting their employees to monitor and drive this process themselves.
Most business professionals offer special skills to their employers, and most of these skills are NOT related to accounting and finance. However, a basic working knowledge of financial statements and calculations is necessary to make sound decisions about all aspects of a business.
Financial statements and instruments reveal important information about your organization’s financial health by highlighting areas where your organization performs well and areas where there are opportunities for improvement. By learning how to read and interpret a few basic financial instruments, you can recognize opportunities to increase revenue and shave expenses, thus increasing your value to the organization.
By improving your financial know-how, you’ll empower yourself in many ways. You’ll know how to justify requests and translate performance into financial terms. You’ll be able to quantify your department’s contribution to the organization—and your own. You’ll communicate more effectively with your boss, upper management, shareholders, and other stakeholders about the financial results you have achieved and those you plan to deliver.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
- Identify the advantages of analyzing financial information.
- Understand the purpose and benefits of budgets.
- Differentiate among various financial instruments.
- Conduct horizontal and vertical analyses using your organization’s financial information.
- Recognize which ratios are most important to your organization.
