Finance and Accounting | Program Description

Finance and Accounting for Media Professionals

Program Modules 

1. The trials and tribulations of how businesses grow
   1. Management issues
   2. Growth opportunities
2. Introduction to accounting; the accounting process; and financial statements
   1. Brief history and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
   2. The business cycle explored - operating, investing, and financing events
   3. Recording accounting events
   4. Financial statements for internal and external purposes
      1. Budgets
      2. The balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows
3. Performance measurement - ratio analysis and rates of return
   1. Operating - the cash cycle (days of receivables, inventory, and payables)
   2. Leverage - comparing interest and debt with dividends and equity
   3. Profitability - return on equity; return on assets, fixed assets, net assets, operating return on assets; operating profit margin ratio; common earnings ratio
4. Hands on! Calculate your company's performance measures from their published financial statements.
5. The nature of costs and short-term decision-making
   1. Comparing and contrasting
      1. Variable vs fixed costs
      2. Direct vs indirect costs
      3. Product vs period costs
      4. Relevant vs irrelevant costs
      5. Job costing vs process costing
   2. Contribution and breakeven analysis
6. Long-term decision-making
   1. The time value of money - why and how a dollar today differs from a dollar tomorrow
   2. Capital Budgeting decisions - should we out-source or keep it in-house?