Understanding Finance and Accounting

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Pre-work for this class will be sent to students within 2 weeks of the course. 

Dates And Location
The Program
Program Objectives
Topics
Fee
Program Schedule
Who Should Attend
Teaching Method
Faculty

Dates and Locations

The course runs from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM each day.

June 3-5, 2009

Click Here to Register

Face to Face session:
University Park Campus
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Live Link session:
Orange County Center
University of Southern California
Irvine, California
Note: LiveLink sessions are broadcasted in real time to the USC Orange County facility.

October 21-23, 2009

Click Here to Register

Face to Face session:
University Park Campus
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Live Link session:
Orange County Center
University of Southern California
Irvine, California
Note: LiveLink sessions are broadcasted in real time to the USC Orange County facility.

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The Program

A three-day program for experienced managers in marketing, sales, production, engineering, R & D, human resources and others who do not have financial backgrounds but want to expand their knowledge of finance and financial measures of performance. Participants will gain both competence and confidence in their interactions with financial colleagues and senior executives. Top finance and accounting faculty members conduct the course with a real world perspective and a focus on immediate transferability of skills.

Understanding Finance and Accounting will equip non-financial managers with the financial knowledge necessary to communicate more effectively with financial managers, analyze financial statements and understand how they relate, interpret a company's profitability, solvency and liquidity, explore the sources and costs of capital and the factors of investment decisions, and learn valuation principles and their impact on the value drivers of the firm.

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Program Objectives

To equip non-financial managers with the financial knowledge necessary to communicate more effectively with financial managers, analyze financial statements and understand how they relate, interpret a company's profitability, solvency and liquidity, explore the sources and costs of capital and the factors of investment decisions, and learn valuation principles and their impact on the value drivers of the firm.

Participants will learn to:

• Communicate more effectively with financial managers
• Analyze financial statements and understand how they relate
• Interpret a company's profitability, solvency and liquidity
• Explore the sources and costs of capital and factors of investment decisions
• Resolve specific personal challenges in workplace
• Learn alternative business valuation principles and how they impact the value drivers of the firm

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Topics

• Overview of Financial Statements
  • The overarching objective of this first day is to provide the class with a basic grounding in the fundamentals of financial reporting and some insight into the process that generates financial reports. We begin with a big picture overview of the objectives and the outputs of the financial reporting system.
• The Balance Sheet
  • We now focus on gaining a basic understanding of the Balance Sheet with an eye to ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of what these financial reports tell us (and what it does not tell us). We discuss how this statement reflects some of the important concepts that underlie all financial reports, such as historical cost, conservatism, and the trade off between relevance and reliability.
• The Income Statement
  • We will look at the Income Statement, which captures firm performance over time, and turn our attention to understanding revenue and expense recognition issues. Importantly, we will look at the notion of 'Accrual-basis accounting,' a very old but very ingenious method of measuring the flow of wealth over time.
• The Cash Flow Statement
  • We will look at the Cash Flow Statements, which is a critical tool in evaluating management's investing and financing strategies and in understanding issues of financial health. In this portion of the day we will first spend some time attempting to understand the mechanics of the cash flow statement, and then move on to see how it can be used as a diagnostic tool.
• Financial Ratio Analysis
  • The financial statements tell a story, and a careful analysis of the accounting ratios can reveal the plot. This session demonstrates how information in the financial reports can be used to evaluate management performance, credit risk, and valuation issues. The majority of the session will be spent getting our hands dirty by unlocking some interesting mysteries contained in specific annual reports.
• Foundations of Finance and Introduction to Valuation
  • The sessions will begin with an overview of six basic tenets that are critical in measuring value and enhancing financial decision-making. Following those foundations, the session will allow us to explore the various basic, yet powerful, methods associated with present value and future value concepts - methods that allow us to measure what assets and liabilities are worth and to plan for future resource allocation.
• Pricing of Stocks and Bonds; Introduction to Capital Budgeting - Measuring Value
  • Using the concepts discussed at the earlier session, the material in this session will focus on applying the techniques in order to price fixed income securities, value stocks in a basic framework, think about P/E ratios, and estimate the value of capital expenditures on fixed asset investments.
• Issues in Forecasting Cash Flow
  • Forecasting cash flow is a critical element in estimating value. This session will explore some of the subtle issues involved in forecasting cash flow - in particular the need for external capital and the management of growth. Participants will be asked to complete estimates of cash flow and growth and discuss the assumptions they made to accomplish the task.
• Cost of Capital and Valuation
  • The final session will include estimation of the components used in calculating the cost of capital in a company. General issues and examples will be discussed, with participants being asked to apply those concepts in estimating cost of capital for a specific company and forecasting future value.

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Fee

$2,950 per person includes tuition, course materials and parking. There is a 10% discount for three or more registrants from the same company.

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Program Schedule

Note: Schedule subject to change.

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Who Should Attend

Managers in marketing, sales, production, engineering, R & D, human resources and others who wish to know about more about accounting and finance. Participants often use (or should be using) financial statements and want to develop more confidence in their analytical skills. No prior classroom experience in accounting or finance is expected, but familiarity with the general language of business will be assumed.

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Teaching Method

Using case studies, current business articles, in-class exercises, interaction and small group projects, our faculty will lead you to focus on the key knowledge and skills you need to understand and apply concepts to your organization's activities.

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Faculty

Mark L. DeFond, PhD, CPA is The Joseph A. DeBell Professor of Business Administration and Professor at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC). He received his PhD at the University of Washington in 1987 and prior to that was an auditor with the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche (formerly Touche Ross & Co.) for five years. He joined USC in 1987 and was on leave from 1995-97 to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Professor DeFond teaches financial accounting in the MBA program at USC and was recipient of the MBA Golden Apple teaching award in 1992, 1998 and 2000. He has also been ranked among the most outstanding MBA faculty in Business Week's Guide to the Best Business Schools several times. His executive education audiences have included management from Amgen, General Motors-Hughes Electronics, MCI, Nissan, and many others. Dr. DeFond has also taught in several Office of Executive Development Programs including Daimler-Benz Advanced Development Program and Finance and Accounting for the Non-Financial Manager offered via satellite to EXEN customers.

Professor DeFond's research interests include the earnings management, management performance evaluation, auditing, and international accounting issues. He is on several editorial boards and has articles published in academic journals that include Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research and Contemporary Accounting Research. He has recently completed a book on International Accounting Standards with an emphasis on applications in China and Hong Kong.

Ty Callahan is an Associate Professor Clinical Finance and Business Economics at the USC Marshall School of Business. He received his PhD in Finance in 1999 from the University of California Los Angeles. He received his MBA in finance from UCLA, his MS in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley, and his BS in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

His research is in the areas of financial market microstructure and information economics. He has published in the Review of Future Markets, IEEE Proceedings, and Journal of Physical Chemistry. He has been an ad hoc referee for the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Markets, and Journal of Empirical Finance.

He teaches in the areas of corporate finance, investments, and valuation.

He teaches in the undergraduate, full-time MBA, evening MBA, and executive MBA programs. Prior to joining USC, Ty was a faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin.

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Understanding Finance and Accounting has been approved for 21 CPE units in Accounting (8), Auditing (5) and Marketing (8).

Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group-Live
Advanced Preparation: None

For more information regarding refund, complaint and program cancellation policies, please contact our offices at 213.740.8990.