Financial Planning and Analysis: Monthly Cash Flow Forecast Modelling Course

Course Overview:

The Financial Planning and Analysis: Monthly Cash Flow Forecast Modelling course is aimed at equipping the participants with skills such that they can build cash flow models on a monthly basis through the use of Excel.

It is expected by the end of this course that the participants will construct and anticipate business cash flows on a monthly basis, through embedding various assumptions and formulas into the three key financial statements: income, balance and cash flow statements.

Teaching how to forecast operational, investment and financing cash flows, develop and maintain effective rolling forecast models, and how to use charts and graphs for effective presentation of cash flow profiles to the management, are the other important elements of the course.

This course is most suitable for participants who are working in financial planning, accounting or corporate finance as it will sharpen the level of modeling of the participants which in turn prepares them to undertake cash flow analysis and even reporting in real business situations.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this Financial Planning and Analysis:  Monthly Cash Flow Forecast Modelling training course, you will be able to:

• Apply a structured approach to monthly cash flow modeling in Excel
• Build up the assumptions and formulas required to forecast the business month-by-month
• Understand how to forecast the financial statements based on the business plan
• Calculate the monthly cash flow
• Analyze the impact of the forecast on the company’s balance sheet and capitalization
• Output relevant graphs to illustrate the cash flow profile to management

Who Should Attend?

Financial Planning and Analysis:  Monthly Cash Flow Forecast Modelling training course, is ideal for:

• Anyone working in Financial Planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, or finance departments is required to build monthly financial models in their job.  Career paths may include accounting, finance, treasury, and corporate development.

Course Outlines:

Introduction to Financial Analysis

• Financial Economic Decision-Making: The challenge
• Financial/economic analysis practice
• Understanding the value-creating company
• Shareholder and corporate value
• Business: A dynamic perspective
• Corporate governance and the agency problem
• Description: What information and data to use?
• Financial statements: Nature
• Financial analysis and decision-making: Context

Financial Modeling Best Practices

• Robust rolling forecast models
• Inputs and assumptions
• Processing and formulas
• Outputs and graphs
• Modeling best practices and tradeoffs
• Interactive exercise 1

Modeling Cash Flows (Review)

• Key learning objectives
• Operating cash flow
• Investing cash flow
• Financing cash flow & circular references

Building Your Financial Model in Excel

• Overview of the modeling process
• Time periods
• Historical assumptions and drivers
• Forecast assumptions and drivers
• Income statement: revenue to EBITDA
• Balance sheet: AR, inventory & AP
• Supporting schedules: PP&E
• Supporting schedules: debt schedule
• Completing the income statement and balance sheet
• Cash flow statement and cash balance

Enhancing Your Model

• Key learning objectives
• Conditional formatting
• Data validation
• Protecting the worksheet
• Auditing the model
• Charts and graphs
• Interactive exercise 2

see more: Financial Statements Consolidation and Investment Accounting Course