Strategic Commercial Awareness

This course is for managers who want to develop their commercial awareness, financial knowledge and strategic thinking in order to influence the direction of their business as well as deliver to their full potential.

Day one of the course provides the skills and insights to make sense of the company's financial position and performance.
Day two then considers the strategic thinking tools required to plot the forward course needed to maximise the potential of the business.

• An understanding of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, cash flow and statutory and management accounts

• Learn to correctly employ key financial ratios to analyse your business

• A practical definition of strategy

• Analysis tools to examine the current environment and capabilities

• Steps to devise a mission and vision statement

• Recognition of the skills and resources needed to achieve the vision

• Generation of appropriate strategic and tactical commercial objectives

• Financial analysis

• Finance - back to basics

• Overview of company structure

• Balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow

• Users of statuory and management accounts

• Basic accounting principles

• Ratio analysis - profitability/liquidity/efficiency/gearing

• Relating ratios to reality

• Thinking strategically

• Strategy

  • Definitions and types of strategy

• The five step strategic planning model

  • SWOT and PESTLE analysis

  • Defining success and the role of the mission and vision

  • What have we got to be good at to get where we want

  • Creating an identity and values

  • Translating into SMART objectives

• Translation into commercial plans

  • Forecasting and budgeting

  • Project accounting and discounted cash flows

  • Risk analysis

• Review

  • Strategic business planning

  • Improving margins through delivery value

  • Cost control and efficiency programmes

  • Short term action planning

  • Long term vision setting

All of our courses are worth 6 hours of CPD per day.

The course delivered everything that I hoped and more. The trainer was excellent & very knowledgeable. “

- Andy Rex

Port of Tilbury