1 Educators providing Lean Manufacturing courses in Belfast

In today's competitive business world firms are under unprecedented pressure to deliver value to their shareholders and other key stakeholders. Senior executives in all parts of the organisation are finding that they need some degree of financial know how to cope with the responsibility placed on them as business managers and key decision-makers; monitoring and improving business performance, investing in capital projects, mergers and acquisitions: all require some degree of financial knowledge. The key financial skills are not as difficult to learn as many people believe and in the hands of an experienced senior executive they can provide a formidable competitive advantage. After completing this course delegates will be able to: Understand fundamental business finance concepts; understand, analyse and interpret financial statements: Profit Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Statement Understand the vital difference between profit and cashflow; identify the key components of working capital and how they can be managed to generate strong cashflow Evaluate pricing decisions based on an understanding of the nature of business costs and their impact on gross margin and break-even sales; managing pricing, discounts and costs to generate strong business profits; understand how lean manufacturing methods improve profit Use powerful analytical tools to measure and improve the performance of their own company and assess the effectiveness of their competitors Apply and interpret techniques for assessing and comparing investment opportunities in capital projects, business acquisitions and other ventures; understand and apply common methods of business valuation Understand the role of business finance in formulating and implementing competitive business strategy; the role of budgeting as part of the planning process and the various approaches to budgeting and performance measurement 1 Basic principles Delivering value to key stakeholders Accounting concepts, GAAP, IFRS and common terms Understanding and using the balance sheet Understanding and using the profit statement Recognising the vital difference between profit and cashflow Understanding and using the cashflow statement What financial statements can and cannot tell us 2 Managing and improving cashflow Sources of finance and their advantages and disadvantages What is working capital and why is it so important? Managing stocks, debtors and creditors Understanding how working capital drives business growth Understanding and avoiding the over-trading trap Unlocking the funds tied up in fixed assets: asset backed loans and leasing 3 Managing and improving profit Understanding how profits generate cashflow The fundamental nature of costs: fixed and variable business costs Understanding gross margin and break-even How common pricing methods affect gross margin and profit Effective strategies to improve gross margin Using value chain analysis to reduce costs Lean manufacturing methodsUnderstanding Just-in-time, 6 Sigma and Kaizen methods Improving profitEffective and defective strategies 4 Measuring and managing business performance Measures of financial performance and strength Investor behaviour: the risk and reward relationship Return on investment (ROI): the ultimate measure of business performance How profit margin and net asset turnover drive return on net assets Why some companies are more profitable that others Understanding competitive advantage: cost and differentiation advantage Why great companies failWhat happened to Kodak? Using a 'Pyramid of Ratios' to improve business performance Using Critical Success Factors to develop Key Performance Indicators 5 Budgeting and forecasting methods Using budgets to support strategy Objectives and methods for effective budgets Using budgets to monitor and manage business performance Alternative approaches to budgeting Developing and implementing Balanced Scorecards Beyond Budgeting Forecasting methods and techniques Identifying key business drivers Using rolling forecasts and 'what-if' models to aid decision-making

Having difficulty implementing '5S'? This workshop focuses on how to make '5S' meaningful to people, and how to link it with company goals. “5S, that’s just all about keeping things organized and tidy, isn’t it? Or maybe you have heard someone say: “Why make a big deal out of cleaning up?” But 5S is not really about the aesthetics of the work place, or even about the efficiency gains you will achieve (typically, 10% to 30% can be easily achieved). The real benefit of 5S is the introduction of standardised operational practices to ensure efficient, ergonomic, repeatable, safe ways of working. This brings many benefits: higher quality, lower costs, reliable deliveries, increased morale, and improved safety … to name but a few. It will also result in a highly visual workplace which contributes to achieving one of the most important results of 5S : making problems immediately obvious. 5S works by helping the team eliminate the seven wastes of lean manufacturing: Waste in Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Overproduction, and Defects.It is therefore one of the most powerful Lean Tools, and provides a stable foundation upon which to build all of your other improvement programs, Lean Tools and Practices. It is also one of the simplest to implement, and can be applied within your manufacturing environment, office processes or even within a service industry. 5S is a team approach and requires the participation of everyone within the area in which it is applied to be effective. Structure of the Course This one day course will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the 5S Process and how you can implement it to your organization. It's approach is based on the experienced gained by implementing '5S' in many organizations. It focuses on highlighting what makes '5S' programmes fail, how to engage your personnel in defining and deploying your '5S' strategy, and how to sustain it over time. This workshop looks at '5S' as an integral part of your day to day operational management system, rather than an activity to be managed as a stand alone project. Who Would Benefit from this 8D Approach? Owner-managers, managers at all levels in the organisation, especially team leaders, supervisors and middle managers. Delivery The workshop is delivered through virtual tutor-led live classes. Cost £200 + VAT Booking terms and conditions If you are unable to attend, please let us know 2 weeks in advance of start date. Refunds will be considered on an individual basis. Failure to attend will still require full payment. Ticket fee provides online access for one person only connected from one device. In-House Option This workshop can also be delivered in-house as a stand-alone training workshop or integrated into wider improvement activities. In-house training also provides the opportunity to tailor training to the specific needs of your organization and use an actual problem to demonstrate the methodology. Contact us for bespoke pricing at compete@cforc.org We will be happy to discuss Problem Solving in the context of your own business needs. If you are not yet a member but are already thinking about joining CforC, you can find more information on how to become a member and the benefits by clicking here.