90 Courses

PowerPoint for Business in 60 Minutes   Course Description   Copyright Ross Maynard 2021   Course Description Welcome to PowerPoint for Business in 60 Minutes.   Microsoft PowerPoint has been around for nearly 35 years, and I am sure you are familiar with it, and have experienced many PowerPoint presentations – some good; many extremely tedious! Creating a business presentation in PowerPoint presents a number of challenges and there is a danger of “death by PowerPoint”. I recently attended a meeting which was supposed to be a planning discussion but which the person leading the meeting insisted on introducing with a PowerPoint presentation of 60 slides – mostly bullet points! We were hardly in the mood for action planning after that assault on our senses.  PowerPoint is good for presenting business results or for a training course, but you need to plan your slideshow carefully to avoid bullet-point boredom and to keep your audience engaged and interested. And that is the purpose of this course – to teach you PowerPoint techniques which you may not be familiar with, and which will help you improve the impact of your business presentations.   Less is more in a slide show so it is important to use techniques and effects which will help engage your audience and draw their attention to the points that matter.  In “PowerPoint for Business in 60 Minutes”, I cover six key topics that will help you produce more impactful business presentations: The best slide transitions and animations for business presentations The morph transition to make the narration of an agenda, or similar list, or a team photograph extremely slick and professional The Zoom effect to create a summary slide with hyperlinks to zoom into the section that you or your audience choose How to animate charts to highlight the key points you want to bring out How to embed Excel tables with slicers into PowerPoint, and why PowerPoint is not developed enough to make this useful for a business presentation How to turn your PowerPoint presentation into a video. This is the technique I am most often asked how to do.   This is not a full “PowerPoint from scratch” course: it assumes familiarity of Microsoft’s ubiquitous programme. Instead, the course takes only 1 hour of your time to focus on key techniques that can help you improve the impact of the presentations you create.   I hope you enjoy the course.     Key Learning Points  On completion of the course, delegates will be able to: Identify the most useful slide transitions and animations for business presentations Use the morph transition to draw the audience’s attention Create a “zoom” summary slide to jump to user-selected sections of slides Animate charts to highlight key points Embed a Microsoft Excel table in a PowerPoint slide Create a video with commentary of their PowerPoint presentation     Curriculum Lesson 1: Transitions and Animations Lesson 2: The Morph Transition Lesson 3: Zoom Lesson 4: Animating Charts Lesson 5: Excel Tables and Slicers in PowerPoint (or Not!) Lesson 6: Making a PowerPoint Video     Pre-Course Requirements There are no pre-course requirements     Additional Resources None     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in business processes and organisation development. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel     Questions What slide effect allows you to give the illusion of moving around a larger “page”? The Wipe transition. The Dissolve transition. The Push transition. The Fly-In animation   What does “Zoom” in PowerPoint allow you to do? Zoom creates the illusion of “zooming in” on a particular part of a slide Zoom creates a summary slide with hyperlinks to the individual slides or sections contained in the summary Zoom creates a smooth object animation from one slide to another to animate, for example, an agenda or timeline Zoom is used to highlight areas of a chart or graphic to draw the audience’s attention   What is the main problem with embedding a Microsoft Excel table with slicers into PowerPoint? The slicers do not work, and the table cannot be manipulated, in presentation mode in PowerPoint The table cannot be opened or manipulated in PowerPoint slide view Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint are incompatible with each other The file size created is too large for most business PCs to handle   When seeking to create an MP4 video file from a PowerPoint presentation, why is it advisable to record the commentary separately? PowerPoint’s built-in recording facility is unreliable and frequently crashes It’s much quicker to record the audio separately and then insert it into PowerPoint and save as a video file Separate video editing software needs to be used to improve the video’s look and sound where the audio is recorded directly in PowerPoint It removes the stress of commentating “live” on the presentation while recording it, and allows any mistakes and errors to be cut out  

Business Finance 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Business Accounting and Finance   Course Description   Course Description Three are three main reasons for business failure – an under-skilled management team; ineffective marketing; and poor financial management. Every manager, or student of management, requires a good grasp of business finance. This course will help.  Business finance concerns the management of the monetary resources of an organisation. There are two aspects to this: Raising the money to invest in the business Managing that investment properly to generate a return   Raising the money is about having an attractive proposition and managing the risk to investors. Managing the investment is about the financial controls and reporting of the business. This course covers the three main financial reports; financial performance indicators; and investment analysis.  This course will give you a good grasp of the key principles and issues in business finance.     Key Learning Participants in this course will learn: The history of business accounting Why businesses fail The two main purposes of business finance and accounting The key principles of business finance and what they mean What debits and credits are The three key financial statements for an organisation What the Balance Sheet tells you What the Income Statement (also called the Profit and Loss Account) tells you What the Cashflow Statement tells you Key financial performance indicators in business Analysing business investments   Curriculum L1 What is business finance? L2 Why businesses fail L3 The Principles of Business Finance Part 1 L4 The Principles of Business Finance Part 2 L5 The Balance Sheet L6 The Income Statement L7 The Cashflow Statement L8 A Business Finance Exercise L9 Financial Performance Indicators L10 Investment Analysis L11 Investment Analysis Exercise L12 Key Learning Points in Business Finance   Pre-Course Requirements None     Additional Resources None     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in business processes and organisation development. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

Dealing with Angry or Rude Customers   Course Description   Copyright Ross Maynard 2021   Course Description If you work in customer service in any way, then, from time to time, you are going to have to deal with angry or rude customers. This course will help you manage those stressful situations and support the customer as best you can. Anger is a normal and relatively common emotion caused by a perceived hurt or provocation. In some cases a customer’s anger or rude behaviour may be driven by the failings of your organisation or its products and services. In other cases, the problem may be outside your control but you still have to deal with the impact. In this course we look at anger in a customer service situation and how to deal with it. We review the nature and causes of anger; we look at how poor customer service can cause anger and what you can do to prepare your organisation to deal with anger. We cover the warning signs for anger and present a 12 step approach to dealing with an angry customer. We cover questions and short scripts that can help you start a discussion with an angry customer, and we consider why customers might be rude. Finally we look at managing the stress of dealing with an angry customer and finish the course with a review of the key learning points. I hope you find the course helpful.   Key Learning Points  On completion of the course, delegates will be able to: Understand the nature and causes of anger as an emotion. Consider their objectives when dealing with an angry customer. Help prepare their organisation for dealing with angry customers. Identify appropriate customer service metrics Work through a series of steps to deal with an angry customer. Use questions and short scripts to try to help a customer bring their anger under control . Consider why a customer might be rude, and how to deal with that rudeness. Understand how to manage the stress of dealing with angry or rude customers.     Curriculum L1: Anger as an Emotion L2: Your Objectives when Dealing with Anger L3: Poor Customer Service L4: Preparing your Organisation  L5: Warning Signs and What Not to Do L6: The 12 Steps to Dealing with Anger L7: Example Scripts for Angry Customers L8: Dealing with Rude Customers L9: Dealing with Stress, and Key Learning Points     Pre-Course Requirements There are no pre-course requirements     Additional Resources Copy of customer behaviour policy     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in business processes and organisation development. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

Description Microsoft Excel has hundreds, if not thousands, of functions and features. This course aims to cover some of the best – that is the ones I find most useful. In “Adventures in Excel”, I cover the simple-to-use but powerful functions that I use most often: Basic features including products and powers Key date functions including the calculation of due dates and days past due Generating random numbers and random dates The new IFS functions (new to Office365) Text functions The most useful logical functions and IS functions How to create a drop-down list The new XLOOKUP function Pivot tables   These functions are easy to use, and, unless your role is extremely specialised, they are probably the ones you’ll use 90% of the time. I hope you find the course helpful.   Learning Outcomes Participants in this course will learn: Basic Excel functions including SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, PRODUCT, POWER and SQRT Useful date functions including TODAY, EOMONTH, EDATE, and DAYS Generating random numbers using RAND and RANDBETWEEN; generating random dates; and randomly picking an item from a list or table The new RANDARRAY function in Office365 The new IFS functions in Office365 including AVERAGEIFS, MAXIFS, MINIFS, COUNTIFS, and SUMIFS Text functions including TRIM, LOWER, UPPER, PROPER, LEFT, MID, RIGHT, FIND, TEXTJOIN and CONCATENATE Logical functions AND, OR, and NOT and IS functions ISTEXT, ISNUMBER, ISBLANK and ISERROR How to create a drop-down list The new SORT and FILTER functions in Office365 VLOOKUP and the new XLOOKUP function How to create a Pivot table and analyse data with one     Course Requirements There are no pre-course requirements.   Additional Resources Course Spreadsheet with the examples covered.     About Ross Ross Maynard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. He is director of Ideas2Action Process Excellence Ltd and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant and facilitator. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses for accountants. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

New Excel Functions   Course Description   Ross Maynard     Description In the second half of 2020 Microsoft released a significant upgrade to the most used spreadsheet programme in the world. Microsoft Excel now offers the ability to handle dynamic arrays – functions that return a range of results that update as the source data changes. In this course, we discuss the power of dynamic arrays and introduce the new functions. The functions I am going to cover are: RANDARRAY- creating a table of random numbers or random dates UNIQUE – identifying the distinct items in a list SEQUENCE – listing numbers with a set interval SORT and SORTBY – new ways of dynamically sorting data FILTER – building the ability to filter data into formulae XLOOKUP – replacing VLOOKUP with greater flexibility IFS and SWITCH making it easier to construct IF statements The new CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN text functions   If you have an earlier version of Microsoft Excel then these functions will not be available to you and this course might not be for you. But if you do have a subscription to Office365 – either personally or through your work – I think you will find this course extremely useful.         Learning Outcomes Participants in this course will learn: What the new dynamic arrays feature in Microsoft Excel means How the new RANDARRAY function works How the new UNIQUE function works How the new SEQUENCE function works How the new SORT and SORTBY functions work How the new FILTER function works How the new XLOOKUP function can replace VLOOKUP How to build IF statements with the new IFS function How the new SWITCH function works How the new TEXTJOIN function can replace CONCATENATE and CONCAT How the new functions can be used in management reporting     Course Requirements There are no pre-course requirements.   Additional Resources Course Spreadsheet with the examples covered.       About Ross Ross Maynard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. He is director of Ideas2Action Process Excellence Ltd and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant and facilitator. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses for accountants. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

The Birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain 1707 to 1830   Course Description   Introduction The Industrial Revolution started in Britain in the eighteenth century. A number of factors converged to create the conditions for developments in industry and science. Agricultural improvements created a cadre of wealthy landowners with money to invest. Improved educational opportunities, particularly in Scotland, created a broader set of young people with ideas and ambition. Greater religious freedom allowed individuals of talent to develop businesses. Interest in science and technology blossomed and the birth of the coffee house culture brought people with ideas into the orbit of those with money. But it was not all rosy. The new culture of ideas and experimentation was almost entirely limited to men. A woman’s place was seen to be in the home. At the same time the slave trade flourished providing much of the wealth for investment and, shamefully, Britain was a key facilitator in this odious business – and there were few voices of dissent at the time. And the poor lived short and brutish lives of hard physical work in grim conditions with an inadequate diet and very little healthcare. In this course I am going to take you through the key milestones of the early industrial revolution – in the textile industry, in coal mining and iron production, in civil engineering; in the development of steam power and the birth of the railways.     Course Pre-Requisites There are no course pre-requisites.     What Students will Learn The history of the industrial revolution in Britain from 1707 to 1830 The factors that created the conditions for the industrial revolution Developments in the textile industry in the eighteenth century The development of steam as a source of power The birth of steam locomotion Developments in coal, coke and iron Civil engineering in the eighteenth century Scientific developments in the eighteenth century     Curriculum SS1 The Birth of the Industrial Revolution 6 mins SS2 The Textiles Revolution 13 min SS3 The Birth of the Steam Engine 10 mins SS4 The Age of Steam Locomotion 14 mins SS5 Fuelling the Industrial Revolution 10 mins SS6 The Engineering Revolution 6 mins SS7 The Scientific Revolution 18 mins SS8 Black Lives during the Industrial Revolution 5 mins SS9 The Birth of the Industrial Revolution 2 mins SS10 The Industrial Revolution History Quiz 19 mins   Total time: 1 hour 44 minutes     Additional Resources None     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in finance processes. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses for accountants. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

Safeguarding Course Information   Description This course provides a guide to the safeguarding procedures that medical practices and other service providers need to have in place to guard against abuse or neglect. Safeguarding procedures are needed within doctors’ surgeries, schools, nurseries, clubs and associations and any organisation dealing with children and young people, and vulnerable adults. This is not a course about the clinical detection or escalation of safeguarding concerns The aim of the course is to help providers design the administrative procedures in place that they need for safeguarding The focus of the course is the United Kingdom, but the principles covered in the course, and the procedures presented, should apply anywhere.     Course Pre-Requisites There are no course pre-requisites.   What Students will Learn The safeguarding procedures that organisations dealing with young people and vulnerable adults need The definition of Safeguarding The types of organisation that need safeguarding procedures The responsibilities of organisations for safeguarding Sources of information on safeguarding     Curriculum 1. What is Safeguarding? 2. Who is covered by safeguarding? 3. The Responsibilities of Service Providers 4. Key Decisions for Service Providers 5. Documents relating to safeguarding 6. Registration of new service users 7. Identification of Concerns 8. Proactive Analysis of Issues 9. Collaborative Review 10. Audit of Effectiveness     Additional Resources PDFs uploaded: What_to_do_if_you_re_worried_a_child_is_being_abused.pdf (328.0 kB) Scottish Government Safeguarding Guidance.pdf (4.1 MB) Working_Together_to_Safeguard-Children.pdf (2.3 MB) Making Safeguarding Personal - Guide 2014.pdf (277.9 kB)     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in finance processes. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses for accountants. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

Move up a Grade A Revision guide for students in all subjects at school, university and professional levels Course Information   Description Exams are a difficult time. Studying can be tedious and frustrating, but you have to put in the hours in to get the marks. There are no quick fixes, but you can get a better grade with a good revision strategy. This course presents the revision strategy I used to get the second highest mark in the finals of my accountancy qualifications and 10 A’s out of 11 exams through three years of accountancy study. The revision strategy is not complicated, and you still have to do the work – it’s not a magic solution – but it guides you through each phase of revision, and the exam itself, to help you get the best possible marks. I firmly believe that this revision strategy will get you a better mark than you would have without it. Thank you for your interest in this course. I hope this course will help you prepare for your exams   Course Pre-Requisites There are no pre-course requirements.   What Students will Learn How to structure your days and weeks during the revision period How to plan your revision An effective way to learn your material The importance of giving your mind a break – every day The importance of exam practice How to allocate the exam time over the questions How exam marks work To go for the marks, rather than for perfection What to do (and what not to do) on the day of the exam Tips for the exam A simple technique to reduce stress and boost learning     Curriculum SS1 Introduction and Agenda 3 mins SS2 Structure your Week 7 mins SS3 Start Each Day on a Positive Note 2 mins SS4 Revision Phase 1 2 mins SS5 Revision Phase 2 2 mins SS6 Give your Mind a Break 2 mins SS7 Revision Phase 3 5 mins SS8 Revision Phase 4 2 mins SS9 Exam Preparation 1 2 mins SS10 Exam Preparation 2 5 mins SS11 Emotional Freedom Technique 9 mins SS12 The Exam 5 mins SS13 Final Thoughts on Revision 6 mins SS14 Test your Knowledge 8 mins   Total time 1 hour    Additional Resources None     Course Tutor Your tutor is Ross Maynard. Ross is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK and has 30 years’ experience as a process improvement consultant specialising in finance processes. Ross is also a professional author of online training courses for accountants. Ross lives in Scotland with his wife, daughter and Cocker Spaniel

**Stay Updated with Proper Food Hygiene and Safety Knowledge: Achieve a 5-Star Food Hygiene and Safety Rating** Did you know that in 2023 alone, there were over 2,000+ reported cases of foodborne illnesses in the UK, highlighting the necessity for stringent food hygiene and safety measures? Are you aware that compliance with the Food Hygiene & Safety Act is not just a legal obligation but also a critical aspect of ensuring the well-being of your customers? Our comprehensive Food Hygiene Level 2 Course covers the fundamentals of food hygiene and food safety and legal requirements, providing you with a solid understanding of the Food Hygiene and Safety Act's importance in the UK. Regular updates are vital, especially with the evolving landscape of food hygiene and safety regulations and the need to meet the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Standards. Stay compliant, safeguard your business, and elevate your food hygiene and safety practices by enrolling in our Food Hygiene Level 2 Course today! Key Features: CPD QS Certified Food Hygiene Course Level 2 Food Hygiene Training Meets UK & EU Food Hygiene legal requirements Free Certificate Included Developed by Food Hygiene Specialist Lifetime Access Food businesses in the UK are required to adhere to EU regulations, particularly 852/2004, which pertains to food hygiene. This Food Hygiene regulation mandates that businesses in the food service sector must ensure that their staff involved in handling or preparing food are adequately instructed, trained, and supervised the food hygiene and safety to perform their duties effectively. Food Hygiene Level 2 Our Food Hygiene Level 2 Course covers essential aspects of food hygiene and food safety, from legal requirements to microbiological risks, dangers posed by allergens, and strategies for controlling food poisoning. It also includes modules on personal hygiene, HACCP principles, effective cleaning practices, and strategies for reopening businesses during COVID-19 by maintaining all aspects of food hygiene. Food Hygiene Course Curriculum Food Hygiene Level 2 Training Module 01: Food Hygiene and Food Safety Legal Requirements Module 02: Bacteria and Microbiological Risks Module 03: Physical, Chemical, and Allergenic Dangers Module 04: Food Poisoning and Strategies for Control Module 05: Food Spoilage and Proper Food Storage Module 06: Maintaining Personal Hygiene in Food Handling Module 07: HACCP Food Hygiene Principles and Managing Food Premises Module 08: Effective Cleaning Practices Module 09: Strategies for Reopening and Adapting Your Business During COVID-19 Learning Outcomes After completing this Food Hygiene Level 2 course, you will be able to: Recognise legal requirements and apply food hygiene and safety fundamentals for compliance. Identify bacteria, assess microbiological risks, and implement preventive measures. Evaluate and mitigate physical, chemical, and allergenic dangers in food handling. Develop strategies to control food poisoning, ensuring safe food consumption practices. Implement proper food hygiene for food storage Apply HACCP principles and practices in the food premises efficiently. Certification After completing this Food Hygiene Level 2 course, you will get a free Certificate. CPD 10 CPD hours / points Accredited by The CPD Quality Standards (CPD QS) Who is this course for? Food Hygiene Level 2 Food handlers Professionals in the food industry Food Business owners Catering, hospitality, and food retail workers Requirements No formal qualifications are required to enrol in this Food Hygiene course Career path Food Hygiene Level 2 Food Safety Officer Catering Manager Restaurant Supervisor Food Quality Control Inspector Hospitality Compliance Specialist Kitchen Hygiene Coordinator Certificates Digital certificate Digital certificate - Included Certificate of Completion Digital certificate - Included Will be downloadable when all lectures have been completed.

Our Business Transformation Courses are aimed at empowering business professionals with knowledge and skills needed to transform business operations using modern business techniques, information technology, data analytics, and software tools. Here, we offer a number of foundation, intermediate, practitioner, professional and specialist courses leading to certifications by leading chartered institutes across the world.