Financial Management for Project and Contract Managers

Understand how finance, accounting and broader organisational operations can impact upon your project.

Public Classroom

Course Overview

With increasing competition and focus on corporate earnings, project managers are now being held accountable for profitability targets and other cost-related measures. This course explores commonly used financial metrics and the financial impact of operating decisions and actions. Learn about financial analysis tools in the project environment that link the project to broader corporate strategic goals. Understand how finance drives organisational decisions and evaluations of project performance and learn how the financial health of your organisation can be significantly affected by operating decisions regarding pricing and asset management.

This three-day course is so packed full of vital topics that many students refer to it as a “mini-MBA experience” and even veteran MBAs have praised it highly. Take advantage of this opportunity to get a firm grasp of the financial management issues that can affect your projects.

Course Topics

Click an indivdual topic title to expand/contract it or
Expand All Topics | Contract All Topics

1. Fundamentals of Finance
   1. Financial accounting concepts
   2. Generally accepted accounting principles
   3. Reading and understanding financial statements
   4. Financial analysis
   5. Managerial accounting
   6. Business case consideration
   7. Cost vs. revenue
   8. Profitability measures
   9. ROS
   10. ROA/EVA
   11. ROE
   12. IRR
   13. Time value of money
   14. Discounted cash flows
   15. Direct vs. indirect costs
   16. Fixed vs. variable vs. semivariable costs
   17. Break-even analysis
2. Contract Profitability – Pricing
   1. Pricing strategy and tactics
   2. Profit planning
   3. Cost estimating
   4. Cost-based pricing
   5. Market-based pricing
   6. Value-based pricing
   7. Profit objective
      • Market structure
      • Follow-on business
      • Risk
      • Z score
   8. Market structure
      • Follow-on business
      • Risk
      • Z score
3. Asset Management – Cash is King
   1. Cash
   2. Timing of cash flows
   3. Accounts receivable
   4. Inventory
   5. Equipment
   6. Revenue recognition
   7. Financing arrangements
4. Terms and Conditions (Ts and Cs) – Best Prices
   1. Value, cost, and risk
   2. Asset-friendly Ts and Cs
   3. Unfavourable Ts and Cs
   4. Metrics to evaluate
5. Cost Estimating – What Works Best
   1. Cost estimating methods
   2. Planning and scheduling
   3. Making sense of historical data
   4. Experience curves
   5. Relationship between cost estimating and pricing