Money Money Money. Dveloping financial skills through “Corporate Finance & Accounting For Managers” Module.

From 18 until 25 January, I attended the module on finance and accounting along with my executive MBA colleagues at Maastricht School of Management (MSM). For me as a non-financial person this module was one of the most difficult ones of the program. However, it think it was also a very important module, as knowing how to prepare and read financial reports will help any manager to make sound business decisions.

Corporate Finance

The first four days of the in total 8-day module focused on corporate financial management, which was taught by Dr. Angelo Corelli, Associate Professor of Finance at MSM. The course introduced us to key topics in corporate financial management, focusing on business valuation and value creation. Every day there was a split in two sessions where different topics were taught, discussed and practiced. I learned among others about the time value of money, bond valuation, capital budgeting, company valuation, cost of capital and short-term financing.

Accounting for managers

Joris Kersten of “Kersten Corporate Finance”, who is an independent consultant in Mergers & Acquisitions and part of MSM’s Adjunct Faculty was the lecturer in  the Accounting for Managers module. The course focused on the use of current reporting and accounting concepts in international business.

As financial skills are an integral part of the basic toolkit that any manager should have, I believe it is of high importance for all managers to understand financial reports. It is the basis for good managerial decision-making. Therefore, the classes were very hands-on where I practiced copiously with making and understanding balance sheets, income- and cash flow statements.

— Mazin

What I’ve Learned

• Discover how balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements are developed and how each interact
• Evaluate the financial health of a business using financial statements
• Prepare and evaluate financial forecasts to make strategic decisions
• Value a venture, project, or investment opportunity and perform a sensitivity analysis