Finance & Strategy

In this 2-day finance & strategy business simulation, managers, executives and individual contributors who are engaged in budgeting, forecasting, strategy, and analysis develop strategic business acumen. This simulation is highly effective for teaching finance to non-financial managers, as well as leadership and management training.

FOCUS ON STRATEGIC THINKING
Leaders must put their skills to work to develop solutions to complex industry challenges. They will be tasked with creating a strategic solution to business problems related to competitive differentiation, production efficiencies, and niche markets. Participants will learn how to navigate competitive markets and build strategic awareness.

GAINING PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
Teams will collectively play the role of every business department, allowing them to develop strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. They will decide which customer profiles to target, what product mix to adopt, what prices to set, whether to increase capacity, how much money to borrow, and what R&D options to pursue. While working together as a company, participants will gain practical use of financial planning and analysis tools, including cash flow forecasting, budgeting, and ratio analysis.

‘FINANCE’ IS THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS
In the real world, each business department only sees a piece of the financial puzzle. This strategic business acumen workshop teaches everyone the language of finance. Participants will learn to use financial terms and statements and take away a common understanding of finance. With this knowledge, they will be better equipped to contribute to your company’s financial success.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In the Finance & Strategy simulation, decision-makers experience all the major roles in a company: production, R&D, sales and marketing, management, and finance. Learners develop decision-making awareness and understand how decisions in one business area can affect another. Throughout the executive leadership training and simulation, they will gain hands-on experience with financial planning and analysis tools required to run a successful business and develop strategic business acumen.

Management uses of financial statements
Separate management of cash and profit
Cost structure and capacity utilization
Control of working capital
How market conditions dominate business decisions
Planning with budgets and cash flow forecasts
Unit cost analysis
Break-even analysis

Income Statement analysis
The need to monitor industry (it will change!)
SWOT analysis
Strategic Opportunities and Financial Constraints
Foreign exchange & hedging (optional)
ROA, ROI, and other metrics for management
KPIs used at your company to gauge performance

“Consider daily quality decisions with awareness of overall impact to inputs & outputs to MFG environment & long/short term company targets.” — Group Leader Complex Quality, Honda

COURSE OUTLINE

How it Works

The Finance & Strategy simulation consists of six strategically complex business cycles. Each team has full decision-making power and is held responsible for its results.

In each cycle, teams develop and implement a strategic business strategy that incorporates real-world dynamics, including production capacity, customers, pricing, and financing. Managing all areas of the business allows participants to gain strategic business acumen and awareness.

Examining market drivers: supply and demand, niche marketing, quality
Competitor awareness, setting prices in a competitive market
Ongoing strategic analysis, updating the strategic plan in response to changes in the industry and in the marketplace
Budget and cash flow exercises
Monitoring cash flow
Maintaining the ‘books’ of the operating company (Income Statement and Balance Sheet)
Performance measurement and analysis
Posting, comparing, and discussion of results

Other activities include break-even analysis, SWOT analysis, income statement analysis and cost-benefit analysis.

Real-life Applications

Our Finance & Strategy simulation uses Visual Finance to teach leaders and executives complex financial concepts and strategic business acumen. Visual Finance is a graphic representation of your corporate financial position and industry analysis. Our simulation game board uses color, placement and volume to represent key financial numbers and relationships. The visual illustration makes it easy for participants to understand their financial standing at a glance.

After the business cycles are complete, we connect the learning from the simulation to the real world with a conversation that ties the simulation experience back to your company’s concerns, measures, and goals. We can also include additional exercises, including planning and analysis, and a discussion of key performance indicators (KPIs) to enrich the real-word learning of employees.

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