Zodiak® – The Game of Business Finance and Strategy

Finance for Non-Finance Business Acumen Training for Managers and Employees

In today's corporate environment, business acumen and financial literacy of your managers and employees are essential to your company's success. Organizations that invest in business acumen training have a competitive edge because their people understand strategic objectives and how their day-to-day actions contribute to the bottom line.

Business Acumen - What is it?

Business acumen is an understanding of what it takes for a company to make money. It involves financial literacy, which is an ability to interpret the numbers on financial statements, as well as an understanding of the business strategies that impact these numbers. Higher level of involvement, ability to think strategically and the capability to position your company's products and services within your customers' business context are just a few of the positive outcomes of business acumen.

Consider using Zodiak to:

• boost your current leadership curriculum
• teach finance to non-financial managers
• help employees understand how they impact the company's financial health
• accelerate major change efforts
• establish a common foundation of business understanding
• improve employee ownership and/or profit-sharing programs
• enhance a business literacy "event"

The Business Simulation

Next, "Connection" to your organisation

The Zodiak simulation is powerful, but what follows - a two-to-three hour session known as Connections - makes the learning come to life. Participants use knowledge and insights from the simulation to look at their own company. They explore strategies, processes, financial concepts, terminology, profit drivers, cash flow, the competition and more. It's here that participants also connect to their own behaviours. The day to day decisions and actions that impact the bottom line.

By the end of the Connections session, participants will be able to:

• explain your company's key financial terms, ratios and financial drivers
• describe how the company's strategies are impacting the bottom line
• understand where their departments and their jobs, fit into the financial and strategic picture of success
• follow through on plans for on the job application of their new knowledge and insights.

Aims of the programme:

At the conclusion of Zodiak® participants will be able to:

• define and use common financial terms such as assets, liabilities, equity, depreciation, cash flow and others
• construct and interpret two basic financial statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet)
• explain the relationship and differences between profit and cash
• describe the importance of monitoring cash flow and demonstrate the ability to interpret a basic Cash Flow Statement
• compute and analyse key financial measures/ ratios (Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Return on Sales, Gross Profit Margin)
• explain how strategic issues such as lean production techniques, quality/ process improvement, accounts receivable and payable changes, and debt strategies impact the success of an organisation
• describe the importance of critical investments for the future, including research and development, balanced with the often competing need to reduce expenses and maximise profits
• explain the impact of product discounting and/ or price increases on profitability
• describe the term 'shareholder value' and explain its importance for an organisation.

Target Audience

Managers, supervisors, individual contributors and employees

Duration

One day and a half: To include the Zodiak® simulation and a Connections session back to the business.

Training Delivery

We'll Do It For You: Our experienced facilitators can conduct on-site Zodiak® sessions for you.

If you have more than 200 delegates per annum, your own experienced in-house facilitators can be trained and fully equipped to deliver Zodiak®.