Marcus Evans has launched the Financial Modelling: An Analytical Toolkit training scheduled to take place on the 12th & 13th of May 2014 at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Many professionals working in finance express their frustration with regards to ineffective training and massive amounts of data captured in hundreds of excel spreadsheets, which create room for human error to occur. This interactive and practical training event will help you master necessary skills to avert unnecessary mistakes that are made when modeling financial scenarios.

Course Facilitator David Flynn, professor at Rhodes Investec Business School, author and co-author of 7 texts in the field of financial accounting and financial management will be presenting the forthcoming training, covering multiple topics such as “Mastering the Financial Tools Available in Excel”. In this exclusive interview, we explore his expert opinion and view of the industry as well as his take on the job roles of financial managers.

What is your view and expert opinion about the upcoming training?

For too long financial managers have been preparing "the" answer to the daily financial questions which face them in relation to planning and decision making. These questions most frequently relate to matters such as cost control issues, budgeting for expenses or capital items, forecasting and so on.
This course promotes the concept of finding "AN" answer. This answer is obviously based on assumptions. Using the power of Excel it is then possible to generate a range of possible answers, subjecting them to "What If" analysis to create alternative scenario's and test their sensitivity to the possibility of changing conditions. Once the formulae and functions of Excel have been mastered for this purpose, far better decision making is possible. Moreover risk can be managed more effectively.

How relevant is the course content to the financial functions performed by employees in the various departments of a business?

The relevance of the course content ranges from enabling quicker and more sophisticated financial reports, to providing management with better quality information for project decisions. It harnesses the power of Excel to make more justifiable forecasts which can be justified on the basis that due diligence has been exercised.

Can you share a successful case study/story with us about your experience?

The most impressive and encouraging aspect of this course for me as the facilitator, has been the response of delegates who attended. The most common reaction has been surprise at just how accessible the power of Excel is, by just getting to know some of the tools in the kit. Similarly, the simplicity of the answer to the question "What is a financial model?" has been an eye opener for many. So, frequently the expressed feeling has been: Why did I not learn this earlier, it would have saved so much time!

Which topic or theme of this training interests you most? Why?

The theme of creating a range of possible outcomes is clearly the most powerful and interesting aspect of the course. Then, being able to document them in well organised and useful reports to management is an automatic consequence.

What role do you see from a financial manager evolving to in the near future?

It seems to me that there are three distinct roles which are involved in the function of financial management. The first is that of reporting what has already happened. This is useful only for the purpose of analysing the past in order to sense whether it can be replicated or improved in the future. The second is responding to plans by generating variance reports on which swift action is possible. The third is finding the optimal strategic intention of the business and making the correct investment and financing choices. These three areas require constant development, but most importantly swift response times to changing circumstances. The financial manager must therefore take great care to identify key indicators of performance and reporting protocols which adapt with great rapidity.

How would you advise business professionals in Southern African to respond to the complex financial situation in a challenging environment?

I love working in Southern Africa because there is so much opportunity for growth and development and it is ripe to seize them. It is one of the parodies of education that the better a concept is understood, the greater is the ability to simplify it. So the focus will be on the principle of "simplicity" based on understanding. Couple this with due diligence in all planning….. is a winning formula for successful business.

Any added views you wish to highlight at this training?

Yes indeed. Although training required concentration and effort…. It should above all be fun. This training aims to make learning fun…. time will always be a challenge. All delegates will therefore have enough templates to take home from the course and practice for perfection in the weeks thereafter.
David Flynn: Formerly Professor and Head of the Department of the Department of Accounting at the University of Cape Town, latterly Head of Equity Research at Old Mutual Asset Managers, author and consultant.