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Michael Blackstaff is a leading teacher of finance to IT (and other non-financial) decision makers. His latest published book is 'Finance for IT Decision Makers, 2nd Edition'. His courses and books encapsulate in plain English his thirty years experience of the IT industry and its customers. He is a chartered accountant and a member of the British Computer Society. |
Overview
Some
organisations are able to invest their way out of recession; others
unfortunately are having to cut back, at least temporarily, by
disinvesting, cancelling or delaying IT or other projects. Fortunately
the same methods for determining their financial effect are applicable
to all these activities. The purpose of this practical seminar is to
facilitate the making of financially sound decisions about IT, whatever
the circumstances.
Learning
Objectives
By the end
of this seminar and workshop you should be able to:
- Construct an IT financial case from given data, whether for investment or disinvestment
- Evaluate an IT cost/benefit case financially
- Use various methods for financing IT
- Explain various other IT-relevant aspects of finance
- Interpret the Accounts of an organisation and explain how IT services, software and hardware are dealt with therein
- Explain some key financial ratios and their relevance in an IT context
- Understand those elements of financial jargon that are inescapable.
Finance fundamentals in a Nutshell
- The current business environment
- The financial jargon industry
- Businesses and nonprofit organisations
- Sources of money
- Uses of money
- What balance sheets tell you (and don't tell you)
- What profit & loss accounts tell you (and don't tell you)
- Profit is from Mars, cash flow from Venus
- A few useful financial ratios.
How to build an IT financial case
- Limitations of finance as a basis for decision-making
- The financial case as a subset of the business case
- Cash flow or profit as a basis for decision-making?
- When is a benefit not a benefit?
- When is a cost not a cost?
- Opportunity costs; sunk costs
- Will we be better off by taking this action, whether investing, cancelling or delaying?
How to evaluate an IT financial case
- How to take risk into account
- When is a pound not a pound?
- The cost of money; the time value of money
- Discounted cash flow
- Net present value (NPV)
- Internal rate of return (IRR)
- Return on investment (ROI)
- Shareholder value added (SVA)
- Payback and discounted payback.
Other IT-relevant aspects of finance
- Software; services; hardware
- IT Leasing and financing; residual values
- Off balance sheet financing - financial effects
- Depreciation of IT assets; upgradability
- Book values versus market values; loss on sale
- Outsourcing/insourcing - financial considerations
- Long-term contracts - revenue & profit recognition
- Budgeting.
Audience
Any
non-financial person who has to make or influence decisions about IT,
including:
- IT or user managers
- IT project managers
- IT procurement people
- IT sales people
- IT or business consultants
- IT technicians.
Please note: This seminar may also be of interest to some financial people for whom the making of decisions about IT is not an everyday occurrence and who may wish to brush up on knowledge that may be rusty.
Special Features
- This seminar is probably unique in bringing together in one place the various aspects of finance relevant to IT.
- The instructor is a qualified accountant who has worked in the IT world for over thirty years.
- The seminar encapsulates his practical experience gained during those years.
- The teaching method is "learning by doing"; the course includes many practical exercises.
- Participants receive a copy of Michael Blackstaff's latest book 'Finance for IT Decision Makers, 2nd Edition'.
