Financial Management of Projects

This course is designed to contribute to the under-pinning knowledge required to demonstrate the achievement of ICE Attribute 5

 A) Prepare and control budgets

At the end of the course, delegates will have an improved commercial awareness, having developed a clear understanding of profit, cash flow, and working capital. Delegates will learn how to introduce financial control and maximise project profit by avoiding common pitfalls, and improving cash flow.

On completion of the course, delegates will be able to

• Define and calculate profit ratios, margins and mark-ups.
• Improve budget accuracy.
• Examine variances, and identify reasons for those variances.
• Control project budgets, evaluate response options, and manage change.
• Distinguish between profit and cash
• Define working capital, and understand how to improve it.

• What is profit?
  • Gross profit and net profit.
  • Direct costs and indirect costs; variable costs and fixed costs.
  • Profit ratios.
• Profit Maximisation.
  • How to increase profit.
• Project Budgets.
  • Target profit
  • Common budgeting pitfalls and the effect on project profit/company profit
  • Difference between gross margin and mark up.
  Project Financial Management.
  • The relationship between budget and cost.
  • Variance analysis - labour variances, and third party variances
  • How to react to variances - advantages and disadvantages.
• Change Management
  • Contract instructions and variations.
  • Beneficial changes vs damaging changes
  • Managing client expectations
  • Managing financial changes
• The difference between profit and cash
  • What is profit?
  • What is cash?
• Liquidity vs Profitability
  • Working capital.
  • Working capital cycle
  • Cash management.
  • Forms of payment.
• Financial Control
  • Improving financial control
  • Improving budget setting and pricing
  • Reviewing and reacting to financial performance
  • Invoicing and cash collection

Highly interactive course delivered using a mixture of case studies, visual aids, practical calculation exercises, group exercises, flash cards, tutor led feedback and discussion, tutor led brainstorming, group brainstorming and group presentations.

Delegates will gain the ability to improve project profitability, financial control, and cash flow.

This course will benefit those who need an introduction to financial project management or who want to understand how to improve their financial project management and profitability.

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