Money in Business
25th November 15
Last month, 30 DLD students enrolled on the Money in Business course that was run by the ICAEW and Leeds University Business School. The course was designed to help participants develop their understanding of the role that money plays in business success. Content was delivered through video, animations, interviews, hints and tips, on-line discussions with other learners around the world.
Imran Isa-Dutse (Year 12) shares his thoughts and experience on the course:
The course has enabled me to learn about the basics and integral aspects in making and managing a business. This four-week online course enabled me to understand these aspects in detail by using relevant real life examples and by employing the first hand experiences and ideas of established firms in the commercial world.
The course kicked off by describing the key elements that made successful businesses. These key elements were grouped into four elements known as the four Ps (The Marketing Mix). The educators went on to further explain the importance of cash flow, cash management and cash control. Also, it was here that the importance, significance and key sections of a business plan were outlined. The first week came to a close by discussing the impact and importance of teamwork and effective communication as an integral part of every business.
The second week was introduced by looking at the key ways in growing businesses, common challenges and the objectives of business decisions. The educators also explained the main variables to consider when making decisions in businesses. These include internal factors such as: the strengths and weaknesses of the business and external factors such as: threats to the business and opportunities to help the business prosper. Furthermore, this week identified the main ways of business growth, the objectives of growth and ways of financing the growth. The week came to a close with a short exercise on building and managing balance sheets.
The third week of this four-week course began to look critically into the responsibilities of the different departments in a business. Most importantly, the finance team. It explained the fundamental roles of every finance team. Some of these vital roles common to all businesses include budgeting, forecasting, managing bank accounts, providing financial information and generally overseeing the financial transactions of an organization. The educators, went into detail to explain monitoring of business performance and the methods of assessing how well businesses do both from financial and non-financial perspectives.
The final chapter of this course focused on how businesses measure and then report their successes to the outside world. The educators explained the various ways businesses rate, measure and broadcast their performance. It explained the differences in these ways for a profit driven organization and a non-for-profit organization such as charity organizations. Different businesses such as Marks and Spencer, Adidas, Tesco and others were used as case studies.
Overall, I have been able to gain a great deal more than I expected from this course. It was a very comprehensive course that really relates to my interests. There is no denying that I have learnt a lot and I will now be able to apply this knowledge into achieving my own personal goals. Finally, the course has increased my awareness and therefore my confidence in matters related to the commercial environment.
Imran Isa-Dutse
