Financial Planning
Financial planning is one of the key tools of financial management. The financial plan ventures a glimpse into the financial future of the company and thereby provides valuable information about the firm's sources and uses of funds.
In this course, we learn how to derive a financial plan. The course proceeds in six steps:
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The introductory chapter provides some general information about financial planning and its relevance in the real world.
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We discuss the necessary accounting knowledge to derive financial plans.
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We use the balance sheets and income statements to derive the cash flow statement, which shows us the firm's sources and uses of funds.
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We address some critical issues and FAQs in cash flow estimation.
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Then we turn to financial projections, the heart of financial planning.
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Finally, we apply our financial planning knowledge to a comprehensive real-life case study (Lerveraged Buyout).
For each topic, there is a short reading assignment, followed by some review questions and practice examples.
A key element of financial planning is the ability to understand the current and past financial situation of the company. We need this knowledge, among other things, to make our financial projection. Understanding the financial situation of a company is the topic of financial analysis. We deal with it extensively in the seperate course "Financial Analysis."