Understanding finance and budgets

This short course will help you increase your understanding of the basic concepts, key ideas and terminology of finance and budgets that all managers need in order to contribute to the financial management of their area of responsibility within an organisation.

The course will be of benefit to those working at middle and senior management level in all types of organisation: large or small, public or private.

What you will study

Good financial management is important for all organisations, be they large or small, public or private. It is something that should be practiced at all levels and in all areas of the organisation, and you don’t need to be a financial manager to appreciate the need for it.

An organisation will rarely achieve its objectives unless all its managers understand the relationship between what they do and the impact it can have on financial results. Yet because of the customs, practice and terminology of the financial community as it generates financial information, it is often difficult for managers to understand this relationship or to contribute. This course aims to help you understand how financial information is compiled and how you can use it.

There are six sections in the course:

• Introduction –  The Open Systems Model (Input ® Transformation ® Output).
• Cash and cash flow.
• The profit and loss account.
• The balance sheet.
• Ratio analysis.
• Budgeting.

After studying this course you will be able to:

• explain and use the Input ® Transformation ® Output model as a means to aid your understanding of financial information
• appreciate the need for control and rigour in managing financial resources
• know the main terms used in finance and be able to define them
• understand the most common financial statements used in the UK and be able to construct simple examples
• interpret these using simple ratios
• know why budgeting is so important to financial success
• apply the ideas of cost allocation and apportionment
• recognise the value of flexible budgeting.

The strong link between course learning and your work practice creates relevant, enduring and transferable outcomes. It requires no more than 30 hours of your time in total, over whatever period suits you. But the learning is far richer than more expensive one- to three-day workshops. Register online today and start tomorrow – no need to wait!

The course features the distinctive strengths of The Open University (OU) from its years of expertise in work-based learning:

• The convenience of accessing its clearly presented and sequenced materials, activities and support whenever suits you and wherever you have access to the dedicated website – if you prefer, you can print key materials to work on them offline.
• The support of an expert learning adviser who can clarify study materials, answer questions and help you relate the course to your specific needs.
• A work-based activity helping you to connect the course to your individual and organisational context and needs. At the end of the course you send this to the learning adviser, who provides personal feedback.
• Certification of completion from the OU for those who complete the course. You can use this to demonstrate your continuing professional development (CPD) activity to your employer and/or professional body. (NB The course does not carry academic credit points.)

Entry

Although there are no formal academic requirements to study any of our CPD courses, you are expected to have some experience in the field and the course assumes a familiarity with the subject.

For each course you can register and begin at any time during the life of the course. You can study at your own pace and submit your work-based activity at any date before the final submission date for the course. Information about the final submission date is available when you register for the course.

If you have a disability

The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet you are advised to talk to the Student Registration and Enquiry Service about support which can be given to meet your needs. If you are a new learner with the OU, make sure you look at our website.

Study materials

What's included

All learning materials, exercises, study support and the work-based activity are delivered entirely online.

Computing requirements

You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.

• If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
• If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
• If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.

You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.

Learner support

Expert, confidential learner support is available when you need it from a learning adviser, who will respond to you direct within 24 hours. Other support is available via the GB075 forum, library, StudentHome website and computing helpdesk.

Work-based activity

The work-based activity for this course has been designed as an integrated ongoing activity that you submit at the end of your study. It will allow you to reflect on your learning and how to use it in your professional work.

Professional recognition

Successful completion of the course enables us to recognise your achievement of the course learning by issuing an OU certificate that you can use to document your commitment to continuing professional development in your personal portfolio, or to provide evidence to employers or professional body.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• An introduction to business studies (B120)
• Introduction to bookkeeping and accounting (B190)
• Business organisations and their environments (B201)
• Managing 1: organisations and people - online version (BZX628)

Your questions

Try our frequently asked questions.

Come and meet us at an event near you.

Or contact an adviser by Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90 +44(0) 845 366 60 35

Employers' questions

Contact Corporate Enquiries
Visit our website for employers or Email us