DIPLOMA IN

STRATEGIC FINANCE &

BUSINESS PARTNERING

www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
 We will help you develop the critical skills required to start
your career as a finance business partner. You will use and
understand the potential of big and small data to drive
business growth. Diagnose your firm’s strategic position
and recommend appropriate responses. Become more
commercially aware and learn leadership, presentation,
and influencing skills to win over key stakeholders while
keeping the highest ethical standards.

Who is it for? There is a strong emphasis on Content overview

The course develops finance developing leadership skills The course blends technical
professionals into Finance throughout the course. These expertise, with leadership skills.
Business Partners – one of the skills will help you to Content includes:
fastest growing, most dynamic communicate effectively and
roles in finance today. influence colleagues and other • Strategic corporate finance;
key stakeholders. • Effective communication and
Why should you study this presentation skills;
What will my input be? • Strategy analysis and costing;
course?
Participants consistently tell us • Budgeting and strategic
You will become better
that they spend on average 20 planning;
positioned to understand and
hours per module (whether by • Influencing and persuading
unlock the potential of your
classroom or distance learning) key people;
organisation's existing data
and approximately a further 20 • Big and small data analytics;
sources and how to leverage
hours per assignment. It should • MBTI (personality)
new exciting ones.
be noted that this is an average assessment.
and a guideline.

__
2 DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE
www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
The programme draws on a wide deemed as prohibitive to of Chartered Accountants
range of examples, practice and completing an assessment. Ireland must provide proof of
theory and as such is their membership or details of
internationally applicable. Course Price another professional body or
details showing how their
Classroom
When? experience or qualifications are
CAI/ICAS member €3,365
relevant. See our website for full
Modules take place on Other professionals €3,735
details on eligibility rules.
Fridays - 2pm to 7pm Distance Course
Saturdays - 9am to 2pm CAI/ICAS member €2,695
Other professionals €2,995 Assessment and awards
Programme schedule To complete the programme,
Module 1 28 & 29 February Multiple bookings by a single you will complete two practical
Module 2 27 & 28 March employer will qualify for a home assignments and deliver a
Module 3 17& 18 April discount of 10% for the second final presentation based on the
Module 4 15 & 16 May and subsequent booking. If you second of these that you will
Module 5 12 & 13 June completed a Diploma with deliver to examiners in person or
Module 6 26 & 27 June Chartered Accountants Ireland online, including questions from
previously, you qualify for a the panel. Assignments will be
Class format discount of 10% off the Diploma released after module 3 and
in Strategic Finance and module 6.
The course is available by
Business Analytics.
classroom or distance learning: These assignments will simulate
Can I use the course typical pieces of work conducted
Classroom by finance business partners,
The programme is delivered over towards my CPD hours? requiring participants to
a series of 6, two day modules. This programme offers demonstrate their technical
Classes take place in Chartered structured and unstructured competence and capability to
Accountants Ireland, Dublin CPD time. The exact number of use the core business skills, such
office. hours that can be claimed as as influencing and stakeholder
CPD will vary for each individual management.
Distance learning depending on time expended
The course content for the and the requirements of their You will also be required to
distance course is the same as professional body. complete learning logs where
the classroom. Distance you will be will be asked to show
participants will receive online Entry Criteria how your thought process has
access to all classroom material This programme has been developed and how your
and recordings. designed to meet the needs of approach will change as a result.
business and finance
Classroom sessions are recorded professionals and is Final assessment
live and made available at least open to Members of Chartered • 10%, Over 3 learning logs
two days after the classroom Accountants Ireland and other • 30%, Home assignment 1
session. Recorded lectures are recognised professional bodies • 40%, Home assignment 2
deemed as a supplementary including ICAS, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, • 20%, Final presentation
learning resource and not a ICAEW. Holders of a degree at
primary resource in order to Level 8 (on the NFQ) or Participants must achieve
complete a programme. All equivalent qualification or 50% or above in each of the
efforts are made to upload experience in finance, business home assignments to be eligible
recorded material, where this is or other relevant field may for the award of the Diploma.
not possible due to technical also apply. The overall pass mark is set at
errors or where there are time 50% with distinction achieved
delays incurred, this is not Applicants other than members at 70%.

__
DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE 3
www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
COURSE OUTLINE
MODULE 1 MODULE 2 MODULE 3
Introduction, strategic Strategy analysis, Budgeting, strategic
corporate finance & costing & cost accounting planning, influencing key
effective communication people

Having completed this module it is Having completed this module it is Having completed this module it is
intended you will be able to: intended you will be able to: intended you will be able to:

• Appreciate the distinctions • Understand corporate strategy; • Understand the scope and
between equity value and • Appreciate key elements of challenges of financial planning
enterprise value; industry and corporate analyses; and budgeting;
• Be aware of issues around • Be aware of factors driving • Learn techniques to improve
financial and operation leverage, competition in an industry; capital expenditure evaluation
corporate cash flows and cost of • Know the key elements of and control;
capital; environmental and internal • Be able to generate
• Understand the Capital Asset analyses and be able to apply improvements in your firm's C2R
Pricing Model; them; (close to report) cycle;
• Understand and apply the main • Appreciate key generic corporate • Understand and apply key aspects
methods used to value a firm. strategies open to firms; of the Balanced Scorecard to your
• Understand the value chain and own firm;
how it relates to a firm's • Be able to apply benchmarking to
competitive positioning. evaluate your firm's cost structure
and to identify scope for
Leadership skills improvement.
• Understanding different
personality types; Leadership skills
• Individual personality assessment • Building your influencing toolkit -
(MBTI); getting buy in;
• Impact of your work style; • 4 step influencing model;
• Communicating effectively with • The psychology of persuasion;
different types of people; • Influencing practice & feedback.
• Adapting your approach in order
to get results;
• Asserting yourself without
upsetting others;
• Managing ambiguity and change.

__
4 DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE
www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
MODULE 4 MODULE 5 MODULE 6
Module Structure, The data revolution, Introduction to corporate
strategy, & persuasive analytics in action, risk management, transforming
presentations capstone and key trends the finance function

Having completed this module it is Having completed this module it is Having completed this module it is
intended you will be able to: intended you will be able to: intended you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of • Design remuneration systems in • Understand key concepts of

corporate structure and its line with strategic objectives; analytics: from descriptive to
impact on strategy; • Understand supply chain analysis, predictive;
• Understand the distinctions outsourcing and the make/buy • Have an awareness of data
between business restructuring decision; scientists: who they are, what
and cost reduction and financial • Know how to reorganise to really they do, why do we need them;
restructuring; cut costs; • Appreciate the balance of art and
• Appreciate the role of value • Understand joint ventures and science in decision making using
creation and Return on Capital strategic partnerships; data;
Employed in assessing whether a • Know how to win over key • Manage your company, unit or
business is performing stakeholders; team with real-time analytics;
adequately; • Build your team and their • Compare big vs small data
• Understand options facing capabilities. approach to data analysis;
management of an • Use predictive modelling
underperforming business unit; techniques;
• Know major cost cutting • Explore supply chain and
methods; marketing analytics.
• Understand the main steps of
financial restructuring and the
legal avenues available to
distressed firms;
• Be familiar with examples of
corporate restructuring and their
key features.

__
DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE 5
www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
 EXPERT SUCCESS
INSTRUCTORS STORY

The course is led by a number of well-respected finance

professionals and industry leaders. These include:

Cormac Lucey Danica Murphy Rose O’Sullivan

Financial Services Consultant Founder and Director Finance Business Partner, FEXCO
Prism Leadership & Change
Cormac is a well-known and Consulting My experience on the course
respected economic commentator The course content was
and contributor to TV and Radio A psychology graduate from the excellent. The communications
and is a columnist with the University of California Santa part of the course was amazing.
Sunday Times. Cormac holds an Barbara, Danica went on to Nobody teaches you how to
MBS from UCD and is a qualified achieve her accountancy present a report to the MD of a
Chartered Accountant. He was qualification with Arthur company, and convince them
formerly Vice-President, Rabobank Andersen in San Francisco. Her that your solution is the best.
International Acquisition Finance deep understanding of the During the course, I got to learn
and finance director of an AIM interdependency between these skills and they are
quoted company, Stentor plc. business practice and human invaluable to me.
Cormac has been a consultant on psychology led her to establish
acquisition and disposals for a PRISM over 20 years ago. She is a The aftermath: my promotion
number of quoted Irish companies highly regarded executive coach The skills that I developed on
and is currently director of the IMI and business consultant both in the course resulted in my role
Business Finance programme, and Ireland and internationally. being expanded as I took on
lectures on many programmes additional responsibilities. I love
with Chartered Accountants Danica has co-authored books my new job and couldn't be
Ireland. and training resources to happier.
contributes to a variety of
training and business
publications. Danica is a member
of the Institute of Directors of
Ireland, the Irish Institute for
Training and Development and
the Association for Coaching.
__
6 DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE
www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas
APPLICATION FORM
DIPLOMA IN STRATEGIC FINANCE
This form should be completed and returned to:
Linda McGee, Learning & Development, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: + 353 (1) 637 7213 Fax: + 353 (1) 523 3987 Email: bookings@charteredaccountants.ie

Section 1 –  Personal Details

(Please note the details you provide in this section will be then used as your correspondence address throughout the course)

Name

Address for Correspondence

Contact Telephone Number

Contact Email address

Chartered Accountants Ireland or ICAS membership number

Other professionals, please state your relevant qualification (e.g. ACCA, CIMA etc)

* In the case of other professionals, proof of membership will be required from the participant’s own member body.

Section 2 – Employment Details

Company Name

Job Title

Company Address

Company Phone number

Company Email

If you do not wish for your name and company to be included on the participant list circulated to the class tick here

Section 3 – Payment Details

Is your company paying your qualification fees? No Yes (if yes we will raise the invoice against the company details provided in section 2)
Classroom: CAI/ICAS member fee: €3,365 Other professionals fee: €3,735
Distance: CAI/ICAS member Fee: €2,695 Other professionals fee: €€2,995
Credit Card Debit Card **Instalments
** The Instalment payment option will allow participants to spread the cost of your diploma over four equal payments, with the first payment
being charged at registration stage, and then remaining payments being charged to a debit/credit card on agreed dates.

If paying by card please fill out the below:

Card Number

Expiry date CCV

Signature of Cardholder

For a full list of terms and conditions please visit our site www.charteredaccountants.ie/diplomas

Please tick the box to indicate that you’ve read the terms and conditions

Use and protection of your personal information.

The Institute will use the information which you have provided in this form to respond to your request or process your transaction and
will hold and protect it in accordance with the Institute's privacy statement which explains your rights in relation to your personal
data.