Decision-Making and Scenarios Course Syllabus
Full curriculum breakdown — modules, lessons, estimated time, and outcomes.
Overview: This course provides a practical and comprehensive introduction to financial decision-making using quantitative models. Designed for beginners, it guides learners through the fundamentals of evaluating investment projects, forecasting cash flows, and applying decision-making tools in real-world business scenarios. With approximately 6 hours of content, the course combines theoretical insights with hands-on exercises, culminating in a final project that reinforces key concepts. Ideal for professionals seeking to enhance their analytical capabilities, the course offers lifetime access and a certificate of completion.
Module 1: Evaluation Criteria: Net Present Value
Estimated time: 2 hours
- Introduction to investment project selection criteria
- Understanding Net Present Value (NPV) as a decision-making tool
- Exploring the time value of money
- Assessing cost of capital in project evaluation
Module 2: Evaluating Projects
Estimated time: 1 hour
- Techniques for analyzing incremental after-tax cash flows
- Identifying opportunity costs and sunk costs
- Accounting for changes in working capital
- Performing sensitivity analysis to evaluate project risks
Module 3: Expressing Business Strategies in Financial Terms
Estimated time: 1 hour
- Translating business activities into financial statements
- Linking balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements
- Forecasting future cash flows for strategic planning
Module 4: New Product Value
Estimated time: 1 hour
- Applying NPV and forecasting to new product ventures
- Setting up spreadsheets for financial modeling
- Conducting scenario analysis for decision-making
Module 5: Final Project
Estimated time: 1 hour
- Deliverable 1: Build a financial model for a proposed business project
- Deliverable 2: Forecast cash flows and calculate NPV
- Deliverable 3: Evaluate alternative scenarios and recommend a course of action
Prerequisites
- Familiarity with basic financial concepts
- Understanding of accounting principles
- Basic proficiency in spreadsheet software
What You'll Be Able to Do After
- Understand and apply Net Present Value in investment decisions
- Analyze incremental after-tax cash flows for project evaluation
- Translate business strategies into financial forecasts
- Use spreadsheets to model and assess business scenarios
- Make data-driven decisions using quantitative financial models