TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PRESENTS
MICHAEL BLACKSTAFF IT
FINANCE FOR DECISION MAKERS
ROME OCTOBER 13-14, 2009 VISCONTI PALACE HOTEL - VIA FEDERICO CESI, 37 ROME (ITALY)
info@technologytransfer.it www.technologytransfer.it
FINANCE FOR IT DECISION MAKERS
ABOUT THIS SEMINAR Non-financial people often have to make or influence decisions about investing in IT. Embarking on an IT investment without being sure whether it has a sound financial basis, especially in turbulent times, is a bit like embarking on a voyage without a compass. The purpose of this practical seminar is to facilitate the making of financially sound decisions about IT. • This seminar is probably unique in bringing together in one place the various aspects of finance relevant to IT • The instructor is a qualified accountant who has worked in the IT world for over thirty years • The seminar encapsulates his practical experience gained during those years • The teaching method is “learning by doing”; the course includes many practical exercises • Participants receive a copy of Michael Blackstaff’s latest book “Finance for IT Decision Makers” 2nd Edition.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN • Construct an IT cost/benefit financial case from given data • Evaluate an IT cost/benefit case financially • Use various methods for financing IT* • Explain various other IT-relevant aspects of finance • Interpret the Accounts of an organisation and explain how IT services, software* and hardware are dealt with therein • Explain some key financial ratios and their relevance in an IT context • Understand those elements of financial jargon that are inescapable
OUTLINE 1. Finance fundamentals in a Nutshell
4. Other IT-relevant aspects of finance
• The financial jargon industry • Businesses and nonprofit organisations • Sources of money • Uses of money • What balance sheets tell you (and don’t tell you) • What profit & loss accounts tell you (and don’t tell you) • Profit is from Mars, cash flow from Venus • A few useful financial ratios
• Software*; services; hardware • IT Leasing and financing*; residual values • Off balance sheet financing financial effects • Depreciation of IT assets*; upgradability • Book values versus market values; loss on sale • Outsourcing/insourcing - financial considerations • Long-term contracts* - revenue & profit recognition • Budgeting
2. How to build an IT financial case • Limitations of finance as a basis for Decision-Making • The financial case as a subset of the Business case • Cash flow or profit as a basis for Decision-Making? • When is a benefit not a benefit? • When is a cost not a cost? • Opportunity costs; sunk costs • Is it a worthwhile investment? 3. How to evaluate an IT financial case • How to take risk into account • When is an Euro is not an Euro? • The cost of money; the time value of money • Discounted cash flow • Net Present Value (NPV) • Internal Rate Of Return (IRR) • Return On Investment (ROI) • Shareholder Value Added (SVA) • Payback and discounted payback
* Only generic aspects of all topics will be covered in this seminar, not country-specific details. Topics marked (*) are those in respect of which this restriction is most likely to be significant. Please note: The above topics and subtopics are not necessarily in the order in which they will be presented, nor are they of equal length.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND Any non-financial person who has to make or influence decisions about IT, including: • IT or User Managers • IT Project Managers • IT Procurement People • IT Sales People • IT or Business Consultants • IT Technicians Please note: This Seminar may also be of interest to some financial people for whom the making of decisions about IT is not an everyday occurrence and who may wish to brush up on knowledge that may be rusty.
INFORMATION PARTICIPATION FEE
HOW TO REGISTER
GENERAL CONDITIONS
€ 1200
GROUP DISCOUNT
The fee includes all seminar documentation, luncheon and coffee breaks.
You must send the registration form with the receipt of the payment to: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER S.r.l. Piazza Cavour, 3 - 00193 Rome (Italy) Fax +39-06-6871102
VENUE
within September 28, 2009
Visconti Palace Hotel Via Federico Cesi, 37 Rome (Italy)
SEMINAR TIMETABLE
9.30 am - 1.00 pm 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
PAYMENT
Wire transfer to: Technology Transfer S.r.l. Banca Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. Agenzia 6787 di Roma Iban Code: IT 34 Y 03069 05039 048890270110
If a company registers 5 participants to the same seminar, it will pay only for 4. Those who benefit of this discount are not entitled to other discounts for the same seminar. EARLY REGISTRATION
The participants who will register 30 days before the seminar are entitled to a 5% discount. CANCELLATION POLICY
A full refund is given for any cancellation received more than 15 days before the seminar starts. Cancellations less than 15 days prior the event are liable for 50% of the fee. Cancellations less than one week prior to the event date will be liable for the full fee. CANCELLATION LIABILITY
In the case of cancellation of an event for any reason, Technology Transfer’s liability is limited to the return of the registration fee only.
"
MICHAEL BLACKSTAFF FINANCE FOR IT DECISION MAKERS
first name ............................................................... surname .................................................................
October 13-14, 2009 Visconti Palace Hotel Via Federico Cesi, 37 Rome (Italy)
job title ...................................................................
Stamp and signature
organisation ...........................................................
Registration fee: € 1200
address .................................................................. postcode ................................................................ city ......................................................................... country ................................................................... telephone ...............................................................
If registered participants are unable to attend, or in case of cancellation of the seminar, the general conditions mentioned before are applicable.
fax .......................................................................... e-mail .....................................................................
Send your registration form with the receipt of the payment to: Technology Transfer S.r.l. Piazza Cavour, 3 - 00193 Rome (Italy) Tel. +39-06-6832227 - Fax +39-06-6871102 info@technologytransfer.it www.technologytransfer.it
SPEAKER Michael Blackstaff is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and a Member of the British Computer Society. He has over thirty years’ finance, marketing and training experience of the Information Technology (IT) industry and its customers. For many years he was a financial marketing specialist with IBM United Kingdom Ltd, developing Business cases, selling leasing, teaching salespeople the finance of selling and advising customers on financing and accounting for IT. He has achieved recognition, in the UK and elsewhere, as a leading teacher of finance to decision makers, salespeople and other non-financial people. His courses and his books have won acclaim for the clarity and simplicity with which they present, in plain English, a subject often regarded as difficult. His published work includes several technical booklets published by the IT Faculty of the ICAEW, and the following books: “Finance for IT Decision Makers” 2nd Edition, published 2006 by the British Computer Society and “Business and Finance for IT People”, published 2001 by Springer Verlag.