Course Overview

The course prepares participants to sit the one-hour, multiple-choice examination leading certificate in Commercial Awareness offered by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. This certificate is a knowledge-based specialist module in the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis .

Course Content

1. Financial reporting
   • The balance sheet
   • The income and expenditure statement (profit and loss account)
   • The cash flow statement
   • Financial ratio analysis
2. Budgeting, costing and pricing
   • Budgets and departmental businesses
   • Cash flow and cash management
   • Costing and pricing
3. Evaluating a financial case
   • The purpose of building a financial case
   • Techniques for evaluating a financial case:
     • Payback / breakeven
     • Discounted cash flow / net present value (DCF/NPV)
     • Internal rate of return (IRR)
4. Market analysis and competitive advantage
   • Analysing the business domain
   • Analysing the product / service portfolio
   • Delivering business value
5. Organisational behaviour and culture
   • What is organisational behaviour?
   • Organisational effectiveness and the balanced business scorecard
   • Understanding and analysing culture
6. Working in groups
   • Groups and group dynamics
   • Formal and informal groups
7. Organisational structure
   • Organisation structuring
   • Types of jobs
   • Line, staff and functional responsibilities
   • Formalisation of rules and procedures
   • Centralisation versus decentralisation
8. Operating models
   • Organisation structures and their characteristics
   • Organisational boundaries