CIMA - F3 Financial Strategy

This section is about aligning financial objectives and policies to the strategies of the organisation. The key aim is to make sure that the organisation has a proper basis to determine what types of funds to access and how to use those funds. To do this effectively finance professionals must be able to evaluate the opportunities and constraints placed on them in the operating environment — particularly financial market requirements, the impact of taxation and the requirements of industry and financial market regulators. How should important elements of the financial statement be treated in the books? What principles should underpin these? How do financial reporting standards help to ensure this? Using financial reporting standards terminology this part will be looking at issues of recognition and measurement. The most important issues will be considered here. Managing risks related to finances is similar to managing other types of risks in general approach and methodology. However, there are specific differences such as the sources and types of financial risks, how they can be quantified and ways in which they are managed. This section looks at the very specific issues related to managing financial risks within a general risk management framework. This section looks at the conditions under which organisations need to calculate their own value or the value of other organisations or sub-units thereof. It introduces candidates to valuation techniques. Of particular importance in the digital world is the valuation of intangibles. This links also to how to report intangible value and their drivers in integrated reporting. In addition, how should digital assets be valued? One of the reasons for valuation is when merging or acquiring firms. How should such deals be structured, implemented and closed? For example what should the forms of the consideration be? What are the terms of the acquisition? How does one enable benefit realisation, particularly for synergies once the acquired organisation has been integrated into the acquiring organisation?

A.     Financial policy decisions

·   Advise on strategic financial objectives.

·   Analyse strategic financial policy decisions.

·   Discuss the external influences on financial strategic decisions.

B.     Sources of long-term funds

·   Evaluate the capital structure of a firm.

·   Analyse long-term debt finance.

·   Evaluate equity finance.

·   Evaluate dividend policy

C.     Financial risks

·   Discuss the sources and types of financial risks.

·   Evaluate financial risks

·   Recommend ways of managing financial risks

D.    Business valuation

·   Discuss the context of valuation.

·   Evaluate the various valuation methods.

·   Analyse pricing and bid issues.

·   Discuss post-transaction issues.