BCS Commercial Awareness Training | BCS Training

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Introduction
Course Details
Course Content
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A Quick Glance

Accredited by BCS
Learn the Budgeting Process and its intricacies
Evaluate financial cases using the Three Techniques
Access to the Commercial Awareness course-ware and certified tutors
Low Cost of Certification
Certification Recognized by Global Leading Brands

The era of monopolistic organizations is coming to an end while competition is growing. In order to be successful, an organisation needs to collaborate with suppliers, competitors and outsourcing partners. For the businesses to operate successfully new approaches are required to operate through using methods such as restructuring, changing the organisational behaviour, modifying the internal and external boundaries, and deploying performance measuring techniques.

To deal with such problems, business analysts must master their commercial skills to deal with their partners and customers successfully. This course deals with the commercial and organisational knowledge which is expected from professionals undergoing business analysis. Commercial Awareness can be classified into Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. We at Pentagon Training provide the delegates with a unique opportunity to learn and better their communication skills. This BCS training is covered in a time frame of just 3 days.

Who should take this course

At Pentagon Training, we impart this course to delegates who wish to understand the structure, operation and behaviour of organizations. It is also targeted at those professionals who want to acquire skills to bring about a business change and are involved with the organization as one of the following:

Business Analysts
Program Manager
Project Manager
Solution Architects
Service managers

Prerequisites

The course comes with no prerequisites.

Evaluating A Financial Case Through Three Techniques
Understand what is Costing and Pricing
Cash Flow Forecasting and Budgeting
Financial Accounting Documents and Their Contents
Understand Financial Accounts
Discuss Required Business Performance Ratios
Define Porters Five Forces Framework and Value Chain
Describe Boston Consulting Group’s Matrix

Key Learning Points

Tutor Support

Certificate

Courseware

Course Overview

The course (as shown in the figure) is made up of two parts - Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. During the schedule of the course – the first part covers Finance for IT Decision Makers and the second covers Business Analysis Techniques and Organisational Behaviour. The Trainers hold a certificate in this course , a two-year training experience or 1 year recognised qualification. The trainer also has to possess a three-year practical experience in the same stream.

Examination:

The candidates are required to sit for the exam after the course. The exam lasts for one hour and is a closed book exam with multiple choice questions. The exam recommends an accredited training from BCS but it is not a requirement. To get certified the candidate must score 65% marks. BCS allows the use of calculators during the exam. No mobile technology will be allowed.

Candidates sitting for an exam must carry identification of some means such as Passport, Driving License, or Student Card. Following the exam, the candidate will be sent an email from BCS asking you to register for your exam. Once registered the candidate can log in and view the exam result from their accounts.

Additional time of 15 minutes is allowed for differently abled candidates or those who have a different native language than the language of the examination.

Course Content

Part 1 – Business Finance

1.Evaluating a Financial Case

Purpose of Building a Financial Case
Techniques used for evaluating a Financial Case
- Payback
  - Calculation
  - Payback and Risk
  - Limitations of Payback
- Discounted Cash Flow /Net Present Value
  - Purpose
  - Calculation
  - The NPV Decision Rule
- Internal Rate of Return
  - How to derive IRR
  - How IRR is used
  - The IRR Decision Rule

2.Budgeting, Costing and Pricing

Budgets and Departmentalised Businesses
- The purpose of budgets
- Reasons for departmentalization
- Cost centres and profit centres
Cash Flow and Cash Management
- Cash flow forecasting
- Use of cash flow in decision making
- Cash flow and profit
Costing and Pricing
- Fixed and Variable costs
- Direct and indirect costs
- Break even and Contribution Analysis

3.Financial Reporting and Analysis

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)
- Purpose and Structure
- The nature, purpose and types of Capital
- Current and non-current liabilities
- Current and non-current assets
Income and Expenditure (Income Statement, Profit and Loss Account)
- The importance of Operating Profit
- Revenue (turnover)
- Cost of Sales
- Administrative Expenses
- Profit after Tax
Statement of Cash Flows (Cash Flow Statement)
Ratios (formulae and interpretation)
- Profitability Ratios: Operating Margin and Return on Capital Employed ratios
- Liquidity (Cash Management) Ratios: Current and “Acid Test” ratios
- Gearing (Leverage) Ratio: Debt/Equity Ratio

Part 2 – Organisational Behaviour

1.Market analysis and competitive advantage

Analysing the business domain - Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Analysing the portfolio - Boston Box
Delivering value - Porter’s Value Chain

2.Organisational behaviour and culture

What is organisational behaviour?
Organisational effectiveness and the Balanced Scorecard
Understanding and analysing culture
- Organisational Cultural Types (Deal and Kennedy; Handy)
- International Cultures (Hofstede)
- The Cultural Web

3.Group formation

Groups and group dynamics
Formal and informal groups
- Groups and group tasks
- Characteristics of formal groups
- Homan’s theory of group formation
- Tuckman and Jensen’s theory of group development
- Characteristics of informal groups
- Social networks

4.Principles of organisational structure

Organisation structuring
- Elements of organisation structure
- The six Structure Levels
- The Leavitt Diamond
Types of jobs
- Work specialisation
- Flat and tall hierarchies
- Span of control
Line, staff and functional relationships
Formalisation of rules and procedures
Centralisation v decentralisation
- Advantages
- Disadvantages

5.Operating models

Organisation structures and their characteristics
- Functional
- Divisional – product or service/ geography/ customer
- Matrix
- Team-based – cross functional/ project
Organisational boundaries
- Boundaryless organisations
- Outsourcing
- Offshoring
- Hollow organisation structures
- Modular organisation structures
- Virtual organisations
- Collaborations and strategic alliances

BCS Certificate in Commercial Awareness Enquiry

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Reach us at +44 1344 961530 or info@pentagonit.co.uk for more information.

About Bristol

With a population of 449,300 in 2017 , Bristol is located in south west England. It has borders with Somerset and Gloucester. Earlier known as Brycgstow (the place at the bridge),it was known to be the starting point for many a great explorations. Bristol's modern economy rests on creative media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city-centre docks have been reconstructed as heritage centres. Its currency is the Bristol pound.It is home to the te University of the West of England and the University of Bristol . Besides, it also has many other artistic and sporting organisations and venues.

History

Findings in Bristol point out to the presence of inhabitants during the Paleolothic Age. Bristol came into being around 1020 AD. It started off as a trading center that produced silver pennies. It further developed as a port during the 11th century. The stone bridge that gives Bristol its name (built in 1247 AD) was replaced in 1760’s. In the mid 14th Century, half of Bristol was lost to the Black Death. During the 15th and 16th Century , Bristol had trade links with Ireland, Iceland, and Gascony. The Diocese of Bristol was founded in 1542. Bristol kept on growing in the coming centuries. By the 20th Century its population increased to 428,089 in 1971 from 330,000 in 1901. Bristol also saw massive damages from the German and Nazi armies during the second world war. The Bristol city centre when rebuilt had numerous skyscrapers. The 1980s saw the closure of some of the main roads. Some of the areas had to be restored and regenerated. The city centre's tallest towers was demolished. Bristol also saw changes to its roads when M4 and M5 were introduced.

Sport

Bristol has teams representing all the major national sports. Bristol City and Bristol Rovers are the city's leading football clubs. Bristol Rugby (Rugby Union) and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club are also based in the city.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club has its headquartersat the Bristol County Ground. It plays its home games at the same ground. Formed by the family of W. G. Grace, it is arguably Bristol's most successful as Gloucestershire CCC also won the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2015. The Bristol Flyers are a well known basketball team from Bristol. They have achieved some good success in the British Basketball League, since 2014. Bristol Aztecs are another team from Bristol who play in the BAFA National Leagues. Iice hockey made a comeback to Bristol after a 17-year period when The Bristol Pitbulls playing at Bristol Ice Rink. Bristol sponsors an a half marathon every year. It played host to the 2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships also. Bristol and West AC, Bitton Road Runners and Westbury Harriers are athletic clubs from Bristol. Bristol has staged the finishing and starting stages of the Tour of Britain cycle race. Facilities in the city were used as training camps for the 2012 London Olympics. The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, a major UK hot-air ballooning event, is held each summer at Ashton Court.