The VMP Group, LLC Phone:501.952.0530

Finance for Non-Financial Managers (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Full Day)

Before you can accurately assess a company's strengths and weaknesses, you must understand the language of finance. Finance for Non-Financial Managers will allow you to comprehend and speak that language by giving you a fundamental knowledge of where your organization's numbers come from, what they mean, and what you can do to improve them. This seminar will provide you with plain-English lessons covering the basics of accounting, financial statements, and budgeting. Packed with tips and insights, this guide to the essentials of accounting will show you how to:

• Put numbers in context
• Read and understand footnotes
• Determine if inventory is too high
• Ensure that sales are recorded properly
• Use key ratios
• Understand what an auditor does
• Spot potential problem areas
• And more

Budgeting for Managers (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Full Day)

Though many managers have vast experience dealing with people and are experts in their field, they are often novices when it comes to managing money. Budgeting for Managers starts with the basics of a simple expense budget and gives you everything you need to know to create, present, and track a budget with a spreadsheet or accounting package. We will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to take charge of money, and work alone or with a team to bring success to both your company and your career. From definitions of fundamental accounting terms to techniques for working within your budget and managing money with your team, this course will take you through the basics and beyond so that you can:

• Negotiate for the money you need
• Create budgets for growth or downsizing
• Track your budget and measure work results throughout the year
• And more

A Primer on Business Valuation
(Full Day)

So valuation is only for the big firms, right? Wrong! Every entrepreneur will be confronted at some point, and likely multiple times, with the need to value their firm. In fact, any time new investors are brought in valuation is the key issue. This course will address such issues as:

• What are the drivers of value?
• What methods are available for valuing a business?
• How the discounted cash flow approach works.
• Case example of discounted cash flow approach
• How the market multiple approach works.
• Case example of market multiple approach
• Other issues: control premiums, minority discounts,

How to Get the Best Loan for Your Business
(Half Day)

Have you ever wondered how on earth the bank decided on the interest rate that they were going to charge you for a loan? What factors affected their decision to offer you a particular rate and the company down the street a different rate? How can you improve the rate that you are given for business loans? If these and other similar question have puzzled you in the past, this seminar is for you. Topics covered will include:

• The Market for Loanable Funds
• The Structure of Interest Rates
• Bank Loans
• Loan Pricing
• Bank Deposit Pricing

A Primer on Macroeconomics
(Full Day)

The Commerce Department released new statistics on the United States economy. Well, what do those numbers mean? From where did those numbers come? What is their significance for me, for my family and my business? If you find yourself forgetting your economics class all those years ago, or if you need a first-time crash course, this is the presentation for you. Topics covered will include:

• Macroeconomics and You: Why Should You Care?
• Measurement of the Macroeconomy
• Walking Through the Fog: making Sense of our Measurements
• The 600-Pound Gorilla: The Fed Enters the Picture
• The State of the Art
• Tying It All Together

The Federal Reserve System – Why Do You Care?
(Half Day)

The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has been called “the Masters of the Temple.” The Fed’s Chairman has been called the most powerful man in the world. When he speaks, the entire world holds its breath… and you have always wondered why. If you find yourself forgetting your econ class all those years ago, or if you need a first-time crash course, this is the presentation for you. Topics covered will include:

• The Fed, Monetary Policy, and You
• The Magic of Creating Money
• Why? The Background of the Fed
• The Fed Today: Powers and Duties
• The Fed Changed Interest Rates Today… or Did It?
• What You Can and Cannot Do with Monetary Policy
• Tying It All Together

How National Economic Indices Affect Your Business
(Half Day)

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators… The Index of Coincident Indicators… The Index of Lagging Indicators… The Consumer Confidence Index… These are all publications of The Conference Board. When new numbers are released, they are big news! But what does it all mean? If you find yourself forgetting your econ class all those years ago, or if you need a first-time crash course, this is the presentation for you. Topics covered will include:

• What is The Conference Board?
• Macroeconomics and You: Why You Should Care
• The Crash Course in Macroeconomics
• The Conference Board’s Indicator Indices
• The Consumer Confidence Index
• Tying It All Together

Risk Analysis and Management
(Half Day)

Your business faces risk on a daily basis. The risk may be related to production, services, financial management, human resources, or any number of other primary business activities. This seminar is designed to help you identify that risk, analyze the potential impact, and decide whether to accept the risk or seek remedies such as loss prevention methods or insurance to help elimate or minimize it. You will learn common sense techniques to help you view every major activity of your company from a risk management perspective. Topics will include:

• Identifying and analyzing potential risk
• How to develop a Risk Management Plan
• The role of insurance in risk mitigation - coverage basics
• The insurance proposal process - the inside information that gives you a competitive advantage
• Simple but effective loss prevention methods

Hedging Strategies for Business
(Half Day)

Businesses willingly take on risk in an effort to earn a return. However, some risks can be virtually eliminated while others can be significantly reduced. Risk management is crucial to all corporations and permeates all functional areas, from personnel to customers. This course addresses risk management in the corporate context with particular emphasis on hedging strategies. In particular, this course will:

• Discuss the potential benefits and costs of risk reduction in the corporation
• Describe the risk-management process within the corporation
• Discuss the various methods of dealing with risk including avoidance, reduction, transfer, and financing
• Discuss hedging as a risk transfer tool, with particular emphasis on options, futures and swaps
• Provide illustrative examples of hedging, including using options and futures to hedge financial risk and commodity risk

Financial Planning for Your Company
(Half Day)

We all know that we should do some sort of financial planning in order to achieve our personal financial goals and be comfortable in retirement. So why don't we do the same thing for our business? For business owners and executives, their personal finances are intertwined with those of the business. Financial planning for your company is not just about making money; it's about strategies for keeping it. This seminar includes the following topics:

• Tax strategies
• Succession planning - transfers to family, partners, employees and buy/sell agreements
• Retirement planning for owners and employees
• Employee benefits - life, health and disability insurance, bonus and motivational programs

Analyzing Your Business Environment
(Half Day)

What are the strengths of your business? What are its weaknesses? What is happening in the lives of your customers? Can your business weather changing conditions and prosper after those changes? In this seminar you will learn the most effective and adaptable tools available; tools that will help you understand the total picture facing your business. We'll show you how to find the information you need, how to analyze it, and how to interpret what it all means for your business. You will learn how to:

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business
• Identify your competitors
• Identify Competitor strengths and weaknesses
• Identify your customers
• Analyze the issues facing your customers
• Understand emerging legal and economic trends facing your customers and your business
• And more

Financing a Start-up Business – Where Does the Money Come From?
(Half Day)

This half day session covers the various stages of a business and the funding opportunities available to the business at each of those stages. This session will cover the do’s and don’ts of financing, what’s important to know about financing options, what the advantages and disadvantages of each type of funds are, and how to communicate your message. This session includes:

• What types of funding are available at each stage of your business
• How each form of financing potentially affects your business
• Strategies in getting your business financed
• An overview of the business plan