Professional Diploma in Financial Management

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Brief Description

Financial management lies at the heart of every successful organization and individual — from small enterprises to multinational corporations.  Businesses often face challenges such as limited access to capital, high borrowing costs, exchange rate volatility, and compliance with international reporting standards. Globally, financial managers must navigate complex decisions involving capital budgeting, working capital optimization, risk management, and sustainable finance.

This short course responds to the need for of both individuals’ business owners and non-finance managers to apply both local knowledge and global best practices to make sound financial decisions.

 

Teaching Methods

1. Online lectures and interactive discussions
2. Excel labs with real datasets
3. Case studies
4. Group simulations and peer learning

Assessment

• Continuous Assessment (Assignments, Quizzes, Case Studies, Excel Projects): 60%
• Final Exam/Project: 40%

Overview

  • CODE
    PDFM
  • FEES K7,OOO
  • LOCATION Online
  • CONTACTS
  • DATES

    Start: Semi- Annually Second week of January and Second week of July

Course Description

 

Course Delivery

• Duration: 6 months

• Mode: Online (Zoom/Google Meet + Mulungushi eLearning platform)
• Time: 2 sessions per week, 1.5 hours each
• Methods: Interactive lectures, Excel labs, case studies, group simulations, and capstone projects

Qualification / Certification

Upon successful completion, Participant will be awarded a Professional  Diploma  in Financial Management by Mulungushi University .


Course Outline

Course Content (Modules)

Module 1: Foundations of Financial Management

·        Role of financial management in organizations

·        Principles of financial decision-making

·        Financial objectives and value maximization

·        Competence: Interpret financial goals and objectives for businesses

Module 2: Financial Statement Analysis & Reporting

·        Income Statement, Statement of Financial Position, and Cash Flow

·        Ratio analysis (profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency)

·        Zambian reporting standards vs IFRS

·        Competence: Analyse financial statements of a LuSE-listed company

Module 3: Working Capital & Liquidity Management

·        Cash, receivables, and inventory management

·        Short-term financing strategies

·        Competence: Prepare a cash budget and working capital cycle

Module 4: Capital Budgeting & Investment Decisions

·        NPV, IRR, Payback, and Profitability Index

·        Risk analysis in capital budgeting

·        Zambian case study: Evaluating a mining/agribusiness project

·        Competence: Perform capital budgeting using Excel

Module 5: Cost of Capital & Financing Decisions

·        Cost of equity (CAPM), debt, and WACC

·        Capital structure theories

·        Leverage and dividend policies

·        Competence: Calculate WACC and evaluate financing options

Module 6: Risk Management in Finance

·        Financial risks: credit, market, liquidity, FX

·        Hedging techniques and derivatives basics

·        Case: Managing ZMW/USD exposure

·        Competence: Apply financial risk tools to manage volatility

Module 7: Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning

·        Operating budgets and flexible budgets

·        Forecasting techniques (time series, regression)

·        Scenario and sensitivity analysis

·        Competence: Build a 12-month forecast in Excel

Module 8: ESG & Sustainable Finance

·        ESG integration in financial management

·        Green finance and impact investing

·        Case: ESG practices in Zambian listed companies

·        Competence: Evaluate a project’s ESG performance

Module 9: Financial Modelling with Excel

·        Building dynamic Excel models

·        Scenario analysis and decision tools

·        Competence: Develop a financial model for project evaluation

Module 10: Capstone Project

·        Group simulation: Financial strategy for a Zambian company

·        Presentation: Investment Committee-style pitch

·        Competence: Present financial recommendations with evidence-based analysis