AN  EXECUTIVE  EDUCATION  PROGRAM

 

OFFERED BY

 

 

Dr. Roger K. Harvey

President, Value Associates, Ltd.

And

Emeritus Professor of Finance

The Ohio State University

 

Overview

 

The Workshop is based on applying the Economic Value Added (EVA) model and innovative financial analysis/planning tools to contemporary strategic issues facing distributors in your industry. The program, with specific cases and examples from the participants’ industry, will focus on tactical and strategic decisions made by executive managers, and the financial impact of their decisions on their firm’s equity value, profitability, cash flow and future growth.  All sessions of the program will use your association’s Executive Chart Book or PAR Report for analyzing, benchmarking, and planning an industry specific case-company. 

 

The Workshop will focus on those decision variables over which executive mangers have control—operations, people, productivity, product lines, customers, price, gross margins, expenses, accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, capital structure and financing. Management concepts from finance literature, decision support systems, and the metal service industry will be developed, but most importantly, they will be applied to a case-company similar to the participants’ own companies.

 

A Harvard-type company case specific to the issues and problems of your will be written for the Workshop.  The 2-½ day Workshop will feature a microcomputer simulation model of the case-company with participants given an opportunity to reset the strategic direction of the company and to test the new directions through “what-if” analysis.  An EVA model will be incorporated into the simulation, as well as many of the performance measures in The Executive Chart Book or PAR Report. Participants will be given the model (on diskette) seeded with the Workshop case-company as a “take-away” from the Workshop.

 

The Workshop is targeted to owners and executive managers of wholesale distribution companies who are responsible for strategic decision-making in their companies.  Branch and facility managers also would benefit from the Workshop because many of them make high- level decisions at the branch rather than at the corporate level.

Description

 

The Workshop begins with an in-depth development of Economic Value Added (EVA)—a market equity valuation model that ultimately measures the effectiveness of decisions made by executive managers.  The case-company will be used to identify problems that lead to low EVA.  Sessions will then move from identifying financial and operational problems to using computer-based financial planning for testing different EVA values.  The ultimate goal will be identifying those strategies and tactics that have the greatest impact on EVA.

 

The first day will develop financial analysis tools for identifying performance gaps and EVA problems in the case-company.  An afternoon breakout exercise will have teams analyzing the case-company using the models and tools developed by the instructor during the morning sessions.  Benchmarking and problem identification are the emphasis of the first day; finding solutions will be addressed starting on the second day and continuing on to the third day.

 

The second day will feature participants using a computer simulation model of the case-company to perform financial planning and test strategic solutions to problems in the case.  Participants, working in teams, will make changes to the case-company to increase EVA, overall profitability, sales growth, cash flow, and other measures of performance in The Executive Chart Book.  Participants will continue to do "what if" analyses until they arrive at a realistic strategy that will maximize the case-company’s EVA. 

 

The morning of the third day will have teams present their strategies.  This open session affords participants the opportunity of sharing experiences and learning from each other as well as from the instructor.

 

The program will emphasize benchmarking and best practices analysis, management techniques, and the information necessary to effectively manage the participant’s company.   Throughout the program, a case approach will be used to reveal financing needs, cash flow, bank and supplier relations, people productivity, product-line profitability, operational efficiency, gross profit management, expense control, inventory control, and accounts receivable management. 

 

 

Outline

 

•     Economic Value Added (EVA) as a Goal for Wholesale Distribution Companies

 

•     An EVA Framework for Evaluating Your Firm’s Performance

 

•     Computer-Based Financial Planning as a Tool for Increasing EVA

 

•     Computer Simulation Workshop

 

•     Presentation and Open Discussion of Team Strategic Financial Plans