Course Information

Course No:  666521

Course Name:  Project Management: A Financial Perspective

Field of Study:    Management Services

Course Description:  

This course is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of the applications and importance of Project Management. You will learn how to assess a project with respect to time, costs, and resources in order to effectively and efficiently reach your goals. You will become familiar with the five processes involved in Project management – Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling, and Closing on time and within budget-- Project Integration, Project Scope, Project Time, Project Cost, Project Quality, Project Human Resources, Project Communications, Project Risk Management, and Project Procurement – that are essential to being an expert Project Manager. This course follows for the most part the framework within the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The material, however, places a financial focus on projects as a way to accomplish desired changes in the enterprise in a coordinated and predictable way for favorable outcomes. Topics covered include economic feasibility study, life-cycle costing, target costing, and earned value analysis. Through better project management, you can reduce or eliminate failed projects and reduce the costs associated with successful ones, increasing enterprise effectiveness in providing the maximum value to shareholders.

Learning objectives: After completing this section, you should be able to:

  • Recognize what project management is and the steps involved in managing a project.
  • Define what the PMI is and what they do.
  • Identify attributes of an effective project manager and project teams.
  • Recognize key components of planning and controlling a project, such as responsibilities, schedules, and performance.
  • Identify the purpose of project scorecard metrics.
  • Recognize the relationship between project phases and project life cycle.
  • Identify the documents and roadmaps used during a project.
  • Understand when stakeholders have the greatest influence on a project.
  • Recognize key aspects of the work breakdown structure (WBS) for planning a project.
  • Recognize key aspects of the work breakdown structure (WBS) for planning a project.
  • Recognize the PERT/COST and the Critical Path Method (CPM).
  • Recognize the concept of crashing.
  • Recognize the characteristics of a project control system
  • Identify what the project reviews should do.
  • Recognize budgeting aspects of the project management process.
  • Calculate variances using the earned value analysis.
  • Recognize how project costs can be analyzed using EVA.
  • Recognize where major project costs occur and why a life-cycle costing approach is appropriate for project costing.
  • Identify the target costing process for a new product.
  • Identify types of capital budgeting decisions.
  • Recognize several techniques for evaluating projects.
  • Recognize how the time value of money affects project costs.
  • Identify the effect of Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) on capital budgeting decisions.
  • Identify the goal of project risk management.
  • Recognize some risk analysis tools for project management.
  • Recognize key documents and reports used in project management communications.

Course Material: Online Material

Program level: Overview

Prerequisites: None

Advance preparation: None

Type of delivery method: QAS Self-study

Recommended CPE credits:   9.0

Final examination expiration date:   The program participant will have one year from the date of purchase to complete the course and final examination.