Nelson Croom - Project Management for Accountants

Balancing important short term tasks with the completion of critical but longer term project based work is a key challenge for most accounting and finance professionals, whether they are called a "project manager" or not.

Managing projects of any size requires a defined approach and a very specific set of skills and knowledge - yet there are so many different project management methodologies available. This course draws on some of the common principles in current project management thinking and puts them into context specifically for accounting and finance professionals. Project Management for Accountants covers all the stages from how a project comes into existence through to what needs to be done once it is complete - including defining the needs, writing the brief, building and managing a team, considering the costs and monitoring a team.

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Project Management for Accountants enables learners to:

Overcome any initial stumbling blocks
Understand what a project is so you can clearly define what is involved to ensure each stage of the project can be understood and implemented effectively
Ensure you deliver projects on time and within budget by understanding what management tools to use, how to schedule, plan and cost a project
Maximise your chance of success by ensuring your project teams have the right blend of knowledge, experience and perspectives
Ensure the project hand-over and launch goes smoothly so you can focus on measuring its success
Minimise the chance of problems with the project by learning techniques for managing risk and maintaining quality

Target audience

This course is designed to appeal to staff who are responsible for project work.

Less experienced staff will find that the course will help them understand the process and be more effective at managing a project.

More experienced or senior people will value the opportunity to spend time reviewing their approach to project management techniques.

Learning outcomes

What is project management?

What is a project?

What are the stages of a project?

What is project management?

What are project constraints?

Defining the project

Who identifies the need for a project?

Who is involved at the project definition stage?

How do we define customer needs?

How do I write a project brief?

What happens once the project brief is signed-off?

What is my role as project manager?

How do I build a project team?

Beginning the project

What are the stages to planning a project?

How do I come up with a milestone plan?

How do I plan in detail?

What costs do I have to consider when planning?

What controls and processes do I need to put in place?

How should I launch the beginning of a project?

Managing the project

How can I monitor and control the project?

How should I react when things aren't going to plan?

How do I make sure my team pulls together and holds together?

How can I monitor project risk?

What is change control?

Finishing the project

What do I do when the project is finished?

What can we learn from completed projects?

How do I make sure the hand-over goes smoothly?

How can I judge the success of the project?

Flexible learning

Learners take their own route through the topics covered in the course. They will learn at their own pace through a variety of activities designed to accommodate a range of learning styles.