The Development Center for Finance successfully held its second webinar for 2021. Thirty-five (35) participants completed the three-day Financial Planning and Forecasting Seminar via Zoom, which was conducted on May 8, 15, and 22, 2021.

For Day 1, Dr. Arthur Cayanan laid down the foundation for the entire seminar as he underscored the importance of understanding the various macroeconomic variables and how they affect financial forecasts, and discussed various tools to conduct company and industry analysis. In addition, Dr. Cayanan also discussed how long-term company strategic plans eventually factor into financial planning and forecasting.

Meanwhile, Day 2 was led by Sir Lester Aratea. The session started with a discussion of Financial Statement Analysis in context of developing financial forecasts, specifically vertical, horizontal, and ratio analysis, which were helpful in succeeding lessons. The afternoon session focused on various forecasting tools, such as pro forma financial statements prepared under the financial statement method and cash budgeting. Examples were extensively discussed to illustrate these tools in preparation for the last day of the seminar.

Lastly, Day 3 was handled by Prof. Diogenes Dy. An in-depth discussion of financial forecasting started with the most important projection which is the sales forecast. For this, the participants were guided in making projections for a publicly-listed Philippine food company, including the various tools that may be used in developing reasonable assumptions in making financial forecasts. Other techniques were also discussed in projecting the other components of the financial statements, and at the end of the session, a five-year projected financial model was produced.

Some of the feedback about the seminar were as follows:

“Dr. Cayanan is a very great and knowledgeable speaker. I hope the seminar will be more than 3 days so he can expound more on many points as he likes to. Every word and experience he shared is very interesting.”

“I commend Sir Lester, DCF team and the presentation materials! Topics were presented quite clearly and logically, and in such a way that we’d be able to apply them already to our own companies. Appreciate also all the questions, that the team was able to answer ably. Considering this was done online, and made harder w/ having worksheets to go thru, it was still done effectively. All in all, my expectations were sufficiently met, maybe even more.”

“Learned a lot from this session. I particularly liked how the macroeconomic drivers were factored in the assumptions and further analyzed by running the regression, which I think is my biggest takeaway. Other useful tools like TREND excel function and cash sweep will be a big help too in my current projects. Kaya thank you po, Sir Don and the DCF team! 👏”

“I learned a lot from the lecture. I appreciate that the lecturer included/shared tips on excel formulas, plus, it really helped that he sent us the excel file every now and then for us to catch up. The step-by-step process in accomplishing and preparing a forecast was well explained, including the assumptions made. Very organized.”

“Thanks so much to the organizers. I learned so much from the 3-day seminar. Excellent speakers, clear presentations and good learning materials. Looking forward to more learning sessions with DCF. God bless!”