Business finance for everyone

"Invite people to think like business owners – so they can base their future decisions on sound business thinking."

Celemi Apples & Oranges® brings financial statements to life through its simple, profound model of a company. Participants form the incoming management team of A&O Inc. – an established company that is facing some tough challenges. The company is losing market share and there are increasing demands from suppliers and customers. A&O Inc. needs a new, disciplined financial strategy.

Teams learn how to monitor cash flow, make resource utilization improvements, and measure results in the balance sheet and income statement.

Participants of all experience levels are able to gain new skills or build on prior experience to:

  • Read and interpret financial statements.
  • Identify critical elements affecting profitability.
  • Analyze financial ratios and key performance indicators, and make priorities accordingly.

Your people will explore the cause-and-effect relationships that govern a company’s financial statements – and develop an intrinsic business sense that will govern their future decisions in every day work.

Many small wins…

See the impact of small changes through Celemi’s Profit simulator (opens in a new window).

Key results

Companies using Celemi Apples & Oranges® can benefit by:

  • Creating a common vision throughout the organization.
  • Building a shared baseline understanding of financial and management concepts.
  • Communicating key messages during times of organizational change.

Participants win through Apples & Oranges by:

  • Knowing how their business generates profits today, and how it will need to generate profits in the future.
  • Understanding how their daily decisions impact the company strategically and financially.
  • Continuously identifying improvements in the business operations.

Key concepts

  • Stakeholder value
  • Cash flow
  • Return on assets
  • Return on equity
  • Profitability
  • Operating costs
  • Margin
  • Capacity utilization

What clients say

“Everyone is thinking like business owners. That means future decisions will be made based on sound business thinking, which should improve the financial picture much quicker.”
– Internal consultant, Principal Financial Group
“Apples & Oranges surpassed our expectations by a wide margin. [It] not only gives us a foundation to build on – it also crease enthusiasm and gets people involved. These are essential components for us as we launch our development program.”
– Personnel manager, Volvo Bus Corporation
“In one of our factories we came up with £1 million worth of potential improvements as a direct result of the Celemi business simulation.”
– Manager, GlaxoSmithKline

Quickfacts for Celemi Apples & Oranges®

Material
Board-based business simulation.
Participants
From four to several thousand participants. Participants are grouped in teams of 3-4. One facilitator for every 25-30 people.
Participants
Employees at all levels.
Time required
6-8 hours, corresponding to 3 years of operation.
Facilitator
Facilitators certified by Celemi
Languages
This business simulation is available in Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Latin America), Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin America), Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese and Turkish.

We continuously translate our programs, so please revisit this page for current information on offered languages or contact us at ask@celemi.com .