PROGRAM DETAILS

Introduction

Budgeting lies at the heart of business management, yet businesses often encounter financial difficulties as a result of either inadequate planning or errors within the compilation of the budgets.

Without proper planning & forecasting many organisations will struggle to survive during this next century. With increased global competition, a background recession and credit crunch, economic and political unrest, it is vital that organisations plan and forecast as accurately as possible.

This course provides delegates with key budgeting and forecasting skills, which is essential in managing and controlling businesses in times of increasing global competition where the budgets are linked with both strategy formulation and cost analysis. Delegates will explore the issues relating to capital budgeting, identify profit objectives, budgeting cash requirements and forecasting in this course.

Learning Objectives

Participants attending the programme will:

• Implement strategic budgeting, planning and control techniques into your budgeting process
• Align the budgeting process with the development of the company’s long-term strategic vision
• Strategically build an integrated planning, budgeting and reporting process
• Apply management tools to the budgeting process that contribute to strategic goals
• Identify key performance indicators for effective and focused decision making
• Increase profitability and performance through stream lined planning and reporting

Target Audience

 The Budgeting, Forecasting and Business Planning skills are important and essential for many positions in an organisation, in particular:

•  Financial Planners & Professional Advisors
• Accountants responsible for budget preparation
• Professionals with direct planning, forecasting and budgeting responsibility
• Financial controllers and key finance team members
• Personnel with a direct responsibility for profit performance
• Those involved in strategic planning and decision making
• Administrative and support staff who are involved with budget management
• Anyone who needs to understand how to develop their department budgets

Training Methodology

 The course is highly participative with formal presentations, case studies and interactive worked examples. Relevant examples are provided to illustrate the application of each of the topics covered. Each learning point is reinforced with appropriate practical exercises. Real issues brought to the course by delegates will also be discussed.

Program Content

 Day 1 – Introduction

•  Building a Common Financial Language
• The key role of budgeting and cost control in contemporary organisations
• The 21st century business imperative: delivering value added
• Towards a cross-functional process-view of the organisation
• Financial vs. Managerial accounting (for decision making)
• Understand you processes: integrating financial and non-financial aspects
• Identify the key processes/projects for your own organisation

 Day 2 – Planning Strategies

• Budgeting and Cost analysis
• Cost concepts and terminology
• Different costs for different purposes
• Fixed Vs Variable costs: the Cost-Volume-Profit analysis model
• Contribution Margin analysis
• Manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing costs
• Period Vs. Product costs: inventory evaluation and Control

Day 3 – Preparing Forecasts and Estimates

• Role of forecasts and the link to strategy
• Comparing and contrasting budgets and forecasts
• Identifying key business drivers
• Forecasting methods
• The rolling forecast process

 Day 4 – Applying “Best Practice” Risk Management and Control

• Role of risk management in corporate governance
• Finance’ role in supporting risk management
• Cost / Effective risk management in Finance’ own processes
• Cutting costs and improving effectiveness
• Role of cost management in the business strategy
• Cost management and motivation
• Embedding cost control in the business

Day 5 – Beyond the Budgets: The Balance Scorecard and Six-sigma

• Broadening performance measurement systems
• The key role of customer satisfaction and business process reengineering
• Beyond budgeting: integrating financial and nonfinancial issues
• Introducing the Balanced Scorecard
• Introducing Strategy maps