Setting & Controlling Budgets

Setting & Controlling Budgets

Course Description

By the end of this course participants  will be able to:

• Plan and forecast at a business level. 
• Distinguish between different cost systems. 
• Develop an understanding of the corporate budgeting process. 
• Read, understand and interpret master budgets. 
• Prepare and monitor business performance and Identify cost savings. 
• Appreciate the importance of reducing unnecessary costs and working towards increased corporate efficiency. 
• Understand costs behavior more accurately 
• Identify & manage key financial indicators for the business 
• Be able to interpret the financial impact of strategic directions.

Objectives

  • Plan and forecast at a business level.
  • Distinguish between different cost systems.
  • Develop an understanding of the corporate budgeting process.
  • Read, understand and interpret master budgets.
  • Prepare and monitor business performance and Identify cost savings.
  • Appreciate the importance of reducing unnecessary costs and working towards increased corporate efficiency.
  • Understand costs behavior more accurately
  • Identify & manage key financial indicators for the business
  • Be able to interpret the financial impact of strategic directions.

 

Who Should Attend?

Financial Planning and Control Staff involved in the performance of a business unit, division or an organization as whole

Professionals with direct or indirect financial responsibilities

Personnel who manage departments with budgetary plans, and who are responsible for cost and strategic analysis

Professionals from all sectors of industry, but particularly those involved in manufacturing, production, engineering or sales

Professionals who would benefit from having an opportunity to consider new ideas and methods in budgeting

Outline

Day 1:

Strategic planning for Setting Budgets
• Understanding what strategic planning is and why it is important 
• Clarify the difference between vision, mission statement, goals and objectives 
• The outside environment: the need to understand the economic cycle 
• SWOT and PESTEL analysis 
• Tying the strategic plan to the budget 
Financial Planning - Elements of Costing and Cost Strategies
• The nature and behaviour of costs, fixed, variable, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs 
• Standard and actual costing - the difference 
• Understanding overheads

Day 2:
• Calculating the variances at a detailed level to give real meaning to them 
• Activity base costing ABC 
• Full cost pricing and managerial costing 
Forecasting & Preparing the Business Estimates
• The purpose of forecasts for the business 
• The limiting factors 
• How to predict sale revenues - different approaches 
• Percentage of sales forecasting 
• Using the three financial statements for forecasting 
• Break-even analysis

Day 3:

Forecasting methods

• The most useful forecasting techniques 
o Quantitative approaches 
o Qualitative approaches 
• Forecasting methods demonstrated

Forecasting case study
Budgeting - The Corporate Budgeting Process
• Understanding the benefit of budgeting to an organization 
• Budgets' forms and purposes; the master budget 
• The different types of budgets - fixed, flexible, zero based, & ABB 
• Preparing, coordinating and monitoring a budget 
• Should we budget for customer satisfaction?

Day 4:
Presenting a Business Budget
• Giving clear information 
• Presenting the main variables 
• Negotiating agreement 
• Putting it clearly onto paper 
• The budgets and performance measurement as tools for communications 
• Budgets and issues of motivation 
Budgeting case study
Tracking Expenditure for Performance
• Reconciling actual with budgeted expenditure 
• Critical variances 
o Material: Price vs. Quantity 
o Mix vs. Yield 
o Labour: Rate vs. Efficiency 
• Identifying cost saving opportunities 
• Looking for volume discounts 
• Phasing expenditure to help cash flow

Day 5:
Capital Budgeting
• Capital budgeting overview 
• Net Present Value 
• Internal Rate of Return 
• Modified Internal Rate of return 
• Profitability Index 
Capital Budgeting case study
Controlling the budget variances
• Interpreting the variance analysis report 
• What is critical & what is not 
• Creating accountability 
• Action planning - the essential next steps 
• What next

Certificates

A Certificate of Completion will be issued to those who attend & successfully complete the programme.

Schedule

  08:30 – 10:15 First Session

 10:15 – 10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 – 12:15 Second Session

 12:15 – 12:30 Coffee Break

12:30 – 14:00 Third Session

 14:00 – 15:00 Lunch

Training Methodology:

This interactive training course includes the following training methodologies as a percentage of the total tuition hours:

  • 30% Lectures, Concepts, Role Play
  • 30% Workshops & Work Presentations, Techniques
  • 20% Based on Case Studies & Practical Exercises
  • 20% Videos, Software & General Discussions
  • Pre and Post Test

Fees

 The Fee for the seminar, including instruction materials, documentation, lunch, coffee/tea breaks & snack is: