Budgeting And Financial Management

The realities of working in government or the private sector today  are such that a knowledge of budgeting and financial principles generally is essential if we are to discharge the responsibilities of our jobs effectively.

While it is usually not necessary that we become familiar with all aspects of accounting and finance, we need to know how the budgeting and financial systems work, what the terms mean and how to prepare, manage and control a budget.

With this knowledge, we are better equipped use and interpret financial information and to handle the budgetary and financial responsibilities of our jobs more confidently.

The objective of this introductory one-day workshop is to assist participants in developing their knowledge and understanding of financial and budgeting principles so that they may become more confident in interpreting and managing financial and budgetary information.

Content:

• Nature, purpose and scope of accounting, budgeting and finance
• General accounting and finance terminology simplified
• The accounting process and budgeting cycle
• Account codes, cost centres, object and project codes
• Accruals and period end adjustments
• The key financial statements and their relationship to budgets
• Capital and operating expenditure – why the difference, how allocation affects financial results
• Depreciation and allocation of overhead costs
• How GST and FBT are treated
• Budgeting, budget updates, forecasting
• Management and variance reports
• Control of variances

Resultant Benefits:

On completion of the workshop, participants will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of budgeting and financial principles and terminology. They will understand the accounting and budgeting cycle, the Government appropriation process, baselines and budget update cycle (OBU and MARBU), the importance of accurate coding and accruals and why things need to be done the way they are. As a result, they will be better equipped to handle the financial and budgetary responsibilities of their jobs.